Newsletter Articles
Transforming Church Initiative: The Vision So Far
The following was created for and distributed to participants at the ELCA Senior Pastors Conference in May 2007. Editor
Proposal for a Leadership Learning Community
Transforming Church Initiative: a Leadership Learning Community©
The church has faced deep challenges in every generation. As the world and culture change, Jesus’ disciples have been called to proclaim, translate, and challenge each generation with the call to a missional and servant life that is at the heart of his imperative to “teach my Gospel to every people.”
Our time is no different. Our American culture is increasingly less formed by central Christian stories, traditions, values and norms. Even those called by the Spirit to lead the church are less informed about scripture and creed. The church, and in particular, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is mounting new strategies to teach the basics of the faith in worship and the knowledge of the scriptural stories of the faith. Seminaries are now faced with remedial teaching of scripture and doctrine for many candidates preparing for key lay and ordained leadership positions in the church. A key need facing the emerging church is to recover the unique role of leaders and provide continuous leadership learning for the ordained. They oversee the revitalization of our congregations and institutions, and guide the laity into deeper practices of faith. (see Luther's Kingdom on the Left and The Case for a Leadership Learning Community)
The Challenge
For the past six years, leaders concerned about how the church is responding to the emerging culture have held national gatherings each year in January under the banner of the Transformational Leaders Gathering in Orlando, Florida. Two years ago, as a result of those gatherings, and the passion of individuals to further the work of the TLG, a dream emerged about how leaders might be systematically trained for the future church. A core group emerged as part of the Transforming Church Movement. Included were passionate laity, parish clergy, national staff of the ELCA and leadership consultants from the corporate world.
Their goal was to dream, initiate and collaborate with seminaries, bishops, synods and gifted parish pastors to achieve the goal of deploying a specific and targeted process of training clergy who were already working in the life of our congregations. The TransformingChurch Initiative would focus on leaders who were already actively engaged in leadership in the congregations they served, congregations located in town, country, suburb and city, in places culturally diverse, but all bound together by a passion to find better ways to grow the church in our time. In addition, there would be a core commitment to be a continuously learning community where peer-to-peer learning was valued and a commitment to the Gospel of Jesus primary.
History of the Proposal
An informal board was established last year. Their commitments of time, skill and money, and an initial financial grant from Thrivent, to further the process, have permitted us to develop a strategic plan that is grounded in much study, thought and prayer.
The proposal outlined below is ready to be presented for the next stage of development in the life of the church. By receiving this proposal, you are personally invited to consider participation in the TransformingChurch Initiative as it continues to emerge and, after prayer and reflection, to offer your gifts and skills at this critical time in the life of the church.
Seminary does not end the process of leadership development, nor the acquisition of the skills needed for ministry, nor can it. Because learning is life-long, there are many tracks that called and ordained leaders may take. We specifically are targeting the ordained leader, three or more years in ministry, who has a passion to lead and grow the ministry to which that pastor is called. There are gifted and proven leaders in our church and those new to ministry have much to learn from them. In addition, the best learning occurs when one is given the time and space to reflect on that ministry in dialog with seasoned leaders and one’s peers, as well, over a period of time. Events seldom change lives, but a continuing process allows for an action/reflection model of learning to emerge, and that is at the core of our process.
In the Middle East, where the visual images of ministry and leadership were articulated by Jesus, the shepherd does not drive the sheep but leads them. They are born with her, or him, as midwife, and they know the shepherd from their earliest moments. Where the shepherd leads, the sheep follow. The health and vitality of the flock depend on the shepherd’s vision, experience, knowledge of the environment and the seasonal changes that come to it, the risks and dangers of the land that are inherent to it. The care the shepherd exercises in leading the flock through the land to safety, productivity, and delight, is at the center of the shepherd’s role and accountability. Precisely the same is true of the shepherd/leaders in our churches. (for more detail, see TransformingChurch.org Leadership Learning Community: A Vision Unfolds)
Lay Leadership Involvement
TCI is a continuous learning community. It envisions a path of study that includes peer learning in small groups, learning events provided for and with the leader’s lay congregational team, personal reflection, spiritual formation, and opportunities for family/household integration of vocation and life balance.
