Wednesday, February 11, 2009

mission, change, leadership course in Christchurch

After taking my Missional Church Leadership course on the road, to Auckand, Hamilton and Adelaide, in the last year or two, it is being offered back in Christchurch this year (2009).

The course mixes lecture input, reading with on-line engagement and practical projects based on one’s ministry context. Because it is monthly and because so much is on-line, I have had students travel for up to 5 hours to attend, so if you are anywhere in the South Island, don’t dismiss it immediately! 🙂

My ideal is to have a mix of denominations, mix of people in ministry and students and a mix of pioneers and established church ministers. Steve Graham, Dean of the College, just mentioned that the course was consistently mentioned in exiting student feedback as the one that joined lots of ministry dots for them, so that was encouraging.

Practically, it is on Thursday’s, 9:15 am-12:15 pm (5 March; 2 April; 7 May; 4 June; 23 July; 13 August; 3 September; 8 October; 29 October)

More info hereMissional church leadership

1. What is the missional church leadership course?
In our changing times, leaders and churches are faced with complex issues surrounding mission and change. Missional Church Leadership explores what it means to gather people concerned with God’s purposes into the wider community. Participants will explore the Biblical paradigms, skills, imaginations and capacities required to lead in a missional way. The course is heavily focused on ministry contexts and deliberately designed to suit people in ministry. This includes people in community ministries, established churches and those wondering about new forms of church.

The course will be taught over an entire year. It will include a (3 hour) monthly (10 times) gathering for learning, encouragement and accountability. Participants will gather around teaching, case studies, plus a set of missional church practices.

Participants are also required to be engaged in a context (broadly defined as a place that a participant can regularly return to, listen among and in which they could start to imagine God’s future. It could include a work place, a community ministry, a local café or a recognized church ministry.)

Alongside monthly gatherings and a context, participants follow a regular guided on-line reading. This is just as significant as the monthly gathering, and is designed so a person can read in context, rather than in a classroom.

2. So what is covered in the lecture gatherings?
Day 1 Introducing a missional church and a missional theology
Day 2 The spirituality of a missional leader
Day 3 Entering, listening, dwelling in local context
Day 4 The missional practice of shalom
Day 5 A local narrative: Case study
Day 6 Leading in Change
Day 7 Discerning the Kingdom in a local context
Day 8 Missional leader imaginations, skills and capacities
Day 9 Mission, worship
Day 10 Integration

3. I presume that some work is involved?
The course has been designed to enhance processes of learning around missional church and to provide a supportive group around the complex issues of mission, change and leadership. This is the heart of this course: a desire to create both a safe and accountable space for group learning and with missional coaching.

All participants are expected to engage in the following ways.
a) Monthly reading reflections: Each month students will read a set of provided readings around mission, change and leadership. Students will engage with these readings in an on-line community, providing a 200 word reflection on;
– What struck you!
– What questions were raised?
A class tutor will respond (within 48 hours) to each reflection, offering encouragement. The use of on-line community and tutor engagement is designed to encourage you and give you a sense of being part of a learning community even while engaged locally.

b) Listening in context assessment: 2000 words. Due Day 6
Students will be presented with a number of ways to listen to the their local context. They will use these techniques to offer a reading of their local context, discerning the narratives that are shaping people’s lives. It is hoped that participants might want to present their context to the class, thus gaining wider group interaction. Previously classes have moved around participants various context (as practical).

c) Missional leadership action project: 2000 words. Due Day 10
Each participant is to imagine a missional project that could embody God’s missional dreams for their context. The project will need to demonstrate connectivity to their context (Listening assignment), articulate a missional theology and be practical. Participants are not expected to put the project into practice (and it is hoped your will!).

4. So how much time exactly is involved?
TOTAL 150 hours, made up of monthly gatherings (30 hours), reading and reflections (50 hours), Listening assignment (35 hours), mission action project (35 hours).

5. And some details?
Lecture dates: Thursday, 9:15-12:15 pm
5 March; 2 April; 7 May; 4 June; 23 July; 13 August; 3 September; 8 October; 29 October
Plus a 10th class involves individually participation at a local Anzac Day celebration.

6. Who is Steve Taylor?
Senior Pastor at Opawa Baptist and Senior Lecturer, School of Mission and Ministry, author of The Out of Bounds Church? Learning to Create a Community of Faith in a Culture of Change, 2005 and a speaker and mission consultant across denominations in New Zealand and Australia. Steve’s PhD study explored how churches respond to cultural change. He enjoys cafes, Fat Freddys Drop and being in a family with Lynne, Shannon and Kayli Anne.

Posted by steve at 05:06 PM

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