The Communitas International Podcast Communitas International

On today's episode, Johnny Levy shares with Geoff and Joy how his journey towards embracing his own strengths and weaknesses led him to finding his true passion. He now teaches others how to accelerate that process and find their superpower key statement.
About Johnny
Johnny Levy is a Connector/Dreamer with the Superpower of "Authentic Connection for Mutual Progress." He believes everyone has a God-endowed design, and that this design holds Superpowers (strengths) and Kryptonite (weaknesses). He helps people discover and embrace their design (strengths AND weaknesses), so they can flourish by living in accordance with, rather than in opposition to, that design. He is a husband of one, father of four, poet and author. CEO in his day job, safe place for many, lover of humans, catalyst of collaboration. Go to johnnylevy.com to dive deeper.
Resources Mentioned
Book: https://a.co/d/h3r9hd3
http://www.superpowerquest.com/survey
http://www.superpowercommunity.com/.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnny-levy/
johnnylevy.com
Connect with Communitas:
Website: https://gocommunitas.org/
Instagram: @gocommunitas
Podcast episodes and more: https://linktr.ee/communitasinternational

In this episode, Brandon Kelly shares his perspecitve on mentorship and discipleship. He believes the word investment is the most helpful term to describe how this occurs today. It looks like a practice of living life on life which takes place as we share experiences and have conversations oriented toward God. Brandon speaks about the value of being both on the giving and receiving end of this way of being.
 
About Brandon
Brandon has served as the Lead Pastor of local churches and Director of Strategy and Leadership Development for a denomination. Currently, he is the Co-Director of 5Q, a training and assessment organization centered on the five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4, commonly called APEST. He has been a part of leading other training organizations, including Accessible Prophecy and 3D Movements, as well as being certified with Auxano in visionary planning and is completing his Professional Certified Coaching credential with the International Coaching Federation. Brandon holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Bowling Green State University, and a master’s degree in Divinity from Winebrenner Theological Seminary. He will complete his Masters in Rhetoric and Writing in the summer of 2024 from the University of Findlay. Brandon is passionate about the rekindling of discipleship and mission as the foundation of the Church. He and his wife Ellen, along with their children Jackson, Fintan, Penelope, and Ainsley, are dedicated to being a family of God on mission in their community.
Resources Mentioned
Contact Brandon at:brandon@5qcentral.com
https://www.3dmovements.com;
https://www.theforgottenways.org/what-is-apest.aspx;
https://5qcentral.com/;
https://www.amazon.com/5Q-Reactivating-Original-Intelligence-Capacity/dp/0998639303/
Connect with Communitas:
Website: https://gocommunitas.org/
Instagram: @gocommunitas
Podcast episodes and more: https://linktr.ee/communitasinternational

Join Geoff and Joy in a conversation with Len Tang, director of the Church Planting Initiative at Fuller. He shares some of the shifts that he is seeing and experiencing in faith communities, where more importance is being placed on diversity and collaboration. There is a movement from attractional to missional, from superstar leader to co-vocational minister, and from growth emphasis to health focused.
About Len
Len Tang is the Director of the Church Planting Initiative at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the co-editor of Sent to Flourish: A Guide to Starting and Multiplying Churches, and he planted two churches: Cedar Creek Church in Sherwood, Oregon, and Missio Community Church in Pasadena, CA. He is married to Amy and they have three young adult boys, two cats, and one electric motorcycle.
Resources Mentioned
Book: Sent to Flourish:A Guide to Starting and Multiplying Churches
Fuller Church Planting Website: churchplanting.fuller.edu
Find a network to plant with at://plantermatch.org/
Facebook and Instagram: @fullerchurchplanting
Connect with Communitas:
Website: https://gocommunitas.org/
Instagram: @gocommunitas
Podcast episodes and more: https://linktr.ee/communitasinternational

Andrew shares with Geoff and Joy that the church of the future is NOW! Communities of faith are happening in cyberspace and create new environments to process truth for young and old alike. Andrew tells us that online church, or internet church, is real and can be experienced via streaming services or in gaming environments. Virtual Reality and the Metaverse are overcoming distance and provide avenues of access using current technologies.
About Andrew
Andrew Jones – aka Tall Skinny Kiwi – has 30 years’ experience with third sector social enterprises in 70 countries. He’s had a prolific and creative online presence since the birth of the internet, generating social media content on blogging, travel, spirituality and social media trends for more than two decades now. He enjoys discovering and empowering ‘impact entrepreneurs’ for social transformation projects, especially those concerned with justice, financial sustainability, and urban transformation. Andrew has variously been an international aid worker, a church developer and a pastor. He is maverick and mischievous, always concerned to try and figure out what next – for the church, for culture, for community. He is a modern-day ‘missionary’. Always on the move, always in pursuit of truth and understanding.
Connect with Communitas:
Website: https://gocommunitas.org/
Instagram: @gocommunitas
Podcast episodes and more: https://linktr.ee/communitasinternational
 

