7 Deadly Traps for Small Groups

By Jim Wilder You know that person or couple who only comes by your church or small group when there is a party? They are fun people and seem to want genuinely to connect with community. But when it’s time to volunteer with the church or the neighborhood, they don’t seem to be responding to text […]

Your Best Self Asks for Help

If you have been around the Life Model for a while, you have probably come across the maturity charts.  One aspect of child level maturity is learning to ask for what you need. Just that idea alone brings up all types of different reactions in each of us. Everyone has different thoughts, questions, arguments, fears […]

Fully Alive: Becoming True You!

By Terri Sullivant “…if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus. You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your […]

The New Self is the True Self

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,to put off your old self,which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,and to […]

What My Best Self Believes About God

By Jen Pfeiler “Write the first five things that come to your mind when you think about God,” Lydia calmly instructed. She looked around the group of just under a dozen fellow ministry students. Throughout our time together, we took turns instructing the group. It was her turn to teach and I could sense her […]

50 Jesuses Partying on a Beach

As we learn to live from love and not fear, we can also use the tool of Immanuel prayer to find our best self with Jesus. For me, finding my best self with Jesus means leaning into His joy for me when I feel loneliness overwhelming me. Now, a person can be alone and not […]

My Best Self With Immanuel

By Marlene Allen Over the last couple of weeks, the Life Model Works team has shared what it means to be your best self, versus your false or avatar self. Now and in the coming weeks we will dive into the theme of what it looks like to be your best self with Immanuel.  “I […]

Hosting Your Best Self

Several years ago in college, I had the privilege of reading Dallas Willard’s Spirit of the Disciplines. That book, among other of his works, impacted me deeply. One of Willard’s explanations that caught me was his view on the spiritual quality of hospitality.   The spiritual gift of hospitality is commonly described as hosting someone in your […]

The Origins of the False Self

At Life Model Works, we ask a lot of “how” questions. Often in churches, we are told what the Bible teaches, but too often we are not taught how to pull it off in real life. How do we love the people around us like Jesus loves them? How do we love the difficult people in our lives, […]

Happy New Year!

By Jen Pfeiler Happy New Year! I’m sure by now there have been plenty of emails streaming in, promising you deals on how to better yourself in 2024. As humans with an inner desire to grow and mature, we like the idea of a fresh start. We want to be determined that this year will […]

Do You Know When to Yell?  

Neuroscience tells us that our brains are wired to seek intensity. Ideally, this intensity should come from joyful interactions and be the foundation for our attachment to people. However, if we experience intense abandonment or dysfunction early on, our young minds can’t discern the difference between good and bad intensity, and we go through life […]

Immanuel & Grief

By Mercy Johnson It happens to each of us at some point, that internal longing for someone who is gone. One of the sorrows of our sinful and broken world is relational disconnection through death, unhealthy relationships, or other causes. Within Life Model-based training, we refer to this as attachment pain. Unresolved attachment pain causes […]

Passing the Peace

There’s a lot going on in the world. When current events in the church and in the world at large threaten to steal our peace, we have a better way through Immanuel. Watch our latest video as Michael Sullivant and Jen Pfeiler demonstrate the simple steps to passing the peace amid life’s hardships. Download the […]

Reflections on TRANSFORM 23

by Jen Pfeiler What a delightful time it was to be together at TRANSFORM 2023! As a member of the Life Model Works administrative staff, I expected to be caught up in the hustle and bustle of making sure things were in order, but I was pleasantly surprised by the inundation of relationally connective people […]

Escaping Enemy Mode Together

It will be exciting to see many of you in Denver this month. We are going to experience joy and learn to stay connected to Jesus and to our people, even when we are in enemy mode. We are going to share stories from the field and hear how it is going. How is escaping […]

Partnering at Every Turn

A Blog by Marlene Allen What excites me about the executive director position? I can sum it up with the word partnering.  First, partnering with God’s incredible design of the brain is foundational to our message. For example, Dr. Wilder said, “Jesus knew when he created the brain that one day He would have to […]

The Moped Lady Started it!

A Blog by Marlene Allen She drove up on what Thais call a motorcycle, but it was a moped. Quite impressive that a woman would drive one in the crazy traffic of Chiang Mai, Thailand, but it was good to see my friend, Dr. Esther Wakeman. I had so much to share with her. By […]

Recordings that Reach & the Translator’s Journal

This blog is sponsored by the special donations made to help Life Model Works share the love and peace of Jesus with people in Ukraine! Thank you to all who contributed to the Ukraine trip for LMW. We were able to teach passing the peace in the middle of a war. Our team was active […]

Testimonies from Friends in Kiev

This blog is sponsored by the special donations made to help Life Model Works share the love and peace of Jesus with people in Ukraine! Thank you to all who contributed to the Ukraine trip for LMW. We were able to teach passing the peace in the middle of a war. Our team was active […]

Passing the Peace During Kiev Air Raids

This blog is sponsored by the special donations made to help Life Model Works share the love and peace of Jesus with people in Ukraine! Thank you to all who contributed to the Ukraine trip for LMW. We were able to teach passing the peace in the middle of a war. Our team was active […]