Leadership 2012 Blog

ThuThursdayDecDecember13th2012 December 2012 - Positively Powerful Leadership

Posted Thursday, December 13 2012 @ 12 PM by Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment

Especially for you…..Federated Church Leaders,

LEADERSHIP 2012: December Idea Infusion!

Positively Powerful Leadership

We offer the following ideas for conversation, connecting, and skill building for positive and effective leadership. You can do the three suggested activities in order below, or choose one or two of the ideas for your next meeting. We hope you enjoy the leadership focus on the theme of:

Positively Powerful Leadership

At your next commission/committee/staff gathering we invite you to…

1) Read:

You might want to start the gathering by reading the following taken from the book “Appreciative Leadership” by Diana Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom, (pg. 17):

Positively Powerful Leadership is a two-sided coin. On one side, it is about being powerful: bringing your best forward, giving voice to what matters to you, and engaging with others in creating a world that works for all. On the other, it is about helping others to be powerful: knowing their strengths, having confidence and opportunities to share their ideas, and seeking out support, learning, and collaboration to contribute their best.

Then ask the group:

As a commission/committee/staff team, what are we doing that helps to bring about positively powerful leaders and members at Federated? What do we do that helps others to bring forth their very best in service to each other, the church and the larger world?

Spend a few minutes discussing this. You may ask each person to share his/her ideas about this question with the person sitting next to him/her first, and then share with the whole group.

2) Read this scripture and discuss how this passage touches you as a leader of Federated Church:

John 13:3-5
3. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4. So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

John 13:12-15
12. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Prayer:

Dear God, We pray today that our church be a community of grace and forgiveness. Help us build your church with an atmosphere of encouragement as we are grateful for Christ’s work among us, and help us enable the whole congregation to be inspired to give genuine, extraordinary hospitality to all who come though our doors. You have called all of us into Your service and we are thankful to be called into Your ministry. Help us to bring a sense of positively powerful leadership to our roles here so that we can all do Your work in the world with Your abundant love and grace given for all.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

3) Leadership Skill: Positively Powerful Leadership

Read: The Potential of Living into Positively Powerful Leadership

Appreciative Leaders sense potential and can turn it into positive power. They have a way of being – a set of strategies and practices – that makes things happen and gets results. They know that each person has the capacity to contribute in meaningful ways and they see it as their job to draw it out and nurture this potential to contribute to the success of the whole.

Through their words, actions and relationships, appreciative leaders start waves of positive change rippling outward. Positive ripples keep magnifying and multiplying through relationships of meaningful and often surprising ways and directions.

Do: What can positively powerful leadership look like at Federated Church? Here are a few starters; Think of at least 4 other things that convey positively powerful leadership (PPL) at Federated:

1. PPL draws on what is most positive about a situation, making the best of that situation.

2. PPL uses positive reinforcement and positive words to help make good things happen.

3. PPL guides us to being a force for the greater good; using our leadership role and authority for the good of all.

4. PPL is being able to create positive change.

Add 4 more characteristics of PPL at Federated Church:

5. .

6. .

7. .

Now, go out this week/month and be a Positively Powerful Leader at Federated. Bring forth your very best and help others to bring forth their best … go in peace, serve the Lord.

Why we are sending this message to you…..

The Federated Church, with a new governance structure, is carrying out the work of the church for a new day in new ways!

As one way to foster an energized and inspired church leadership team for 2012, the Nominating/Leadership Committee sends you food for a hungry soul (instead of food for thought) and helpful tidbits to help us as we do our work of the Church with an emphasis to…

Collaborate

Connect

Exchange ideas

Lead with heart and

Lift up our growing Ministry Teams…

in the name of Christ, our leader and teacher.

Finally….

For next month, we would love to hear from you….

Please send us your ideas for connecting with each other, connecting with your ministry teams and for being leaders who lead from the heart with a focus on building the relational capacity throughout the church.

We can share the wealth of innovation and inspiration that you have with everyone:

What do you do at the beginning of your commission/committee/staff gatherings to build relationship and appreciation for each other?
What is working within your commission/committee/staff that builds a sense of purpose and direction?
What resources or ideas have been useful in helping your commission/committee/staff build community?
What is most inspiring about working with your commission/committee/staff group?
What have you done as group to support your ministry teams that has been successful and what would you like to do more of?

We look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings and Peace to you during the Holy season of Christ’s Birth,

The Leadership and Nominating Committee

Dawn Dole (coopdole@gmail.com)

Dana Kachurchak (dkachurchak@presdyn.com)

Maren Koepf (marenkoepf@gmail.com)

ThuThursdayJulJuly26th2012 July/August 2012 - Lifting Into Light

Posted Thursday, July 26 2012 @ 12 PM by Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment

Dear Federated Church Leaders,
We invite you to see below for ideas that can foster energy & a sense of connection for your commission gatherings and ministry teams…

LEADERSHIP 2012: July/August Idea Infusion!
The Federated Church, with a new governance model, is carrying out the work of the church for a new day
in new ways!
As one way to foster an energized and inspired church leadership team, the Nominating/Leadership Committee will be sending you food for a hungry soul (instead of food for thought) and helpful tidbits to shift the way we do our work with an emphasis to…

Collaborate
Connect
Exchange ideas
Lead with heart and
Lift up our growing Ministry Teams…

in the name of Christ, our leader and teacher.