Geoff and Joy explore with Kent Smith how to find a simpler foundational way to plant churches. His recent book, Relational Revolution, paves a way for birthing networks of joy fueled, Jesus led communities of practice that are equipping spiritual moms and dads to nurture ecosystems of grace. He says that while there is no a franchisable model for creating emotionally safe and healthy communities, a life of love is learned by practicing intergenerationally and interdependently.
 
About Dr. Kent Smith
Dr. Kent Smith is a professor, author, and co-founder of LK10 and the Eden Center for Regenerative Culture. He has been CHARIS Professor at Abilene Christian University, teaching there in the Graduate School of Theology since 1991. His research and training focus explores how people in our time can come to participate in vibrant communities of God's life. Kent directed ACU’s graduate internship in missional leadership and has been a trainer for international mission teams for over twenty-five years with ACU’s Halbert Institute for Missions.
Articles“Economy of Grace, an Early Christian Take on Vulnerable Mission”, An overview of early Christian thought about God’s mission as outlined in Ephesians.
Ecosystems of Grace: An Old Vision for the New Church” What way of life centered in God's own life has the capacity to capture and hold the attention of people in our time?
“Love, Joy and Grace: Formation Together in the Life of God” An essay summarizing a process of human formation centered in God's life of love.
Discipleship Movements and LK10 A response to contemporary approaches to church planting and discipleship movements and an overview of LK10s unique—but ancient—alternative. With John White.
PUBLISHED BOOKS
Joy Fueled : Catalyzing a Revolution of Joyful Communities March 2020
Relational Revolution : 5 Shifts for Rediscovering Church as Heart-to-Heart Connection April 2023
APPEARS ON
Joy Fueled and Joyful Communities
Connect with Communitas:
Website: https://gocommunitas.org/
Instagram: @gocommunitas
Podcast episodes and more: https://linktr.ee/communitasinternational
 

On this weeks episode we have part one of a two-part interview with Dr. Karl Lehman. Dr. Lehman provides not only a wealth of knowledge and experience from his practice as a psychiatrist, but also a deep understanding from the years of work he has done to create the Immanuel Approach which brings people to a subjective experience of Jesus' tangible presence. He expounds on a wide range of topics including neurological connections, relational skill development and the impact of generations. 
 
About Dr. Lehman
Dr. Lehman is a board-certified psychiatrist with thirty-five years and more than forty thousand hours of clinical experience. He has worked tenaciously throughout his career to integrate his personal Christian faith with medical science, modern mental health care, and his rigorous scientific training; and he has especially worked to integrate faith-based emotional healing with insights provided by psychological and neurological research. Working closely with Dr. E. James Wilder, Dr. Lehman developed the Immanuel Approach. In addition to observations from his clinical work, regular consultation with colleagues, and extensive ongoing study of a wide range of research literature, Dr. Lehman is also deeply committed to his own growth and healing. He is constantly learning through the application of emotional healing principles and tools in his personal journey. Furthermore, Dr. Lehman has been married for more than thirty years, and he and Charlotte work as a team to apply everything they learn about growth and healing in the context of their marriage. This combination of decades of clinical experience, extensive ongoing study, regular collaboration with colleagues, and regular emotional healing work in his own life has provided an especially strong foundation from which to discover important new insights. Karl and Charlotte live in Evanston, Illinois. They have enjoyed many books together as Charlotte reads out loud while Karl washes the dishes, and they have a larger collection of nature documentaries than the local library. Charlotte is a runner and completed the Chicago Marathon in 2008. Karl especially enjoys the beauty of creation as manifested in his salt water aquarium.
Resources mentioned
Life Model: https://lifemodelworks.org/
THRIVE: https://thrivetoday.org/.
www.Immanuelapproach.com
https://www.immanuelapproach.com/getting-started/
(the Getting Started page provides a very rich buffet of options for learning more about the Immanuel Approach, including a wide variety of intro material options.
The Immanuel Approach: For Emotional Healing and for life is available at: https://humble-shack.myshopify.com/products/the-immanuel-approach-1
Connect with Communitas:
Website: https://gocommunitas.org/
Instagram: @gocommunitas
Podcast episodes and more: https://linktr.ee/communitasinternational