Do you know what you wish to be when you grow up?
25 years ago, my brother-in-law asked me about my career goals. My answer was simple: I just wanted to pastor a church, to create relevant ministry that blessed a community. He was not impressed. He decided that I was a person of low aspiration. In fact I was just trying to enjoy each season of life that presented itself and to savor it as if it would last forever!
In the last 25 years, I have worked as a pastor of evangelism in a fast-growing church, then as an executive pastor. I
designed and planted two new campuses in one of the early multisite
churches, worked five years for a bishop, launched a ministry of
consulting and coaching (while still appointed to a local church), left a
judicatory job to do experimental ministry with young adults in a
strange city, and wrote several books reflecting on all this. I
have worked as a trainer and/or coach with hundreds of church planters
across the USA, worked as adjunct staff for a national denominational
agency, signed on to teach a seminary class - and today I run two
ministry enterprises which impact hundreds of churches each year.
Par for the 21st century.
I did not script any of this. I just lived creatively and
thoughtfully into each moment, took some risks based on my call and my
values (never based on career ladder or money), and God has blessed the
work. My dad was mystified by a couple of my professional
moves - and those two moves were perhaps the most helpful of all! A wise
colleague had grave misgivings about my moving into full-time coaching
as the Great Recession started. It turned out to be totally the right moment. I may have good
intuition about such things personally. Or I might just be good at
hanging on to the coattails of the Spirit as she moves.
Earlier this year I read the book by Pam Slim entitled Body of Work. I discovered that she was spelling out into prose what I have been doing the last three decades - she did me the favor of writing my playbook for me!
People occasionally
see what I do for a living- serving as a coach for many of the gutsiest
ministry pioneers in the country, and creating resources for helping
leaders meet the challenges of this age - and they want to know how they
can do something similar when they grow up.Indeed many of our best pastors and lay leaders will want to change keys and re-imagine
their ministry in the middle years of their lives - perhaps to begin
doing something like what I do - or something else that flows naturally
from the narrative of their life.
So, in the fall of 2014, I am offering a professional development experience called RE-IMAGINING YOUR LIFE'S WORK. Because
God's call extends to every human being, this is not simply a course
for pastors - but for any who are seeking to discover where their
journey needs to head, perhaps far beyond their current job or title. If
you are more than a dozen years out of school, and moving into a season
of reflection about what next in life, I would invite you to come along
with a small group of peers on a nine-week exploration.
TO SEE A QUICK VIDEO ABOUT THE BOOK: click here.
CEU's: Epicenter Group will give each participant a certificate for 1.3 Continuing Education Units.
DATES AND TIMES: 10:30-noon each session
Wed, Aug 27
Wed, Sept 3
Tue, Sept 9
Thu, Sept 18
Thu, Sept 25 (possibly will shift to Friday, Sept 26)
Tue, Oct 7
Thu, Oct 16
Thu, Oct 23
Wed, Oct 29
COST:
$600 per participant.
To
be in a cohort with half a dozen other folks seeking to move on the
cutting edge of God's will for them and creative purpose in the world -
it should be a deeply energizing experience - and there is no telling
WHAT will come of it for each of us!
Only God knows.
For more information, or to register, contact epicentergroup.dc@gmail.com
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