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Spiritual practices can be opportunities for leadership development

by Susan P. Dickerman, Associate Conference Minister for Leadership Development

April/May 2008

Susan P. Dickerman

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There are many ways we can grow spiritual leaders within our church and our conference.  Frequently, it starts with setting aside sacred time and inviting God into the business of our everyday lives.

The Commission for Leadership Development of the Massachusetts Conference is a model for developing a board into a community of spiritual leaders.  Through the leadership of John Hudson and Anastasia Kidd, chair and vice-chair respectively, the sixteen members of the Commission spend one-third of their meeting time in Biblical reflection, prayer and faith sharing. Commission members have indicated that this sacred time energizes them for the work that they have been called to do on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Conference. 

The Commission’s program mandate includes the oversight of the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Program, the compensation guidelines for clergy and lay employees, interim ministry, clergy and lay leadership development, and young adult ministry.  Most people would not think crunching numbers or planning programs would be a sacred time, but it should be.  Members of the Commission indicate that this volunteer commitment is spiritually satisfying as well as a learning experience for everyone because of the faith component that sets the context for each of the meetings.

It is a gift to staff this group of enthusiastic volunteers who bring such a rich and varied background to the ministry of this Conference committee. I do believe that the spiritual practice of faith sharing has made the difference in how they carry out their work as well as what work they do.

Charles Olson, in his book “Transforming Church Boards” offers the possibilities of developing church boards as a “community of spiritual leaders.”  He writes:

Strategically speaking, the board or council, is a crucial arena for congregational renewal and revitalization efforts.  If the board can move beyond ‘business as usual’ into the experience of active and energized faith, it will model and lead in ways that impact the whole church.  If the board becomes a community of spiritual leaders, the church is bound to feel its effect. 

Chuck Olson presents in this resource a bold vision of leadership that offers board and committee work as an integral part of a congregation’s faith experience and development.  Board and committee members’ faith informs the way they conduct the church’s business.  Discovering practical ways that boards and committee meetings can become opportunities for deepening faith and developing leadership is a wonderful renewing opportunity for our congregations.

Larry Peers, MACUCC Sustaining Pastoral Excellence and Alban Institute Consultant, notes that any new practice in our lives (for example, an exercise program, regular meditation or daily prayer) is hard to sustain.  As soon as a board feels overwhelmed by too many items on the agenda or by a crisis, it usually reverts to ‘business as usual,’ with predictable results.  To sustain a new practice, one must continue, no matter what, until it is mastered.  He suggests that board members might consider adopting some of the following:

1. Begin the meeting with a time of prayer and reflection on Scripture to remind the board that its work is sacred.  If a board or a committee does this well, this spiritual practice will set the tone and context for the work of the board or committee for the entire meeting.
   
2. Provide time for board members to share briefly some highlights of their own faith journey and what the congregation has meant to them.  When board members have an opportunity to share their faith journey it helps all of the members appreciate and understand one another beyond their roles on the board.  It reinforces the connection between a member’s personal life mission and the mission and ministry of the congregation.
   
3. Recognize that some decisions require time for theological reflection and interpretation in the context of the congregation’s mission and ministry. A board’s decision making should strengthen the leadership’s ability not only to analyze the choices before them, but also to reflect on that information through the resources of faith and the ministry of the congregation.  How does one’s faith inform this decision?  As the mission statement of the congregation is held up, how does this decision support this ministry goal?
   
4. Be open and willing to listen to others.  It is a spiritual discipline to be open to the influence and ideas of another.  As a person of faith how willing are you to be influenced by the ideas, experiences or information from another member of a board or committee?  The willingness to be influenced by another provides an atmosphere of dialogue that can enrich the decision making of a board or a committee.
   
5. Pause for reflection or prayer before or after a decision.  Sometimes members of boards rush from one agenda item to another.  Pausing for prayer and reflection before or after a decision allows board members to put the action into a spiritual context and to share further reflections.  Asking for spiritual guidance can become part of the spiritual discipline of a board as well as of its individual members.

I wonder how your church board’s decision making might be changed if it included a time for Scripture reading, reflection and prayer as the context for each of its meetings?  Would the meeting agenda take on the understanding that it is a sacred time for carrying out the ministry of the congregation? And, would the board members feel that they are disciples in this mission?  I hope so, and I welcome your sharing of experiences that have lived out this commitment of creating boards and committees as communities of faith.