by Cindy VanVliet, Associate for Community
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40
"I didn’t really solicit people for the team; God planted the LEAD idea in people's hearts and lives and is guiding us through this time after our first [Learning] Seminar. We can't wait to see what God's plans are for us at Saint Ben's." -Pastor David Schafer of Saint Benjamin’s Lutheran Church in Westminster.
"I didn’t really solicit people for the team; God planted the LEAD idea in people's hearts and lives and is guiding us through this time after our first [Learning] Seminar. We can't wait to see what God's plans are for us at Saint Ben's." -Pastor David Schafer of Saint Benjamin’s Lutheran Church in Westminster.
The 12 congregations currently taking our synod's LEAD Journey just finished the August 2017 LEAD Learning Seminar that was held at The Claggett Center in Adamstown, Maryland. Six of those congregations were at the end of their first full year as LEAD congregations, and the other six just began the first year of their LEAD Journey in our synod.
Saint Benjamin's was one of the six congregations that just began their journey and we can hear their amazement through Pastor Schafer's words about how God went before them and readied their hearts for this adventure! Pastor Schafer went on to say, "God has something special in mind for all of us in the LEAD process." He added, "Not only was the first Learning Seminar really helpful for us, but the time spent getting back and forth to the retreat site was really fruitful for our team-building. We had decided since we were close enough we would commute, thus we had an hour each way to talk and enjoy fellowship."
Penny Graf and Kristen Mellecker, two lay leaders of St. Paul's Lutheran Church's (Lutherville, Maryland) LEAD Team, both attended their first Learning Seminar as part of our synod's second cohort of congregations. Penny said her takeaways were, "Meeting people from other churches, telling our personal stories, acknowledging our fears, uncertainties and faith as we embark on the LEAD Journey, singing hymns, and sharing the bread and wine – all of it was a powerful reminder that God is at work in our hearts, our communities and the world. It was also powerful to hear the leaders share their own stories and to know that sometimes, we are all like Peter stepping tentatively onto the waves! The Seminar definitely gave us food for the journey." Kristen added, "Listen and reflect. It was an overwhelming amount of information that we received at our Learning Seminar. But, it has been fun to process and talk over with our LEAD Team at home."
I was psyched to hear that Kristen said, "Listen and reflect," because as I taught during the Tune-In Intro session at the Learning Seminar, "One never learns by experiencing something. One learns only by reflecting on their experience.” I shared with the participants, "As an example, if I taught this Learning Seminar and then went home and dove into my parental duties cooking dinner, etc., I wouldn’t learn a thing about my time teaching. However, if I reflected on why a few people cupped their ears while I was speaking during my teaching time, maybe I’d realize I had the microphone too far away from my mouth, or I talked too fast and I really need to watch that next time I teach." It is in the reflecting that one learns. GO, Kristen!
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church’s (Rosedale, Maryland) Pastor Matt Fuhrman shared, "Starting year two of the three-year process, the members of Prince of Peace's LEAD Team are really excited for what this year will bring. The Holy Spirit has been at work in our small group, and in the congregation, and at the end of our first year we have a better sense of who we are and where God is calling us to serve. Now we ready ourselves to go out into our community and listen to the Spirit's presence at work in the lives of our neighbors. We look forward to discovering the places where our gifts and calling intersect with the places where God will lead us for the building of God's kingdom."
As so wonderfully inherent in what Pastor Matt said, there are three big moves during the first year, and part of the second year, of a congregation's LEAD Journey as they venture through LEAD's Tune-In process. The Tune-In process is one of four 10-step processes that are designed, per much research, to affect lasting behavior change.
The first big move during the Tune-In process is to LISTEN to God in Scripture and Prayer. The second big move is to LISTEN to God in the Congregation. The third big move is to LISTEN to God in the Community. These three moves and the best ways to carry them out is carefully designed and described in the Tune-In Guide that each of our synod's LEAD Congregations received during their LEAD Learning Seminar. Of course, a LEAD-trained coach meets with each LEAD Team once per month to help guide them through and keep them on course. Pastor Sara Yotter of Joy Reigns Lutheran Church in Edgewater, Maryland, says, "LEAD is a way of rethinking what it means to be church by going back to the basics. The 10-step process helped our whole congregation retrain its listening muscles. We are now more effective and faithful at listening to God, the congregation and the community."
