COMMUNTIES OF PRACTICE (CoPs)

Our Challenge: We have caused many messes in the world, many of them unintentional, because we acted on beliefs and assumptions that could never bring about healthy communities of disciples of Jesus. We wove the following beliefs into our preaching and practices: that humans are motivated by selfishness, greed, and fear. That we exist as individuals, free of the obligation of interdependence. That hierarchy and bureaucracy are the best forms of organizing. That efficiency is the premier measure of value. That people work best under controls and regulations. That diversity is a problem. That unrestrained growth is good. That a healthy economy leads naturally to a healthy society. That poor people have different motivations than other people. That only a few people are creative. That only a few people are willing to struggle for their freedom.

Wrong Beliefs = Wrong Results: These beliefs are not true and they have created problems that cannot be solved within current systems of thought and practice. The destructiveness of these beliefs materializes in the major problems afflicting local communities around the globe, problems that persist and grow in spite of years of attempts to solve them: loss of cultures, ecological degradation, poverty, deteriorating health, war and dislocation, accrual of power and wealth into fewer hands. While millions of people are working earnestly to solve these problems, and billions of dollars are poured into efforts to reverse the destruction, we as followers of Jesus need to take an honest look at whether our current approaches work.

Paradigms: Joel Barker predicted when he introduced us to paradigms years ago, that "problems that are impossible to solve with one paradigm may be easily solved with a different one." We believe that the Community of Practice paradigm opens the door for solving problems to the Christian Community that has not been provided by the Institutional Church.

Communities of Practice: For our purposes we will define a Community of Practice (CoP) as: A Faith Community made up of people functioning together for a common cause, believing in people's innate creativity and caring, and utilizing these attributes for problem solving while extending God’s Kingdom (His rule and reign on the earth). CoPs make a basic assumption that most people can be awakened and become active in determining what goes on in their communities and organizations as they are permitted and encouraged to use their God given gifts and skills for His glory.

Apostolic Ministry Teams (AMT) are formed within the CoP. Utilizing consistent innovation and courage, they focus on their particular mission. Wherever these teams see a problem, they also see possibility. They figure out how to respond. If one response doesn't work, they seek God’s direction for another. They naturally think in terms of interconnectedness, following problems wherever they lead, addressing multiple causes rather than single symptoms. They are committed to God and to others in the Community of Practice.

As part of the Florida Revolution, we want to be catalytic pioneers in establishing Communities of Practice to bring about spiritual reformation in our State and beyond.