Posted on 2/2/2012 by Wayne Smith in the Learnings Blog
For over twenty five years, Leadership Network has been committed to serving Senior Pastors who are entreprenuerial Kingdom leaders, helping them multiply their efforts. We love Senior Pastors, they are some of our favorite people! And we have created some unique opportunities for them, designed to be helpful as they navigate the ministry/leadership journey. It can be an incredibly lonely road and for many there is need, whether well-recognized or not, for a place to connect with fellow peer pastors.
Over the past several months, we have hosted three (3) different groups of Veteran Senior Pastors in our Life Stage Leadership Communities. Each group has a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 12 participants. All of these pastors have a proven track record of excellence in ministry, are in their 40's or their 50's and lead churches that have a minimum of 2500 in Weekend Worship Attendance, from all over the USA and Canada.
These pastors are simultaneously building and strengthening their senior level leadership teams, their churches, and their local and global communities. And they are trying to live satisfying and rich family and personal lives at the same time! Lots of layers of expectations!
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When we gather these cohorts, it does not take long, usually about 15 minutes, for the Pastors to realize that they are in a room full of peers who understand their world and their work like no one else. Because LN is committed to a safe environment and because the participants set the topics for the agenda, the conversation begins to flow and the questions begin to surface. And a well-crafted question is better than a simplistic answer.
Here is a sample of some of the questions that emerged in the three (3) groups:
- What does it take to develop a culture of generosity in my church, especially now?
- I would like to develop a healthy rhythm for my ministry, as well as for my family and my own personal life. How are you all doing that?
- What does a Sabbatical look like? How do I communicate my need for one to the Board without sounding like a whiner?
- How do we do multisite with excellence and a missional focus, specifically, how do I staff well for these sites?
- How do I develop the leadership of this emerging generation? How do I even begin to understand how to motivate them to work?
- I am beginning to think about Succession, what issues should I be addressing that I am probably unaware of?
Peers, safe place, good food, the right questions. And when you have talented, competent peers, the answers are often in the room. Of course, there are times for us to bring in topical experts, and we do.
But these gatherings are not just about making great connections and having stimulating conversations; progress in life and ministry is expected and in fact, examined. Each Pastor determines how they want to grow personally, what they want to address in their church and ministry and they report back every meeting (that's every six months!) about their progress on these goals to their peers. Powerful motivation to make progress and the attendant feedback is always good!
Need some perspective from someone who has gone through the process? Here is a short video from Greg Oraham, Senior Pastor of Foothills Community Church in Seneca, SC about his experience in our Senior Pastor 2 Group 1 Leadership Community:
Greg Oraham
http://youtu.be/QO8_fBNC4_U
What about you? Does what Greg expresses about the group peak your interest? Are you looking to be stretched by ongoing engagement with peers? If so, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.
Check out LN's Life Stage Leadership Community opportunities here:
or contact me at wayne.smith@leadnet.org
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