Conference. Local Church. Primarily Makes Disciples and identifies leaders. Direct accountability and nurture of clergy and lay leadership

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2 Commissions Leaders for service Leadership Development System Conference Implements Vision Cast Vision Local Church District Primarily Makes Disciples and identifies leaders Direct accountability and nurture of clergy and lay leadership Equips clergy and lay leadership

3 The Paducah District has been facing the same challenges many other Districts are facing in the United Methodist Church. While the culture outside of the church no longer pushes people to belong to a church, many of our churches have become too insular to notice the lack of growth and vitality. Church members have focused on life within their own walls, having their own needs met, slowly eroding the focus from making disciples to caring for the flock only. Clergy have been expected to spend their time caring for the needs of church members and often have little presence in the community. All activities take place within the church, with only those who will come there. Our numbers tell this story well. We have very few adult professions of faith and our growth numbers are transfers from other churches. Most churches welcome new people with similar tastes but are less tolerant of those with ideas for change. The understanding of sharing Jesus with a hurting world has given way to comfort and tradition. In addition, though our local churches are filled with people who are gifted and talented, there is no concept of team ministry, or cooperation within the same geographic area. Many church leaders have held the same position for many years, limiting their own growth and the vitality of the church. Most of our members can not define a disciple or identify qualities that are consistent in every follower of Christ. The question has been how can we change the culture within our local church? How can we develop leadership with a good understanding of what it means to be a disciple, who are willing and able to serve in teams of clergy and laity, and have a vision for reaching their community as the hands and feet of Christ. We attempted to do this through workshops that focused on a variety of topics pertinent to the vitality of the local church. We helped churches understand strategic planning and goal setting. We suggested books and a variety of study resources to help with a deeper understanding of the culture change that was necessary. While these activities were helpful in starting a fire, without a presence to keep the flame burning, the results were short lived. After several years in conversation with Betsey Heavner at the GBOD and our colleagues in the Paris District, a process was developed to help meet a variety of challenges, including strong leadership development to help the local church become outward focused. We choose a year long program that would meet quarterly to discuss four fundamental elements of discipleship, work between sessions in the local church to implement ideas, and connections in small groups to strengthen relationships within the District. We focused the retreat time around worship using a variety of musical styles, liturgies and creative elements to inspire dynamic worship. We choose a variety of resource materials to compliment each retreat s theme and extend learning. In the fall of 2012 the Generative Leadership Academy was born. This short summary has been compiled for our brother and sister Conferences and Districts as an explanation of the Generative Leadership Academy (GLA) and an invitation to encourage you to send a team to explore the value of this in your own context.

4 Meeting God The foundation for disciples Piety The practice of being with God Spiritual Gifts Living into God s Call Mercy God s love in action

5 The Generative Leadership Academy (GLA) launched in 2012 as a dream to partner with the local church in developing leaders who could partner with the pastor to make deep changes. A PowerPoint presentation was made at several clergy meetings prior to charge conferences, to communicate the concepts behind GLA. Each church/charge was given brochures during their charge conference as an invitation to attend. In addition there were personal conversations with each pastor and the District Superintendent so answer questions and concerns. The GLA began with 150 participants from the Paducah and Paris Districts. Team based ministry is a radically different understanding of roles for both clergy and lay. This team effort requires a different kind of leadership from the local pastor. Many pastors have spent years in ministry shepherding their flock and caring for members of the local congregation. The need to have partners in ministry to the community will require some new learning and support during the transition. To support this change, clergy are expected to attend GLA with their lay leadership and participate in projects between sessions. Reconnecting churches within the District is a priority. The culture of competition and scarcity has further insulated the local church, not only from the community and other churches, but from sister UM churches. Small groups are formed within each District with an assortment of membership sized churches present. Sharing resources, ideas and support, creates hope and energy to implement deep change regardless of church size. Though each church has it s own project between sessions, many of the ideas for these projects come from this small group setting. GLA meets four times a year, once in each quarter to study, worship, fellowship and meet in small groups. Honoring the working schedule of lay and part time clergy, registrations begins at 5:00 on Friday and worship concludes at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Meeting at KenLake State Resort has allowed a genuine time apart for clergy and lay, many of the logistics covered by park staff. Kenlake is convenient to both the Paducah and Paris Districts allowing some to choose to commute and others to stay in the lodge. Each of the 24 hour sessions covers a foundational element in being a disciple of Jesus Christ and builds so that by the end of the year each participant will have a good understanding of the journey of a disciple. The sessions are: Meeting God the foundation for disciples Piety the practice of being with God Mercy God s love in action Spiritual Gifts Living into God s call

