Spiritual leadership

with practice for

listening to God in

the noise of daily life.

SEMINAR B workbook

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LEA

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February 16-17, 2018 Delaware-Maryland Synod

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Permission to Reproduce

This guide may be reproduced for use in the Delaware-Maryland Synod with covenanted congregations that are part of the LEAD Journey. All other reproduction is a violation of LEADs intellectual property.

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February 16-17, 2018

Welcome to the LEAD Journey Learning Seminar. This seminar will include time with your congregational team, your cohort, and the whole community. We are looking forward to three cohorts meeting together.

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LEAD Learning Seminar B

Time Cohort 1, Seminar D Cohort 2, Seminar B Cohort 3, Seminar A

Friday

5:30p Welcome & Intros Welcome & Intros Welcome & Intros

6:00 Dinner Together Dinner Together Dinner Together

6:45 1. Three Rs of Leadership 1. Three Rs of Leadership 1. Three Rs of Leadership

7:45 Break Break Break

8:00 2. Learning Together 2. Learning Together 2. Intro to The Tune In Process

9:00 Spiritual Pilgrims Spiritual Pilgrims Spiritual Pilgrims

9:15 Network, Relax, Rest Network, Relax, Rest Network, Relax, Rest

Saturday

9:00a Spiritual Pilgrims Spiritual Pilgrims Spiritual Pilgrims

9:30 3. Three Types of Core Values 3. Spiritual Types 3. Tune In, Steps 1-4

Break

10:45 4. Purpose, Goals, Alignment 4. Tuning in, Steps 5-7 4. Becoming a Storyteller

12:00p Lunch Lunch Lunch

1:15 5. Making an Action Plan 5. Meeting the Neighbors 5. Team Dynamics

1:45 6. Trouble Shooting Action Plan 6. Going Viral 6. Commitments & Expectations

Break Break Break

2:30 Making a Planincluding staff and council

Making a Plan get out of the church, 3 weeks,

Making a Plan get out of the church, 3 weeks,

3:00 Spiritual Pilgrims Spiritual Pilgrims Spiritual Pilgrims

3:30 Buen Camino Buen Camino Buen Camino

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Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch Acts 8:26-40 26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. (This is a wilderness road.) 27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, Go over to this chariot and join it. 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, Do you understand what you are reading? 31 He replied, How can I, unless someone guides me? And he

invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32 Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth.33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth. 34 The eunuch asked Philip, About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else? 35 Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the

eunuch said, Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized? 38 He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the

eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip

baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed

the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Peter and Cornelius Acts 10:1-36 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. 2 He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. 3 One afternoon at about three oclock he had a vision in which he

clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius. 4 He stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord? He answered, Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; 6 he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside. 7 When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him,8 and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa. 9 About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on

the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the heaven opened

LEAD Learning Seminar B

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and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 Then he heard a voice saying, Get up, Peter; kill and eat. 14 But Peter said, By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is

profane or unclean. 15 The voice said to him again, a second time, What God has made clean, you must not call profane.16 This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven. 17 Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simons house and were standing by the gate. 18 They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, Look, three men are searching for you. 20 Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them. 21 So Peter went down to the

men and said, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming? 22 They answered, Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say. 23 So Peter invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 On Peters arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet,

worshiped him. 26 But Peter made him get up, saying, Stand up; I am only a mortal. 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled; 28 and he said to them, You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should

not call anyone profane or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?

30 Cornelius replied, Four days ago at this very hour, at three oclock, I was praying in my house when

suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. 31 He said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. 33 Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say. 34 Then Peter began to speak to them: I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message

he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christhe is Lord of all.

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Session 1: Three Rs of Leadership

Resistance

Relationships

Remarkable

Resistance, from The War on Art (no page #) by Steven Pressfield Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance. Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It is the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction. To yield to Resistance, deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be. If you believe in God (and I do), you must declare Resistance evil, for it prevents us from achieving the life God intended when God endowed each of us with our own unique genius. Genius is a Latin word; the Romans used it to denote an inner spirit, holy and inviolable, which watches over us, guiding us to our calling. A writer writes with his genius; an artist paints with hers; everyone who creates operates from this sacramental center. It is our souls seat, the vessel that holds our being-in-potential, our stars beacon and

