Intentional Apprenticing

(WEEKLY POST SPECIFICALLY FOR THE MOKIDS TEAMS AT MOSAIC CHURCH… but others are welcome to listen in!)

Every so often, I like to highlight something that I hope will increasingly become a core value on our teams at Mosaic.

INTENTIONAL APPRENTICING says this, “A job well done is not a job well done until there is someone in whom I am duplicating myself.”

An APPRENTICE is simply someone who has LEARNED what you have LEARNED so they can DO what you can DO.

Jesus is our greatest example of intentional apprenticing.  He always had people with him learning from what he did so that in just a few short years they could be sent out to bring God’s kingdom to the whole world.

If Jesus led in this way, why wouldn’t we?  And, apprenticing isn’t just the job of appointed leaders among us.  Every one of you is a leader who can teach those around you to do what you do.  Then, God can raise you up to do even more in the Kingdom.

TWO TIPS IN APPRENTICING

1) In teaching your apprentice a task, take this approach with him or her:

• First, I’ll do it and you watch.  Then, we talk about it.
• Second, you do it and I’ll watch.  Again, we’ll talk about it.
• Third, you do it and I’m here to assist and support.
• Then, you’re ready to apprentice the next person!

Regardless of whether the apprenticing activity is big and long-term like leading a whole section of MoKids or tiny and immediate like “let me show you one way to get a sour toddler happy again” this four-step approach will work.

2) Teach them not only the “whats” but also the “whys”.  Don’t just give them the systems or rules to follow.  Instill in them the VALUES, the WHYS, the REASONS so that if a situation arises without a rule or system, they can decide for themselves what to do.

So… are you ready everyone????  Be bold and find someone already around you or maybe a new friend who you can apprentice to do what you do!  I can’t wait to see the depth that this sort of thing will build into our people and then into our organization.

(Thanks to North Point Community Church in Atlanta, GA whose work on this topic has informed and inspired me.)

Cool story

(I reserve one post a week for the MoKids team at Mosaic Church in Little Rock… but others can listen in too!)

Hey MoKids Team!

Wanted to tell you a really cool little story…

I love to make little kids smile.  It’s kind of my mission.  I’ll often be so silly with a little one or two year old, and I can almost always make them grin.

Well, there’s this one 1-year-old in MoKids who I could not make smile for anything!  We’ll just call him J.  He is, as they say, a tough nut to crack!!  No matter what I did, he’d have the cutest but sternest little frown with a pooched out lip.

Each week I’d try, and each week I’d fail.  Over the weeks, though,  J would smile just the slightest bit more… then more.. then more.

Last week, I saw him coming into church.  I thought “Maybe… maybe this is my day to break through to this kid.”  I got down low and put my arms out and I called out “J____!”

Drum roll please………  He smiled… and…….   he came running to hug me.  Mission accomplished!  I love that little guy.

There are two takeaways here:

- Weekly consistency with the kids makes a huge difference.

- Seeing a change of heart (or face!) is worth all the energy.

I know you guys on the MoKids team have these kinds of stories of breakthrough in kids of different ages all the time, but it’s fun to share with you a story of mine.

Keep going and stay close to Jesus,

Allen

God keeps moving in MoKids

Each week I reserve one post specifically for the team of MoKids volunteers at Mosaic Church in Little Rock.  Everyone else can listen in too!

Hey MoKids Team,

I want to let you know that this Sunday marks some changes of leadership for a couple of areas within MoKids.

First, I have to brag on my wife.  Debbie Arnn has done a fantastic job leading Club W 2nd hour for the last two years.  Debbie has not only maximized the use of the curriculum in that area and made things run smoothly with fun and passion; she has also built a truly great team of volunteers and has coached those volunteers to go beyond “teacher” to “shepherd”.  Outstanding job, Debbie!  I love to work in ministry with you.  God uses you greatly.

Another thing God is doing… Bryan Smith has been at Mosaic for a while now and has served with excellence and incredible energy in several areas related to kids and youth.  Bryan has experience as a Children’s Pastor and is a great communicator and loved by children.  He is now ready to dive in fully with MoKids.

So… here’s the news…

As of this Sunday, Bryan Smith will begin leading Club W 2nd hour.  He’ll pick up where Debbie is leaving off  and then over time add his own personal flairs to the area.

And what’s Debbie going to do?  Debbie is going to join Britni Pulliam and Ashley Nelson to form a new leadership team for the nursery/toddler area.

I’m very excited about both of these moves.  Ministry is never about building something that you hang onto forever.  It’s about building and then handing off to the next person to extend the kingdom.

As Debbie and Bryan begin these new roles, please give them your greatest level of support and assistance.  They are present not to take over and lead as much as to facilitate the ministry of all of you volunteers called by God to serve the children in those areas.

All of you in MoKids are an awesome team… it’s a joy to see how God is using you.

Stay close to Jesus,

Allen

Susannah’s Birthday Lunch

I always take my kids out for a lunch just with me on their birthdays.  Can’t believe Susannah is 7.  Susannah’s favorite is baked potato at McAlister’s and ice cream at Baskin-Robbins.