6 Worship Presentations Bible Study Fellowship Small Groups

7 Worship Worship is the heart of the 24 hour session. The key idea for the retreat is reflected in each worship segment. Video, creeds, music, prayer and liturgy compliment the retreat focus and provide additional avenues for learning. A wide variety of worship elements are used to help participants experience worship that is vital and perhaps very different from their usual style. Exposing participants to new ideas helps to expand their understanding of worship and encourages imagining new possibilities in worship for their own congregation. Presentations During the 24-hour session three different presentations are made. The first is a biblical and theological understanding of the theme for the weekend. A clergy person presents thes the why and what of our beliefs as Christians in the UMC. The second presentation is the how for the faithful local church response. A clergy or lay people offers the application of the theme in a local church setting. The final presentation is the practical personal application of the theme is centered on personal witness, is lead by a lay person. Each weekend uses a variety of leaders with inclusion in mind, to be intentional that all participants are represented in the team. In addition to these presentations, there are opportunities for short testimonies by participants to share how they have encountered God during worship. These God stories, offered by both clergy and lay, are inspirational and often relate to the themes of previous sessions. Small Groups Small group breakout time develops relationships among the participants, helps them make personal and practical application, and is the accountability forum for application. Small groups meet after each presentation to discuss the material covered as well as their own experiences in between sessions with projects and reading assignments. Small groups are helpful to develop local church connections and create some cooperation in shared ministry. Small group leaders are part of the leadership team and facilitate all four of the sessions. Bible Study During each 24-hours one session is devoted to the biblical aspects of the focus for the weekend. This study comes between the first and second presentation and is the connector between the theory and practice for both the local congregation and the leadership. Developing bible study skills creates opportunity for personal study as well as leading to sharing these skills in the local church setting.

8 Local Church Finds and recommends leaders Generative Leadership Academy Equips and sends back to the local church

9 By including both clergy and lay leadership, the 24 hour sessions begin to create partnership in the local church. The shared experiences, combined with assigned projects, readings and study help the local church begin to implement the changes to the church culture that are needed to become the best church for the community. The goal of GLA is to equip clergy and lay leadership to work together as a ministry team so that they return to the local church to begin to change the culture. Both clergy and lay leaders are being challenged to share their experiences with others, to implement the materials that are being covered, and to generate new leaders who have a new understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. As a follow up the one year spent at GLA, the leadership team will develop specific study groups, small groups, and workshops to help participants to develop their spiritual gifts and live into their call as a part of the Body of Christ. These learning communities will continue to be sent to the local church/churches to foster culture changes, to develop outreach ministries, to be the hands and feet of Christ for the transformation of the world. GLA exists to support the local church by equipping the leaders identified by the pastor and local church. The pastor is expected to attend GLA with the first group of lay leaders attending from the local church. When additional leaders attend the pastor can choose to support by participating in the small group work in between sessions, or can attend again as preferred. In the case of an appointment change, the pastor will attend GLA with leaders even if the pastor has previously attended with leaders from another congregation. Fostering team ministry is essential to the vitality of the local church. As GLA is now completing the pilot year, fruit has already been born in the Paducah District. Connection within the District is stronger, there is renewed interest in the mission field, and we anticipate ministry teams striving to offer Jesus to a hurting world.