Going Back to School

I am just now getting around to posting about last week because it was indeed a busy one, but for many good reasons.

On Tuesday morning, I went back to school . . . just for the week.

This spring, I found that I was accepted in a leadership program especially for pastors under the age of 35 through the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Seminary. The goal of the program is to retain young clergy in the church. The statistics show both that their is an age gap between clergy retiring over the next ten years and young clergy staying the church. And often times young clergy are leaving the church faster than they come in to work with non-profits and other careers because of lack of proper challenge, supervision and appropriate feedback. The Lewis Fellows program is seeking to change this trend with 30 young leaders at a time.

Over the course of the week, I sat in lectures, visited innovative churches and discussed much about casting a vision for a church with several new colleagues and friends. I heard stories from the other Lewis Fellows about what life is like in their church from places as far away as California to as close as pastors in my own backyard. In the picture to the left, you can see some of us in conversation with each other on the bus on our way to a church site visit. (It is a game of "Where's Waldo?" to find me).

The biggest lesson I took with me from the experience was the difference between a leader and a manager. Lovett Weems, the director of the Lewis Center and our conference leader said: "You can manage without a vision, but you can not lead without a vision. And, what separates a leader from the managers is vision to guide you."

Notably, I had been a part of managing vs. leadership conversations before. I have written vision statements for organizations that I have been a part of. But, something about the way this material was presented last week struck me differently.

I realized that much of what is expected of you as an associate pastor falls under the management field. You organize programs, you help people stay the course with goals already set, and you stay on top of urgent tasks to unsure they are accomplished. You provide the stability needed for a "getting things done" kind of church.

Yet, this is not where my heart is. Some days I wish that I felt less like an event planner or the communication hub of the office. Some days I wish that I could feel more like a leader who is enabled to cast vision for the larger good of an organization.

Even so, there are still opportunities for leadership growth where I am. There are areas of ministry that I do lead. I came away from the conference inspired to inspire others to a greater extend of what God can do in my corner of the world right now. It is an exciting journey.