This month we offer the following ideas for conversation, connecting, and skill building for relational
leadership. We hope you enjoy these ideas around the theme of:

Lifting into Light

Building Appreciation for each other:
You might want to start your gathering by asking each member to respond to any one of the following:
1. In what way has prayer for others been a meaningful practice in your life?
2. Share a meaningful experience when others have prayed on your behalf.
3. How might prayer affect the quality of a church experience?

Opening Prayer: Gracious and Patient God, You surround each one of us in wisdom and love. Speak to us
and through us as we seek to do your work in this church, in this community, and in the wider world. Call
again to each one of us, inviting us to carry your love and your healing into all that we do. Amen.

Connecting with Ministry Teams:
Your commission might choose to establish prayer partners among your members and beyond. Assign or select one person from the commission for whom you will commit to pray weekly.

Along the same lines, you might also divide the specific list of Ministry Teams associated with your
commission to hold up in prayer for fostering faith, ministering to needs and growth, and representing
extravagant welcome.

Living Into the New Governance Model:
Shift happens. One goal of creating the new governance model is to cause a conscious shift in the way we do business at The Federated Church:
…from drudging through church work toward doing God’s work through the church
…from being bored at a board meeting toward being called to meaningful action
…from passively attending meetings to collaboratively telling the story of The Federated Church in Chagrin Falls and in the world!

As lay leaders within our new model, consider how your gatherings contribute to this conscious shift.

Leadership Skill: Fostering energy
The energy at your meetings can attract participation and ignite a sense of call or it can send members mentally (or physically) running in the opposite direction, hoping to miss the next session. No matter what the content or task, energy matters. Reflect on the level and kind of energy of your commission or committee gatherings and consider ways to re-energize:
◆ Keep God in the center of your purpose for gathering. Find ways to view the work through a lens of representing God’s hands, feet, and voice. Perhaps even set a chair or table space for God at your meetings. Open and close all sessions with prayer.
◆ Collaboratively establish the length of each meeting, and strictly stick to the selected starting and ending times. “The mind can only absorb as much as the seat can endure.”
◆ Follow a clear agenda; avoid traveling too far off the path. Agree in advance to a verbal or physical signal to help return to the question or agenda at hand.
◆ Bring food. You might develop a rotation of contributors. (Nothing says “join us” like chocolate!)
◆ Reserve 10-15 minutes (no more!) of time to share responses to a question or prompt sent out in advance of the meeting. Making time in our bustling lives to hear from one anther deepens our connection and feeds our compassion.

Idea Exchange:
Please send us your ideas for ways of connecting with each other, connecting with your ministry teams and for being lay leaders who lead from the heart. Our Leadership and Nominating Committee, in turn, can share the wealth of innovation and inspiration that you have with everyone:

• What do you do at the beginning of your commission/committee gatherings to build relationship and appreciation for each other?
• What is working within your commission that builds a sense of purpose and direction?
• What resources or ideas have been useful in helping your commission build community?
• What is most inspiring about working with your commission or committee?
• What have you done as group to support your ministry teams that has been successful and what would you like to do more of?

We look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings and Peace,

The Leadership and Nominating Committee
Dawn Dole ( )
Dana Kachurchak ( )
Maren Koepf ( )

ThuThursdayMayMay31st2012 May/June 2012 - Extraordinary Leadership

Posted Thursday, May 31 2012 @ 11 AM by Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment

Dear Federated Church Leaders,

We invite you to see below for ideas that can foster energy & a sense of connection for your commission gatherings and ministry teams…

LEADERSHIP 2012: Idea Infusion!

The Federated Church, with a new governance model, is carrying out the work of the church for a new day in new ways!

As one way to foster an energized and inspired church leadership team, the Nominating/Leadership Committee will be sending you food for a hungry soul (instead of food for thought) and helpful tidbits to shift the way we do our work with an emphasis to…

Collaborate
Connect
Exchange ideas
Lead with heart and
Lift up our growing Ministry Teams…

in the name of Christ, our leader and teacher.

This month, May/June, we offer the following ideas for conversation, connecting, and skill building for relational leadership. We hope you enjoy these ideas around the theme of:

Extraordinary Leadership

At your next commission gathering:
You might want to start the gathering with the following questions:
1. Share with the person sitting next to you (and then the whole group) a story about something you experienced since our last meeting that helped you see the power of the Holy Spirit working through you as a Leader and through other Leaders.
2. What was it about the experience that touched you deep in your soul?
3. How did you know that the experience made a difference in someone’s life?

Connecting with your Ministry Teams:
1. Have you thought about possibly holding your commission or committee gathering each month in a different place of the church?
2. Choose places and spaces where your ministry teams meet, work, play, learn, pray and minister: board room, small music room, the different Sunday school rooms, lounge, fellowship hall, and the various rooms at the FLC.
3. In each location notice and feel the Spirit within that space –
a. What are you feeling called to focus on while in that space?
b. What are your prayers for those who normally use that space for learning/worship/play/gathering?
c. Think about and share with others how this space helps you to connect relationally, to understand, and to minister to those who normally use this space?

