Christian Community Church is by no means the first to use the term apprentice. They know that. But they have interestingly appropriated it to Christian discipleship and leadership development. And I think this is a key theory. In the church world we have typically used the term "discipleship" to describe a process/plan of spiritual growth. We also use the phrase, "spiritual formation." In many circles, though, both of those terms describe a process that is all about "me and Jesus" and rarely results in reaching out to others or purposely developing as a leader. With this in mind, the Fergusons and the folks at Community Christian refer to Peter, James and John as apprentices of Jesus - the guys who were bound to Jesus for the purpose of carrying on his work. We then are called to become apprentices as well - carrying on the work of Jesus in our culture.
This is genius! It is action-oriented. It expects reproduction and multiplication! It acknowledges a need for the classic spiritual disciplines taught in spiritual formation- but not for merely personal reasons! It is also highly relational! To be honest, I have struggled to know how to develop leaders. This is giving me some hope - and so I am giving a lot of energy this year to learning and practicing the development of ministry leaders.
Okay, enough for the philosophy of it all - the real help of this book is the practical help of how to identify, ask, mentor and release an apprentice. Their list of must-have traits of a possible apprentice leader are great and very helpful. I love the "parking lot test" for relational intelligence - when I see their car pull into the parking lot, am I excited to see them or do I hope to avoid them?" Very interesting....
For me, the most helpful chapter discussed how to "make the ask," - that is, how to get someone on board to become an apprentice. The authors remind us to "never say no for someone. We must allow God to work in their lives. We cannot have an apprentice if we do not ask. It's up to us to present the opportunity, and up to God to work in them from there." I need constant reminder of that. I am too quick to say, "they are already so busy..." Who knows how God has already been moving in their hearts? Further, though, was their teaching to ask the person to pray about it, think about it, and get back to you, and then to pursue them. Their approach of using ICNU, or "I see in you....the qualities of leadership....a love for kids....a heart for prayer....." Genius!
This book has been very helpful for me as I explore this concept of developing leaders through apprenticeships - I will keep it on hand!
If you want to order a copy of this book, you can buy it here from Lulu.
I also just found an electronic copy available for free here: http://242community.com/apprentice-field-guide
