What a treat we had May 1, 2010!
Seven of our eight elders, and half (that’s 2, by the way) of our ministers attended the ElderLink program in a neighboring town. ACU has hosted these events around the country for some years now, but this was my first chance to attend one. Wow! It was well worth our time.
Basically it was all day Saturday, with 6 “Plenary Sessions” (I need to look up “plenary,” but I guess that means “everyone together at once”) and one Q&A/Panel discussion. The program looked like this:
1 – “Moving from Managing Toward Shepherding” (David Wray)
2 – “Leading When Change Makes People Anxious” (Charles Siburt)
3 – “Five Things Elders Should Know About Ministers” (Eddie Sharp)
4 – “The Heart of a Shepherd” (David Wray)
5 – “Using Holy Manners With People Who Disagree” (Charles Siburt)
6 – Q&A/Panel Discussion (Sharp, Siburt, Wray)
7 – “Elders and Ministers: An Alliance of Gifts”
ALL the sessions were GOOD. Some of the sessions were extraordinary. The one that had my heart in my throat though was “Five Things Elders Should Know About Ministers.” Almost each point that the speaker raised had me thinking, “I am guilty of that!” My prayer is that, unlike New Year Resolutions, I actually DO something about the painful issues that were discussed. I hate to say it, because I indict myself, but most of the points had to do with treating ministers like PEOPLE instead of like PAID STAFF.
I’ve put the recordings where you can listen to them at your leisure. Most of them are about 35 – 40 minutes.
Here it is: www.leanderchurch.org/ElderLink2010
If you ever get the chance to attend an ACU ElderLink – GO!
I’ll leave you with one quote from the event that resonated strongly with me…
“Followers want comfort, stability, and solutions from their leaders. But that’s babysitting. Real leaders ask hard questions and knock people out of their comfort zones. Then they manage the resulting distress.”
Work of Leadership (HBR Classic) by Ronald A. Heifetz, Donald L. Laurie
Publication Date: December, 2001