Leadership Skill: Being an Extraordinary Church Leader

Think about and share your thoughts about how you and your commission are extraordinary leaders of Federated Church:

 Extraordinary church leaders see their church as a collection of individual hopes and dreams, all connected to a higher purpose. They inspire others to dedicate themselves to the service and ministry of all and therefore to the church–and community –at large.

 Extraordinary church leaders help set a general direction and then commit themselves to obtaining the resources that their ministry teams need to do their work. They support ministry teams in a way that encourages and allows everyone to participate fully.

 Extraordinary church leaders inspire people to see a better future and how they can each be a part of it. As a result, church members work harder because they believe in the church’s mission and goals, truly enjoy what they're doing and know that they are doing the work of the church by being the hands of God on Earth.

For next month:
Please send us your ideas for connecting with each other, connecting with your ministry teams and for being lay leaders who lead from the heart. We can share the wealth of innovation and inspiration that you have with everyone:
• What do you do at the beginning of your commission/committee gatherings to build relationship and appreciation for each other?
• What is working within your commission that builds a sense of purpose and direction?
• What resources or ideas have been useful in helping your commission build community?
• What is most inspiring about working with your commission or committee?
• What have you done as group to support your ministry teams that has been successful and what would you like to do more of?

We look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings and Peace,

The Leadership and Nominating Committee

Dawn Dole ( )
Dana Kachurchak ( )
Maren Koepf ( )

MonMondayAprApril30th2012 April 2012 - Appreciative Leadership

Posted Monday, April 30 2012 @ 9 AM by Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment

Dear Lay Leaders,

Want ideas for adding energy & a sense of connection to your commission gatherings and ministry teams? See below...

LEADERSHIP 2012: Idea Infusion!

The Federated Church, with a new governance model, is carrying out the work of the church for a new day in new ways!

As one way to foster an energized and inspired lay leadership, the Nominating/Leadership Committee will be sending you food for a hungry soul (instead of food for thought) and helpful tidbits to shift the way we do our work with an emphasis to…

Collaborate
Connect
Exchange ideas
Lead with heart and
Lift up our growing Ministry Teams…

in the name of Christ, our leader and teacher.

This month, April, we offer the following ideas for conversation, connecting, and skill building for relational leadership. We hope you enjoy these ideas…..

At your next commission gathering:
You might want to start the gathering with the following questions:
1. Share with the person sitting next to you (and then the whole group) a story about something you experienced since our last meeting that helped you see God working through one of your ministry teams.
2. What was it about the experience that touched your heart?
3. How did you hear the voices of the participants and how were they affected by the work/activities of that ministry team?

Connecting with your Ministry Teams:
1. Think about three things you can do between now and your next gathering to personally connect with several of your ministry teams.
a. You might visit with the group when they meet/gather.
b. You might make phone calls to the leaders of those ministry teams.
c. What else can you do?

Leadership Skill: Be an Appreciative Leader in your role as a member of Federated’s lay leadership team. Think about and share how you do the following:

5 Things We Can Do As Appreciative Leaders at Federated Church

1. Inquire – Ask positively powerful questions – Inquiry lets people know that you value them and their contributions. When you ask people to share their thoughts and feelings, their stories of success, or ideas for the future – and you sincerely listen to what they have to say, you are telling them, “I value you and your thinking/actions.”

2. Be Inclusive – Engage with people to co-create the future – Inclusion gives people a sense of belonging. When you practice inclusion, you open the door for collaboration and co-creation. This creates an environment in which people feel they are a part of something. When they feel they are a part of something, they care for it. When people are heard, they become part of something bigger.

3. Create Inspiration – Awaken the creative spirit – Inspiration provides people with a sense of direction. By forging a vision and path forward, you give people hope and unleash energy. These are foundations for innovation and sustainable high performance.

4. Foster Integrity – Make choices for the good of the whole – Integrity lets people know that they are expected to give their best for the greater good, and that they can trust others to do the same. When you lead with integrity, people know they can depend on you to connect them to the whole. Your example sets the standard for others to follow and then lead.

5. Illuminate – Bring out the best of people and situations – Illumination helps people understand how they can best contribute. Through practices of illumination you can help people learn about their strengths and the strengths of others. You give them confidence and encouragement to express themselves, take risks, and support others in working from their strengths.

(Taken from the book Appreciative Leaders, (2010) by Whitney, Trosten-Bloom and Radner)

For next month, we will send out an email to all the lay leaders again. Please send us your ideas for connecting with each other, connecting with your ministry teams and for being lay leaders who lead from the heart. We can share the wealth of innovation and inspiration that you have with everyone:
*In what ways do you start your meetings?
* What is working within your commission?
*What resources or ideas have been helpful?
*What is most inspiring about working with your commission or committee?

We look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings and Peace,

The Leadership and Nominating Committee

Dawn Dole ( )
Dana Kachurchak ( )
Maren Koepf ( )

The Federated Church

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Leadership 2012 Blog