This post, Trench -v- stage, is an encouraging reminder that whether you are leading a small group through One Month to Live, connecting with teens as a student ministry volunteer, or reaching a needy community through Second Saturday Serve – through you God is doing “his transforming work in the lives around us.”

Wow – thank you John Wasem (Emmanuel School of Religion professor on church planting) who led a great seminar on how to model / influence / shape disciples into better disciples AND more effective servant leaders in the church. I’m may post some other highlight from the class but let me borrow from one the follow-up assignments I did via ESR’s ver useful electronic-distance-learning tool:

“I need the lessons John taught [about overcoming resistance to change] – including ‘change yourself before you change others’ AND ‘maintain personal objectivity’ AND ‘actively confront resistance.’

Mountain Christian’s executive pastor Rob Kastens and senior pastor Ben Cachiaras make staff meetings more than routine metrics and reports by directing us to gems like Henri Nouwen’s “Moving from Solitude to Community to Ministry”.  Nouwen writes, “Community is not an organization; community is a way of living.” Because one of my titles @ Mountain Christian is Pastor of Adult Small Groups, I struggle w/ focusing too much on the structures and programs and metrics – the organization instead of the way of living.

One popular way to classify churches that have small groups is to divide them into “churches with small groups” (carrying a faintly negative connotation of small groups are a program among many) -v- “churches of small groups” (everyone should be in a group = you are not fully mature if youre’ not in a group, etc.)  While I appreciate those who passionately champion small groups, I’m also grateful for pastors like Kathy Guy who shift the emphasis from organization (small groups program) to way of living.

I hope I’m always modeling the priority of relationship over organization – and influencing the coaches and group leaders whom I shepherd in that direction, too.

On May 15-17, John Wasem, from Emmanuel School of Religion (alma mater of several on the MCC staff), will lead a Seminar in Christian leadership.  That’s a particularly chaotic time in my schedule already, but I’m looking forward to learning from Dr. Wasem again – he taught the Church Planting seminar @ MCC back in January.  The class is designed for any staff or key volunteers who lead other leaders, but like the January seminar, it will be a good opportunity for me to nudge me back towards “scholarly” frame of mind.

Quite a few of my teammates are pursuing seminary or Bible college degrees, some trying to balance vocational ministry, family, and education, but one has just chosen to go “back to school” full-time.  When a friend blogged about part-time PhD programs in his discipline, it got me thinking about how hard it was for me to try to finish just one distance learning class while juggling everything else.  So until I can finish that all-but-thesis Master’s from long ago, I need to re-sharpen whenever I can.