sustain:if:able kiwi

beaming in the bishop: technology and formation

Technology is amazing. So are creative minds who explore ways to connect technology to formation of leaders.

On Friday, Anglican Bishop, Justin Duckworth (I’ve blogged about his appointment here), came to Uniting College. Not physically, but via video conferencing. He sat with a group of post-graduate students, mainly church ministers in our Master of Ministry – Missional Leadership cohort. Again, not physically, but via video conferencing, because these leaders are spread all over Australia.

They share a passion for mission, within their established church structures. To help facilitate their growth, a group of them are doing a combined learning exercise, called Church Re-think. Spread all over Australia, they gather together regularly, again using video conferencing to share resources.

Books are one resource they share, reading in community, gleaning wisdom for the missional journey.

People are also a resource (see my reflections on the place of living libraries in leadership and ministerial formation here and here). In the case of Bishop Justin, he’s a leader with many years experience of mission on the edge of the church, with that charism now invited into the structures of the church.

Who better to resource a group of ministers thinking about mission inside and outside their own structures?

But he is busy and Adelaide to Wellington is a day of travel.

Enter technology, in which the bishop is beamed in, digitally, to resource a group of leaders, who are also gathered digitally. Together, for a few hours, they wrestle with leadership and mission today. All organised and facilitated by the creative mind of Dr Rosemary Dewerse, Post-graduate Co-ordinator at Uniting College.