reimagining
our relationship to one another
through communal formation, for the flourishing of the people of God.
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Experiential, imagination-building development, consultation, & care
for pastors, leadership teams, and congregations
seeking not only their own formation, but the cultivation of brave & relationally-vibrant communities being shaped into the people of God.
—>> Communities of Praxis
—>> Trainings & Development
—>> Counseling & Mentorship
Hi, I’m BrianJames, founder of Church Well Co.
Here, we are about the formation of the people of God.
Yes to healing, transformation, and personal formation and growth. But not just yes to this. Humanity is created by God not only for deep connection to the Creator, but also for deep connection with one another. Our very design is to know and be known fully by one another, as we are to know and be fully known by God.
The children of God are designed to formed into the family of God.
Yet far too often we become communities of individuals following Jesus individually in proximity to one another. Not because that is what we set out to do, but simply because human relationships are far more complicated and risky than we know what to do with.
And let’s be honest, very few of us pastors were trained for this part of the work.
That’s why we’re here.
Our Framework
To become more fully the people of God, we are going to need:
new imagination
different practices
contexts for practicing in which to work these out together.
This is the work of Church Well Co.
—>> Talk with us
We long for reconciliation, yet our communities struggle to tolerate the discomfort involved.
We long for healing, yet get stuck when healing feels more painful than being hurt did to begin with.
Far too often, the breakdown in our communities, churches, and leadership teams is far less about complications of theology or spirituality, and far more frequently about our struggle to establish, remain in, and strengthen connection to one another.
And just about every relational breakdown orients in some way around pain and suffering.
What if this is not something to avoid, but to lean into?
That is our premise at Church Well Co.
The flourishing we long for is found on the other side of - or even in the midst of - suffering.
What if challenges, pain, and suffering do not have to lead to increased isolation, fragmentation, and disconnected relationships? What if the Church could be the Body of Jesus capable of entering into and holding a suffering world?
We believe it is possible, but will require us to re-examine our relationship to one another, and even more specifically to how we engage pain and suffering in the relationship and community.
These friendships sit at the very center of communal formation. These are relationships cultivated through the practices of storytelling and hospitality
Why?
Because trust that is needed to hold heavy things does not develop in relationships and contexts of growth, delight, and celebration.
It is only formed by practicing holding heavy things.
Building Imagination for Brave Relationships
Why Brave Relationships Matter
- BrianJames McMahon
Mission
Church Well Co exists to help the Church reimagine its relationship one another through communal formation for the flourishing of the people of God.
We attend to human connection and community formation through active engagement of pain and suffering in ways that cultivate healing, life, and transformation. Together.
We create individual and communal space for pastors in which brave relationships can be embodied, cultivated, & experienced, and relational formation practiced.
We work with local congregations to develop contexts in which their people can explore becoming safe(r) together, and train in practices that can be used to develop relationships that are capable of holding heavy things in the most difficult moments of life.
Values
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God created the world to exist in relationship to God and to one another (Genesis 2). Church Well Co holds conviction that relational connection is both a marker of and invitation to participation in the work of God in this world. Church Well Co engages in, for, and toward relational connection of the people of God.
Church Well Co is unapologetically relationship-forward.
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Space is the experience of having room to show up as we are. Our whole selves. To be seen, known, and welcomed. To be attended to and supported.
Pastors and church leaders often reate space for others and operate in contexts in which they hold responsibility. Paired with the proneness of our world to fill, take, and move through space quickly, much that deserves to be seen, honored, and healed turns into wounds that fester, disconnection that remains, and weariness that does not dissipate. Pastors and leaders burn out, weighed down carrying their own burdens and the burdens of their people.
Pastors and church leaders need space to be created for them. We all need room for connection, healing, and transformation to emerge through relationship.
Church Well Co intentionally creates and holds space for pastors and church leaders.
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Bravery is the choice to take the risk to acknowledge, welcome, and enter the Sacred Heavy and invite others to enter ours.
We all long for safe relationships. Relational connection is most accessibly experienced in safe relationship. But relational safety is not the starting point for most of us. The process of becoming safe(r) people, communities, and Churches is a process of practicing bravery together. It is through wise and intentional brave engagements that we become safe(r) for and with one another. Church Well Co creates space and opportunity for pastors and church leaders to learn and practice bravery together for healing, connection, and growth.
Church Well Co recognizes that the practice of bravery is foundational to the development of safe(r) relationships.
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To honor is to ascribe appropriate weight. To the person, the story, the the experience
Church Well Co believes that each story belongs to the person who has experienced it. Those outside the experience are privileged witnesses who are invited to hold the story with the story teller and attend to what God is doing. We are invited to learn to honor the stories shared by protecting, holding, and caring for it.
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Safety does not simply exist or not exist. Safety is co-created over time. When my bravery is met by your bravery, and the bravery of both is acknowledged, trust grows and we become safe(r) together.
Emotional and relational safety has to do with the experience of trustworthiness within the community context in which there is openness, predictability, and a fair and balanced system. Safety cannot be declared. It must be developed. Together. We do not begin with trust. We form trust. Wrestling with whether or not we can trust each other, how much we can trust each other, and how to talk about it are foundational to the formation of safety.
Church Well Co engages with the intent to create spaces and train others to create spaces in which we become safe(r) together.
