Become a Better Leader

If you missed my sermon this weekend, I mentioned a leadership course I’ll be leading starting Sundays starting January 14, for 8 weeks, 7:00-8:10 AM. You can read more about it and register here (https://bit.ly/3GHk3xR).

There’s a pretty full description on that site, but I’d like to tell you a bit more, if you’re interested.

Years ago I became acquainted with Mac Lake’s leadership training approach, and I started to apply it to training preachers and Bible teachers in our church. We’ve had five or six preaching cohorts since then.

One of the things that makes Mac Lake’s approach so unique is that it majors on practicing new skills and then debriefing the experience with a mentor or group.

So, for example, in the module on “Facilitating Discussion,” there are up to three assignments (we’ll ask you to pick at least one).

First, as you participate in a meeting led by a leader, note the kinds of questions the leader asked and ask them afterward why they asked those questions.

Second, either pick a passage of Scripture or a service situation your team might have. Write one of each kind of question in the Question Development Dial. (The Question Development Dial is one of the most helpful tools in the book, in my opinion.)

Third, prepare some good questions for a meal with family or friends and practice the five aspects of "asking well." Observe the effect your asking has on the conversation. Evaluate yourself on how you performed in each aspect.

This last question speaks to one of my hopes for this course. I want it to be something that makes us better leaders at home and at work, not just at church.

We will take two weeks on each module—one week to do the content and questions and another week to complete the assignments. After each, we’ll gather to discuss what we learned and learn from each other.

This class is part of our goal of creating a leadership development culture at Five Oaks. It’s not a one-off class; it’s part of several other initiatives that include creating more volunteer roles where leaders lead other leaders, relaunching the yearly Global Leadership Summit at Five Oaks, and enhancing our ongoing training in our ministries.

We’ll continue to offer the Leading Others class in the future, and we’ll launch the Leading Leaders class next year.

Registrations are limited. Hope you can join me this year for eight weeks this winter and eight more weeks next fall.

Photo by Mathias Jensen on Unsplash