Director for CCL & LSM:
Dr. James L. Bailey is a graduate of Capital University and Trinity Theological Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, and earned a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. After serving as a pastor in Cincinnati, Ohio (1967-70), he taught at Trinity Seminary (1970-74), Concordia College in Moorhead, MN (1975-85), and Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, IA (1985-2003). Since retirement from full-time teaching, Jim has functioned as Director of the Lay School of Ministry and Center for Congregational Leadership for the Synod.
CCL Steering Committee:
James Bailey
(chair), Becky Bauman, Kim Eighmy (LSM Coordinator), Dick Inglett, Connie Matye, Brian Metke, Catherine Puisto, Gwen Sayler and Jack Way (LEAD liaison).
Introduction:
The Center for Congregational
Leadership (CCL) was established by the Synod Council in the fall of 2003.
Its purpose is to foster an ethos of life-long learning within the
congregations of the synod by providing learning opportunities for both lay and
rostered leaders.
CCL coordinates or offers events that promote sustained learning around topics important to lay and rostered leaders and with relevance for congregational life and mission.
The Lay School of Ministry is the major endeavor of the Center. The Lay School is coordinated by Kim Eighmy and is located at St. James Lutheran Church in Verona, WI. For more information, click on Lay School of Ministry.
CCL Events:
For information about the "Rethinking the Congregation from the Ground Up" CCL Course click here.
Leadership Development Project
A CCL planning group continues to work with five congregations in an 18-month process designed to assist them in developing and supporting lay leaders for their ministry and mission. This process includes plenary learning sessions, on-site visits with other congregations with effective lay involvement, and development of implementation plans for each congregation.
On November 3, the third plenary learning session took place at Trinity Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson. The day included focused sharing by the leadership teams about their second visit to another congregation in the synod (see below) and then participation in a process labeled “Leading into Mission.” This process involved five steps:
1) Engaging in a small group bible study of Matthew 5:1-16, using Eric Law’s
“mutual invitation” method and a closing prayer circle;
2) Participating in a simulation as members of a small rural congregation in southern
Wisconsin in a process of reflection regarding its congregational mission;
3) Completing an exercise in gift-discovery, by using a reflection guide (taken from
Jean Morris Trumbauer’s Created and Called: Discovering Our Gifts for
Abundant Living, AugsburgFortress, 1998) entitled “Reflections on My Gifts.”
4) Participating in a process of narrowing and refining mission options for the
simulated congregation; and
5) Participating in a process of assessing resources and developing an action plan for
implementing the selected mission project.
For each of the five congregational leadership teams, the second on-site visit occurred sometime during late September or October. The hosting congregations were Advent Lutheran Church in west Madison (hosting the Sugar Creek team), Lake Edge Lutheran Church in Madison (hosting the Grace team), Luther Valley Lutheran Church (hosting the East Koshkonong team), St. John’s Lutheran Church in Madison (hosting the Jefferson Prairie team), and Trinity Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson (hosting the Cooksville team). Covenant Lutheran Church in Stoughton, St. Matthew New Life in east Madison, and Trinity Lutheran Church in Pell Lake have also served as hosting congregations.
The last visit will take place early next year, and the final plenary gathering is scheduled for April 5, 2008.
The five congregations currently participating in the Leadership Development Project are Cooksville Lutheran Church, Cooksville (Pastor Margo Martens), East Koshkonong Lutheran Church, Cambridge (Pastor Clint Schnekloth), Grace Lutheran Church, Cambridge (Pastor Rachael Powell), Jefferson Prairie Lutheran Church, Poplar Grove, IL (Pastor Thomas Groth), and Sugar Creek Lutheran Church, Elkhorn (Pastor Gerald Petersen).
Members of the CCL planning group are Jim Bailey, Stephanie Beran, Craig Collins, Doris Cook Schumacher, Bryan Engfer, Tom Loftus, and Ken Smith.
If you are interested in the schedule for this process, click here.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Continuing Education for Rostered Leaders
CCL Survey
Last January, CCL circulated from the Synod office a survey regarding continuing education needs. Thirty-four rostered persons returned the survey that including the following three questions:
1) What areas of education do you see to be of importance for ministry in your own congregation (e.g., conflict resolution, visioning, youth and family ministry, Christian education)?
2) What areas of education would enhance your personal growth as a rostered leader (e.g., spirituality, wellness, leadership)?
3) Knowing that rostered leaders are required to participate in continuing education, which of the following areas of learning are of greatest interest/importance to you or your congregational setting? Bible and Tradition: Biblical and Theological topics; Church: Topics regarding church life and faithful daily living; and Public Theology: Societal and global issues needing theological reflection and engagement by the church.
You might find it interesting to peruse the responses to the three questions (link to survey results).