Our synod's next LEAD Learning Seminar will be held Friday, February 16-Saturday, February 17, 2018. Currently in my role as Associate for Community, I am in conversation with 25 of our synod's congregations that are listening to the stirring within about LEAD, asking questions and discerning. Every six months, a new cohort of congregations (10 at the most per cohort) will begin their LEAD Journey in our synod.
What is God saying to you and/or your congregation about LEAD, and what are you going to do about it? If you’d like more information, please contact me by email or at 410-230-2963.
"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19
Saint Benjamin's was one of the six congregations that just began their journey and we can hear their amazement through Pastor Schafer's words about how God went before them and readied their hearts for this adventure! Pastor Schafer went on to say, "God has something special in mind for all of us in the LEAD process." He added, "Not only was the first Learning Seminar really helpful for us, but the time spent getting back and forth to the retreat site was really fruitful for our team-building. We had decided since we were close enough we would commute, thus we had an hour each way to talk and enjoy fellowship."
Penny Graf and Kristen Mellecker, two lay leaders of St. Paul's Lutheran Church's (Lutherville, Maryland) LEAD Team, both attended their first Learning Seminar as part of our synod's second cohort of congregations. Penny said her takeaways were, "Meeting people from other churches, telling our personal stories, acknowledging our fears, uncertainties and faith as we embark on the LEAD Journey, singing hymns, and sharing the bread and wine – all of it was a powerful reminder that God is at work in our hearts, our communities and the world. It was also powerful to hear the leaders share their own stories and to know that sometimes, we are all like Peter stepping tentatively onto the waves! The Seminar definitely gave us food for the journey." Kristen added, "Listen and reflect. It was an overwhelming amount of information that we received at our Learning Seminar. But, it has been fun to process and talk over with our LEAD Team at home."
I was psyched to hear that Kristen said, "Listen and reflect," because as I taught during the Tune-In Intro session at the Learning Seminar, "One never learns by experiencing something. One learns only by reflecting on their experience.” I shared with the participants, "As an example, if I taught this Learning Seminar and then went home and dove into my parental duties cooking dinner, etc., I wouldn’t learn a thing about my time teaching. However, if I reflected on why a few people cupped their ears while I was speaking during my teaching time, maybe I’d realize I had the microphone too far away from my mouth, or I talked too fast and I really need to watch that next time I teach." It is in the reflecting that one learns. GO, Kristen!
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church’s (Rosedale, Maryland) Pastor Matt Fuhrman shared, "Starting year two of the three-year process, the members of Prince of Peace's LEAD Team are really excited for what this year will bring. The Holy Spirit has been at work in our small group, and in the congregation, and at the end of our first year we have a better sense of who we are and where God is calling us to serve. Now we ready ourselves to go out into our community and listen to the Spirit's presence at work in the lives of our neighbors. We look forward to discovering the places where our gifts and calling intersect with the places where God will lead us for the building of God's kingdom."
As so wonderfully inherent in what Pastor Matt said, there are three big moves during the first year, and part of the second year, of a congregation's LEAD Journey as they venture through LEAD's Tune-In process. The Tune-In process is one of four 10-step processes that are designed, per much research, to affect lasting behavior change.
The first big move during the Tune-In process is to LISTEN to God in Scripture and Prayer. The second big move is to LISTEN to God in the Congregation. The third big move is to LISTEN to God in the Community. These three moves and the best ways to carry them out is carefully designed and described in the Tune-In Guide that each of our synod's LEAD Congregations received during their LEAD Learning Seminar. Of course, a LEAD-trained coach meets with each LEAD Team once per month to help guide them through and keep them on course. Pastor Sara Yotter of Joy Reigns Lutheran Church in Edgewater, Maryland, says, "LEAD is a way of rethinking what it means to be church by going back to the basics. The 10-step process helped our whole congregation retrain its listening muscles. We are now more effective and faithful at listening to God, the congregation and the community."
Our synod's next LEAD Learning Seminar will be held Friday, February 16-Saturday, February 17, 2018. Currently in my role as Associate for Community, I am in conversation with 25 of our synod's congregations that are listening to the stirring within about LEAD, asking questions and discerning. Every six months, a new cohort of congregations (10 at the most per cohort) will begin their LEAD Journey in our synod.
What is God saying to you and/or your congregation about LEAD, and what are you going to do about it? If you’d like more information, please contact me by email or at 410-230-2963.
"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19