The Whole Organizes the Parts:
Leadership and the Congregation as a Family System
The Samaritan Counseling Center is pleased to announce its 2010 Pastoral Leadership Series: The Whole Organizes the Parts: Leadership and the Congregation as a Family System. The series, open to any interested clergy person and professional church staff, consists of a quarterly breakfast at which a topic related to family systems is presented, followed by an opportunity to attend a three-session group the next month. The groups allow participants to explore a more in-depth understanding of the topic in an environment of collegial support and mutual learning, and include integrative work to help with practical application of the theory.
In the 2nd of our 2010 Pastoral Leadership Series on the Congregation as an Emotional System, we will focus on using Adaptive Change practices and Biblical texts to develop an approach to leading a congregation through a time of transition and change. The breakfast on April 15 was an introduction to the topic of Adaptive Change, and the 3 session follow-up series will allow clergy to explore the issues at a deeper level and in an experiential learning environment with ecumenical colleagues.
Seminaries…. do a fabulous job of preparing us for pastoral service and care. But pastors tend to come out of seminary prepared for technical, but not adaptive, change.--Rev. Jill Hudson, Coordinator for the Office of General Assembly, Presbyterian Church USA News Service 9/28/09
The leadership series is offered as part of our expanding Clergy and Congregation Care Program.
Unlike ‘technical changes’ which are usually simple and easy to identify and resolve, leading a congregation through real change requires leaders to mold vision into strategy in a way that gradually transforms the culture of the congregation. Establishing a sense of urgency about the necessity of change, moving from the “old” to the new by changing attitudes and behaviors, overcoming resistance, and preventing a return to the “status quo” are challenges on the journey. Using the biblical stories from the Old Testament of the Exodus and Exile as examples of adaptive change that inform our understanding and practice of congregational change in our own time, we will integrate these “lessons from the wilderness” into 21st Century ministry.
Leadership Group Series
The three session group series following each breakfast allows participants to explore a more in-depth understanding of the particular subject related to family systems introduced at each breakfast in an environment of collegial support and mutual learning. Each series also includes time devoted to integrative work to help with practical application of the theory, and to acquire the skills needed for shifting from a stress-based reaction to the non-anxious presence that is a key concept in the systems model. Contemplative prayer, neurologically validated meditative techniques to calm anxiety and enhance cognition, and other related practices will be incorporated.
May 6, 2010 · The Exodus Revisited: “Confronting an Adaptive Change”
May 13, 2010 · The Exile: “Leading through the ‘Neutral Zone”
May 20, 2010 · Differentiated Leadership in a Time of Change: “Finding Moses for a New Day”
Bibliography:
“Leadership on the Line” by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky
“Our Iceberg Is Melting” by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber
“Congregational Leadership In Anxious Times” by Peter L. Steinke
This series will be held at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 750 Greenfield Road in Lancaster from 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM. The cost of the series is $75 for partner clergy (information on the partner program may be found here) and $100 for non-partner clergy. Payment must be received with registration. To register by phone, please contact Barbara Tolbert at 717-560-9969, extension 256 or email at btolbert@scclanc.org. You may also print the registration form. We accept Mastercard, Visa and Discover. Registration must be received at least one week in advance of the start of the series.
Mark Your Calendars!
2010 Clergy Breakfast Dates
- September 16
- November 11
- May 6, 13 and 20
- October 7, 14 and 21
- November 18 and December 2
1803 Oregon Pike
Lancaster, PA 17601
717-560-9969 · 1-800-400-7789
Fax 717-560-9553