The proposed learning journey is competency based and is delivered through annual conferences, followed by visits to transformational mentoring sites (signature ministries). Mutual accountability coaching triads and multiplication are part of the guiding principles for the journey.
The Learning Journey
Specifically the learning journey will include the following topics of study:
Self-Awareness • Servant Leadership • Systems Thinking • Coaching • Emotional Intelligence • Discipleship • Mission and Vision • Post Modernity • Strategic Thinking • Contextual Worship • Team Building • Multicultural Ministry • Church Development Systems • Empowerment • Lay Ministry • Lay Mobilization in Life and Vocation • Understanding Ministry Context • Community Outreach.
The journey mainly focuses on outreach and stresses multiplication of disciples. An additional goal of the project would be an alliance with several of the seminaries of the church to grant candidates a Doctorate of Ministry degree at the end of the four years of learning and growth.
Proposed Timeline
The board, along with its advisors, has created a timeline for development that would start the first cohort into the learning journey in October 2008. We all know God’s time is not always the same as ours, but this is the goal towards which we will strive.
This TransformingChurch Initiative will depend on gifted leaders in this church joining us. Presiding Bishop Mark Hansen and Dr. Wyvetta Bullock have expressed their hope and support for the continuing work of developing faithful and effective leadership strategies for the church. Already, a growing number of bishops, leaders in several of our seminaries, senior pastors, lay leaders with skills and financial resources, granting and funding agencies, have expressed support for this process and an increasing number of seasoned leaders in the ELCA will be invited to share in making this dream a reality. The following are ways in which you may be part of the Initiative.
A Call for Gifted Partners and Resources
A Call for Seasoned Leaders
The Spirit has gifted us differently and from key elements of the curriculum above, you can see those places where your gifts align with the journey ahead. We will need seasoned leaders, laity and clergy alike, to share their own insights from the leadership journey they have taken. Now is the time for us to hear from people who sense that this is a role they could play in sharing their gifts and vision of leadership with the next generation of pastors. In the section that follows, you will find several ways to respond as you feel called to be part of the TCI. Prayerfully consider them.
What Do We Need From You?
If you want to invest yourself to improve leadership in the ELCA, there are a variety of ways to engage in this process. Please be in touch with our Executive Team Leader Gregg Burch at atl@TransformingChurch.com to learn more:
HELP SHAPE THINGS - This Transforming Church Initiative (TCI) is a work in progress aimed at equipping leaders across the church. You have thoughts related to shaping the Institute, the curriculum, etc – Please share your thoughts with us.
SUGGEST PARTICIPANTS - If you know the names of promising Pastor/Developers who might want to grow as leaders and would appreciate hearing about the Transforming Church Initiative, please share their names with us, and pass this article along to them.
SERVE AS MENTOR - If you might consider serving as a Mentor to a small group of pastors in the program, please let us know.
CONFERENCE HOST - If you now serve in a signature ministry of the ELCA that could host the annual Leadership Conference of the Transforming Church Initiative, please let us know.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT - If your church or endowment fund might invest funds to support the Transforming Church Initiative or if you know of lay leaders who might invest, please let us know.
Closing Remarks
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America stands at a crossroad. Many of the leaders and institutions of this church are creatively struggling with new strategies for the emerging church that will serve the next generations. The Transforming Church Initiative is but one piece in that quilt of options and possibilities being created to reform and refashion how we are church. We believe that this effort is focused and needed.
May we count on you?
Contact Gregg Burch atl@TransformingChurch.com.
To see and learn more about Transforming Leaders Initiative on its home website, click here.
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