New Goal

I want to become the most encouraging person I know.  En-courage=pour courage into.

Outstanding Job!!!

Once a week I post specifically for the MoKids team at Mosaic Church in Little Rock.  Everyone’s welcome to listen in though!!!

Hey MoKids Team,

Today I want to highlight some incredible work I witnessed last week from a MoKids volunteer.  I hope I don’t embarrass her, but I do want to mention her by name… Evelyn Snow in the Toddlers room 1st hour.

So here’s what happened..

A brand new guest family arrived really early for second service, and so I just gave them a little tour around MoKids to show them where their children would go for second service.  Two of the children were toddler-aged.  When we went to visit that room briefly… WOW!  Evelyn welcomed them SO warmly!  She opened the half-door and got down on the kids’ level to learn their names and gave them big hugs.

Then, Evelyn did something else. She remembered that photos had been taken of the toddlers throughout May for use in the craft that day.  Having already thought ahead with great initiative to have a camera handy and to have a means in place to print any new kids’ photos on the spot, she grabbed the camera and snapped photos of these two guest children and printed them so that when they arrived for second service they wouldn’t be left out but would have a photo for the craft.

The words to describe Evelyn in that moment pour forth… excellence, love, warmth, initiative, hard work, resourcefulness, doing whatever it takes.

Thank you, Evelyn, for modeling so well how we aren’t babysitting.  We are pouring out Christ’s love to the children and their families.

Push the reset button

I had promised some tips for interacting in your family spiritually… then I didn’t blog all week!  So busy!

Here goes…

Do you ever come home after work and you never really stop working?  Sometimes, maybe you actually keep on working on job tasks.  At other times, maybe you just let the stress of the day stick with you and add on to the other stresses of the home.

I’ve found something very practical that often works for me to reset my life before I greet my family.

As I’m entering the house after work, I try to press the reset button.  As my hand touches the doorknob at my house, I try to do two things:

1) Do a speed-re-prioritize!  What’s important?  God… then family… then work!

2) Pray briefly for the fruit of God’s spirit to grow explosively in me as I enter the home… love!  joy!  peace!  patience!  kindness!  goodness!  faithfulness! gentleness! self-control!

You can also do a “mini-reset” when you see a phone call coming in from your spouse, child, or friend.

If the “reset button” is something you need to push more often, try it this week and let me know what happens!

Think before you lead

Leaders: The more time you spend in deep pre-thinking about a meeting you’ll lead, the better the meeting will be. Don’t wing it!

I’m seeing this play out so strongly right now in a couple of ministry transitions and a transition in our home life that I’m leading.

There’s always tomorrow… right?

Each week, I take one day to specifically post for the children’s ministry volunteers at Mosaic Church in Little Rock.

Hey MoKids Team,

Something challenged me this week and I thought I’d pass it on to you.  When I have only a little bit of time with someone, I find myself really intentional about how I interact with that person.  For those like my wife and kids who’ll presumably with with me for years, sometimes I fall into a wrong attitude of “oh they’ll be with me forever and therefore I don’t need to be urgent about how I interact with them and how I lead them to follow the ways of Jesus.”

That thinking is wrong in 2 big ways:

1) The years that I think I have will fly by and I will have missed so many golden opportunities.

2) I couldn’t be that desperate for God’s movement in my life if I’m haphazard about bringing his truth into the ones I love. (wow.. that’s hard.. but true)

That’s not to say I don’t do some things to build into my kids each day or each week.  But, oh I could do so much more if I would quit putting off for tomorrow the lessons in life that my kids need today.  Is anyone else in that boat with me?

Our kids need more of Jesus today.  Let’s live in these verses from Deuteronomy 6:

⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

For the rest of this week on this blog, I’ll give some practical ideas for our homes.

Carry on, MoKids Team!!!!  See you Sunday.

Allen

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Weekly post for the MoKids Team

Each week, I take one day to specifically post for the children’s ministry volunteers at Mosaic Church in Little Rock.

Hey Awesome MoKids Team,

Two things for you today:

1) NOBLE OR NORMAL?

When I hear of someone’s extraordinary service to others, I hope I won’t dismiss it as NOBLE but rather wrestle with whether that level of service and sacrifice should be my NORMAL.  I won’t embarrass her by name, but I met with a lady this week whose service to others is pretty extraordinary.  I pray that kind of service won’t be just a NOBLE thing that a few do, but rather a NORMAL way of life for all of us.

2) CHANGE OF DATE!  I had mentioned that we would celebrate you guys and thank you for your service in MoKids during Community Meal on May 16.  In order to make a few more special preparations, we are going to bump that to the Community Meal at noon on the third Sunday of June (June 20th).  The meal that day will be a hearty meal for the dad’s since it’s Father’s Day, and we’ll have a special honored seating area for all of you MoKids volunteers and your families along with some special surprises for you guys.  Please mark your calendar and plan to stay for the lunch that day as the church thanks you for your excellent service to our children.

Can’t wait to see you all on Sunday!  Stay close to Jesus and be ready to overflow his love and power in your life to the kiddos of Mosaic.

Thankful for you,

Allen