Polaris. There are two ways to deal with resistance, from Linchpin (pp137-138) by Seth Godin The first approach: seek reassurance. If you are worried about something, indulge the worry by asking people to prove that everything is going to be okay. Check in constantly, measure and repeat. Is everything okay? Reward the anxiety with reassurance and positive feedback. Of course, this just leads to more anxiety, because everyone likes reassurance and positive feedback. The second approach is to sit with the anxiety, dont run from it. Acknowledge it, befriend it. Its there, youre used to it, move on. No rewards for worriers. No water to put out this particular fire. The problem with reas-surance is that it creates a cycle that never ends. Reassure me about one issue and you can bet Ill find some-thing else to worry about. Reassurance doesn't address the issue of anxiety; in fact, it exacerbates it. You have an itch and you scratch it. The itch is a bother, the scratch feels good, and so you repeat it forever, until you are bleeding.

The idea of sitting with your anxiety appears to be ludicrous, at least at first. To sit with something so uncom-fortable isnt natural. The more you sit, the worse it gets. Without water, the fire rages. Throughout, you re-main placid. The anxiety is there, its real, but you merely acknowledge it. You dont flatter it with rationaliza-tion or even adrenaline. It just is, and you embrace it, like a hot day at the beach (or a cold day in Minnesota). Then an interesting thing happens. It burns itself out. The anxiety cant sustain itself forever, especially when morning comes and your house hasn't been invaded, when the speech is over and you havent been laughed at, when the review is complete and you havent been fired. Reality is the best reassurance of all. Over time the cycle is broken. The resistance knows that the anxiety trick doesnt work anymore, especially if youre friendly to the anxiety. Pretty quickly, the anxiety cycles start to diminish and eventually peters themselves out. Dont ask me to tell you that everything is going to be all right. I have no idea, for starters. And my pallia-tive option actually will make your anxiety worse in the long run.

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Notes and Ref lections:

Session 1: Three Rs of Leadership

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The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your

God with al l your heart and with al l your soul and with al l your mind and with al l your strength. The second is this:

Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. - Mark 12: 29-31 NIV

LEADs Four Growth Indicators for Vital Behaviors The Three-Year Journey

Each LEAD Journey has a ten-step process that may be accompanied by

a professional coach to successfully take on new behaviors for growth in

discipleship and to join in Gods mission.

Loving God with all of our heart calls us to listenThe Tune In Process

Listen to God in scripture, in prayer, in the congregation, and in the neighborhood

Shift from inward to outward focus

Launch experiments with new learnings and partners

Loving God with all of our soul calls us to centerThe Wake Up Process

Clarify congregational purpose and values

Align congregation for mission

Articulate congregational identity

Loving God with all our mind calls us to exploreThe Dig Down Process

Deepen Christian frame and theology through Bible Study

Streamline systems for strategic ministry, includes staffing and governance

Increase commitment and generosity

Loving God with all of our strength calls us to connectThe Work Out Process

Create trust to extend hospitality with openness for diversity

Expand comfort zone through strong relational connections

Tell the congregations story through effective communication

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Notes: Things I am hearing or learning that I dont want to forget

Session 2: Learning Together

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Ref lections from the day:

Spiritual Pilgrims

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Heart ( in Greek)

Heart spiritual types are people who are moved by

action, doing things, and justice concerns. This

type relies upon their passion for their spiritual

energy.

Suggested spiritual practices: going on pilgrimage,

Ignatian Examen (Praying Over Daily Life),

volunteering, advocacy

Strength ( in Greek)

Strength spiritual types are people who get the most

meaning out of doing something with their

bodies. This type relies upon activity or bodily

movement for their spiritual energy.

Suggested spiritual practices: yoga, coloring, walking

a labyrinth, being in nature, using prayer beads

Soul ( in Greek)

Soul spiritual types are people who value

relationship, oneness, and mystical union. This type

relies upon felt experience and connection for their

spiritual energy.

Suggested spiritual practices: centering prayer,

stations of the cross, walking a labyrinth

Mind ( in Greek)

Mind spiritual types are people who connect using

their intellect and the verbal or written word.

This type relies upon beautiful language and sound

belief for their spiritual energy.

Suggested spiritual practices: liturgical worship,

Lectio Divina, journaling, Ignatian Contemplation,

meditating on hymn lyrics or psalms

Session 3: Spiritual Types

Spiritual Types Index and Research is the work of Reverend Richard Nelson and used with permission.

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Loving God

with all my

heart calls me

to listen to my

passions and

gifts as the

Holy Spirit

moves in my

life.

Loving God

with all my

soul calls me

to be centered

with faith

practices that

wake me up

to the Holy

Spirit.

