Inviting participants to 鈥渟everal days of learning that have the potential to transform us,鈥� (SLT) coordinator Linda Alley welcomed about 200 people to this year鈥檚 event Jan. 18-20 at Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg.
And, indeed, over the course of three days, participants engaged in worship, workshops and fellowship with other church leaders, all around the theme of 鈥淥asis.鈥� The Revs. Matt and Elizabeth Myer Boulton offered the keynote addresses.
鈥淲hen we talk about oasis, we鈥檙e talking about both wilderness and refreshment,鈥� said Matt Myer Boulton, president of Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. 鈥淭here is no oasis without the desert.鈥�
That tension and duality framed the goals for the conference, which sought to provide leaders with tools for resilience in their ministries and stamina to make it through聽times “in the wilderness.”
The Myer Boultons used three 鈥渟easons鈥� of the faith journey鈥攍onging, repentance and celebration鈥攖o focus their presentations. They tied the theme into the church seasons of Advent, Lent and Easter as well as to biblical texts, church history and current events, such as the recent tensions in American race relations. Points were often illustrated via video clips produced by the , a not-for-profit organization for which Elizabeth Myer Boulton serves as president and creative director.
After addressing some of the many challenges in ministry and urging the assembled church leaders to be 鈥渞esponsible鈥濃�攍iterally, the ones able and willing to respond鈥攖o the injustices and difficult places of local and global communities, the Myer Boultons also reminded the group to take time for sabbath and to enjoy God鈥檚 presence.
鈥淲e fall into the trap of creating sabbath for others but not our own,鈥� Matt Myer Boulton said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about clearing space so that you can experience the goodness of God. It restores you to your vocation. If you鈥檙e not doing that, then your life is out of balance.
鈥淚f you are not celebrating you have not received the Good News,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a sign of the Gospel.鈥�
黑料正能量 President also emphasized the need for balance in his remarks at the opening worship.
鈥淟eadership is hard, and some challenges simply will not go away,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e lead as if we were in a sprint instead of a marathon. We neglect to nourish ourselves for the long haul.鈥�
He invited the SLT participants to 鈥渄rink at the wells of renewal鈥� during the conference.
The schedule also included a plenary panel titled 鈥淚n Times Like These,鈥� which featured four people sharing openly about places in their lives where they had experienced pain, loss and/or grief and the spiritual practices and other resources that carried them through those times. An optional evening experience called 鈥淧raying in Color鈥� invited participants to experience several artistic and kinetic prayer forms as spiritual practices.
Seminar choices included topics such as 鈥淩esilient Ministry,鈥� 鈥淰ulnerability and Leadership,鈥� 鈥淧raying Beyond Words,鈥� and 鈥淎n Eightfold Path to Christian Spirituality.鈥�
Next year鈥檚 School for Leadership Training will be Jan. 16-18, 2017, in Harrisonburg.
Appreciate the excellence year after year!
I just finished reading “The Next Story, Faith, Friends, Family and the Digital World” by Tim Challies. I would recommend the planning committee review his work as consideration for future School. He does best job of any I’ve read in offering both practical suggestions for living well in this digital age AND doing what I found to be pretty profound theological reflection on impact of digital age. Opening chapters are a bit redundant. He’s a preacher who writes like a preacher :-). But if you aren’t familiar with Challies and want a quick intro I would recommend chapter eight on Truth and Authority comparing a generation raised on Encyclopia assumptions about truth versus Wikipedia assumptions.
– Bob