Everyone Wins When A Leader . . .

“Everyone wins when a leader gets better.” – Bill Hybels

This email celebrates* (see link at page bottom) those lay leaders who are growing in their ministry competencies. In addition to the courses that they are taking, each has a mentor with whom he or she regularly meets. CLC coordinates the mentoring process, the facilitation of courses, and the development of training plans.One of our participants writes, “I’m interested in the commissioned pastor calling. I have read the competency standards and have spoken with a few people regarding this. Our youth pastor, Ted Polleys is currently in the program and I have watched him grow through it.” – Theda Williams, Worship Director, Community Reformed Church, Charlevoix, MI (used with permission)

Fall Course Participants
Following is a list of Fall courses, participants, facilitators, locations, and dates.
Course Name: Old Testament (Mondays, 10:30 am-12:30 pm at Christ Memorial Church, Holland)
Beginning Date: Oct. 7, Ending Date: Dec. 2
Name of Facilitator: Mark Veldt
Names of Participants: Gene McClellan, John Davidson, Troy Stansberry, Allison Vandermeer, Chris Hall, Daniel Nino, Dennis Gaither, Theda Williams

Course Name: Old Testament (Tuesdays, 5:30 pm-7:30 pm at Hudsonville ReformedChurch, Hudsonville)
Beginning Date: Oct. 15, Ending Date: Dec. 10
Name of Facilitator: Richard Bates
Names of Participants: Rodrigo Cano, Craig Hoekstra, Ken Kleinheksel, Steve Martin

Course Name: Pastoral Care (Tuesdays, 5:30 pm-7:30pm at Harbor Life Church (formerly Olivet Reformed Church)
Beginning Date: Oct. 8, Ending Date: Dec. 3
Name of Facilitator: Dick Van Dop
Names of Participants: Arden Eadie, Larry Lowis, Ken Kleinheksel, Steve Martin, Eric Peterson

Course Name: Standards and Government (Tuesdays, 2:30 pm-4:30pm at Jim Heneveld’s home in Zeeland)
Beginning Date: Oct. 8, Ending Date: Dec 3
Name of Facilitator: Jim Heneveld
Names of Participants: Israel Alvarado, Enrique Cuevas, Larry Lowis, Rachel Patmos, Eric Peterson, Lisa Urivez, Hugo Vasquez

Church and Ministry Leadership Development Partnerships
In addition to the above courses, CLC has leadership development agreements with several  ministries. These include: Beechwood Church (Holland, MI with church staff and Hispanic church planters); Christ Memorial Church (Holland, MI with members and staff); Fair Haven Ministries (Hudsonville, MI with multi-site pastoral staff); Faith Church (Dyer, IN with multi-site venue pastors); iPlant (Church Multiplication Team of RCA Illiana-Florida Classis); MissionIndia (leadership development, national and international staff), Synod of the Great Lakes (RCA); and Synod of Mid-America (RCA). Church Leadership Center is also listed as a provider of training for Commissioned Pastors in the Christian Reformed Church.

How to identify leaders
To expand upon the leading quote (“Everyone wins when a leader gets better.”), are you wondering how to identify leaders in your church so that they can get better and everyone can win?

Here’s a checklist of the kind of people to look for.**
They . . .
__have minds that are open and interested.
__know how to change their mind without becoming wishy-washy.
__spend time in self-reflection.
__receive correction humbly and gratefully.
__submit to, align with, and model organizational values.
__remain cool when things get hot.
__love learning.
__display optimism.
__maintain focus.
__have track records of personal and group achievement.
__resist pressure to conform with grace rather than anger.
__speak well of others.
__lean into insights from others.
__learn from the mistakes of others as well as their own.
__care about the development others.
__are growing in Christlikeness.

Once you identify a few leaders, start investing in them. Consider encouraging them to get better, to grow in their ministry competencies, and to check with CLC to discuss options for their development.

Church Leadership Center assists leaders and churches with leadership development. Click here for more information. To view videos about Commissioned Pastors and those who support them, click here.

To read previous blogs, click here.

Mark your calendar: Leadership and Commissioned Pastor Retreat is planned for October 25 – 26, 2013 at Camp Geneva, Holland, MI. Guest presenter: Pastor Marlin Vis. Topic: Reading the Bible through Middle Eastern Eyes. For additional information click here. To be put on the retreat mailing list, contact Alison DeBoer, adeboer@rcagl.org

Please forward this email to a lay leader or church staff member who may benefit from information about leadership development and Church Leadership Center.

To contribute financially to CLC or to learn about options for leadership development in your church, reply to this email.

*For video clip of the “Dance of Joy,” click the following link. http://youtu.be/GfPg5LjGYz8

**Most of the items on this list are from a “Leadership Freak” blog. Click the following link for the full content. http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/20-ways-to-spot-leaders-with-understanding/