Loving God with all

my strength calls me

to deepen my

relationship with a

more diverse group of

people and to expand

my capacity to love

my neighbor as

myself.

Loving God with all

my mind calls me to

ask important

questions, wrestle

with my theology,

explore the way I do

things (systems), and

to live a life of

gratitude.

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Ref lection: Your Spiritual Type How did the Spiritual Type Index affirm what I know about myself?

What surprised me about my Spiritual Type?

What are my hopes for my own spiritual life as I live in Christ? As a Christian leader?

Session 3: Spiritual Types

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Notes and Ref lections:

Session 4: Tuning into the Congregation - Steps 5-7

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Session 5: Meeting the Neighbors - Steps 8-10

Congregations

Property

Inner Ring of

Relationships

Middle Ring of

Relationships

Outer Ring of

Relationships

What do we know about these people? List general

demographics like age, culture, language, socio-economic

reality...etc.

Inner:

Middle:

Outer:

What are their resources? What are their needs?

Draw on your best thinking about this group of people.

Inner:

Middle:

Outer:

What are their values?

Draw on your best thinking about this group of people.

Inner:

Middle:

Outer:

What is their current relationship to your congregation?

Inner:

Middle:

Outer:

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Ref lection: Observations, questions, and notes

Session 5: Meeting the Neighbors - Steps 8-10

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Ref lection: Observations, questions, and notes

Session 6: Going Viral

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Make a Plan

Month / Season

Already on the Map LEAD Journey Communication

March 2018

April 2018

May 2018

June 2018

July 2018

August 2018

September 2018

October 2018

November 2018

December 2018

January 2019

February 2019

March 2019

April 2019

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Make a Plan

Week of Action Plan

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Month Core Messages Methods

March

April

May

June

July

August

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

March

Make a Plan

Congregational Messaging Checklist Check all methods that are available for use in your congregation. Put an * by the methods you use with excellence and circle the places that could be expanded.

_____ Prayers

_____ Monthly council updates

_____ Face to face space for authentic conversation

_____ Sermons

_____ Video screens in worship

_____ Worship bulletins

_____ Newsletter ____for members ____for new people

_____ E-newsletter ____weekly ____beyond members

_____ Bulletin boards

_____ Temple talks

_____ Website ____up to date ____for members ____our front door ____love it

_____ Facebook ____for:__________________________________

_____ Other social media

_____ Blogs ____for:_______________________________________

_____ Special meetings ____for:__________________________

_____ Adult forums or classes ____for:____________________

_____ Interior signs ____for:_______________________________

_____ Exterior signs ____for:______________________________

_____ Local newspaper stories: __________________________

_____ Strategic thank you notes

_____ Strategic letters, post-cards or other mailings for:

___________________________________________________________

_____ Other____________________

_____ Other____________________

_____ Other____________________

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Next Steps wit h your LEAD C oach and Notes

Make a Plan

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Next Steps wit h your LEAD Coach and Notes

Resources to Check Out:

1. Your LEAD Webpage is located at www.waytolead.org. Go to the synod tab, click on your synods name and use your password to access all the resources from this seminar and other tools to support your leadership. Your password is: demd

2. For your personal devotions, we recommend daily posts from the Center for Action and Contemplation written by Fr. Richard Rohr.

3. For your personal, family and staff reflection, we recommend using the practice of Dwelling in the Word or Daily Gratitude.

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Spirituality of LeadershipPersonal and Group Reflection Christian leadership is not rooted in management techniques, marketing tools, or administrative skills.

Christian leadership is rooted in our faith. As we lead the congregations we serve, we are called to grow in faithtending to the life of our spirit.

Are you worshiping regularly? When is the last time you invited someone to worship? How does your leadership team worship together?

What are your personal prayer practices? Your family prayer practices? When is the last time you asked someone to help you pray? How does your leadership team pray together?

How do you make space for reading, praying, studying the Bible in your life?

What would have to shift for you to spend 5 more minutes each day reading the Bible? How does your leadership team engage the Bible together?

What have you read recently that has fed your spirit? When is the last time you asked someone to teach you about a topic or skill that you were unsure of? How does your leadership team learn together?

Wor

ship

Pr

ayer

Sc

ript

ure

Lear

ning

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LEAD

Growing leaders with deep, bold, consequential faith in Jesus Christ

Empowering Christian Leaders, Transforming Faith Communities, Influencing the World