March 6, 2013

March Editor's Letter: Cultivating Leaders

The Pope’s resignation, followed by the conclave of Roman Catholic cardinals at the Vatican, has the world focused on leadership. When asked about the type of leader the Roman Catholic Church should chose, the best answer I’ve heard is “Jesus Christ with an MBA.” 

How do we define leadership at ECF Vital Practices? Just as our understanding of church needs to change with changing times and circumstances, so do our models of leadership. Faithful commitment in service to our congregations can become tested without a strong sense of purpose. For communities of faith, this transformational style of leadership starts with asking why and what does any of this have to do with Jesus? And how is all this effort helping us to grow as followers of Christ?

In our March and April Vestry Papers, we share stories illustrating transformational leadership. Across our church, in congregations, organizations, and dioceses, leaders are putting transformational leadership principles into practice and encouraging people to step out of their comfort zone and open themselves up to different ways of understanding their faith and what God is calling them to do.

Our articles this month touch on:

Transformational Leadership: In “Getting to the Why,” Miguel Angel Escobar shares stories from his own ministry as a way of introducing a leadership model built around a shared sense of purpose and group leadership development.


Connecting with Community: What happens when your church is no longer relevant to its neighborhood? In “Reclaiming Relevance,” Lori Mills-Curran shares what can happen when a small group commits itself to a ‘boot camp’ leadership experience.


Young Adults: While many congregations say they want to attract young adults, sometimes they are uncertain about what they have to offer. Mary Cat Young’s “Valuing Young Adults” offers congregations a different approach.


Moving from Maintenance to Mission: As church planters, Mike Michie and Clay Lein understand the connection between committed, empowered leaders and the success of a new church. Behind this success is the belief that congregations continue to grow because they are communities of transformation. In “Transformational Churches,” Mike and Clay share the three tenets they follow in their congregations.

Following each article is a list of resources offering additional information and/or practical tools. Interested in what else might be on the ECF Vital Practices’ website? Use the Topics index on each page of the site to find other resources related to leadership including past Vestry Papers articles, blog posts, and the many resources found in our Your Turn and Tools sections.

For those reading this who came from our Facebook page or went directly to our website, I invite you to consider subscribing to ECF Vital Practices and Vestry Papers. Click on Register tab, then fill in the form to have Vestry Papers and ECF Vital Practices content delivered twice a month to your email inbox.

PS: To make it easier for congregational leaders to find the resources offered through ECF Vital Practices, please consider adding a link to ECF Vital Practices to your website. Here’s how: Using your websites ‘add a link’ tool, insert our full URL – http://www.ecfvp.org/.