Shepherding the Seriously Ill: 3 Workshop Takeaways

Shepherding the Seriously Ill: 3 Workshop Takeaways

By Bethany Slack, MPH, MPT, and Evangeline Kennedy

Serious illness brings up serious questions—for both patients and their families. Individuals facing the end of their life often call on Christian leaders for support in their time of grief and questioning. With the right training, pastors and other caregivers can play a crucial role in helping medical staff and family decision-makers honor the ill person's wishes in a manner consistent with his or her beliefs and values.

In April, Emmanuel Gospel Center, in conjunction with Greater Boston Baptist Association and Blue Cross Blue Shield, facilitated the workshop Pastor, Will You Pray For Me? Shepherding Those with Serious Illness. Bethel AME Church hosted the morning workshop, which featured local pastors and clinicians as speakers. The gathering gave pastoral caregivers:

• an orientation to the world of end-of-life care

• a tool for open communication between pastoral caregivers and seriously ill congregants

• an opportunity to network with diverse pastoral caregivers shepherding the seriously ill in their faith communities.

Pastoral caregivers from 15 local churches and organizations from Greater Boston gathered to discuss helpful approaches and tools for shepherding individuals with serious illness.

TAKEAWAYS

We asked participants what elements and discussion points of the workshop were most valuable to them.

1. Talking About Serious Illness Presents Emotional Challenges

Caregivers, patients, and their family members experience mental and emotional obstacles to serious illness conversation.

Workshop participants spoke of their sadness, emotional ties to patients, and their desire to engage more confidently and proficiently in conversations around serious illness.

These caregivers also noted that the patients and families were often reluctant or completely unwilling to deal openly and realistically with the situation. One participant said "Some people don't want [to] talk about these issues/answer these kinds of questions. Sometimes they don't know how to think about [it]." Disagreement between a patient and their spouse adds another layer of emotional challenge to such conversations.

Another noted the challenge of talking openly about serious illness amidst "fierce reliance on a miraculous healing."

However, participants mentioned the Conversation Guide (described below) as a helpful tool for approaching these anticipated barriers.

2. The Conversation Guide Helps

The "Serious Illness Conversation Guide" for caregivers was the most important takeaway for many participants. The Guide offers a list of specific questions as a tool for initiating and navigating serious illness conversations.

The caregivers valued the Guide content as well as the opportunity to practice using it through role play. One participant responded, "I need to ask some people some of these questions now!"

Some also appreciated the specific directives for using the Conversation Guide, including that:

• repeating the same questions is effective

• having the Guide in hand during conversations is perfectly acceptable

“Every situation is different and should be approached prayerfully.”

— participant

Panel discussion: (left to right) Dr. Michael Balboni (speaking), Dr. Janet Abrahms, Dr. Gloria White-Hammond, and Dr. Alexandra Cist.

3. Medical Decisions are Spiritual

Participants valued learning about clinicians' and pastors' complementary roles in helping Christians navigate decision-making consistent with their spiritual beliefs. One person summed up his/her thoughts with a quote from Dr. Michael Balboni, "Medical decisions are spiritual decisions."

The degree of overlap between the medical and spiritual spheres in serious illness decision-making surprised many participants. One caregiver was struck by the number of Guide questions he perceived as “clinical”. Another appreciated hearing the perspectives of the four-person panel, which included individuals working as physicians, pastors, or both.

“Medical decisions are spiritual decisions.”

— Dr. Michael Balboni

Another participant summed up the event as, "Every situation is different and should be approached prayerfully."

TAKE ACTION

If you're a pastoral caregiver interested in learning more about shepherding those with serious illness, consider joining us for our next workshop!

Connect

Connect

Learn More

Some Thoughts on Ministering to the Sick and Dying - The Gospel Coalition

"Where's God?" Counsel for the Sick and Dying - Biblical Counseling Coalition

Pastoral Visitation Resources - Head Heart Hand

Bethany is EGC's Public Health & Wellness research associate. Her passion is to see Jesus’ love translated into improved health and health justice for all, across the lifespan and across the globe.

Evangeline Kennedy was a Summer 2018 Applied Research and Consulting intern at EGC. She studies Public Health and Spanish at Simmons University. Her heart for the city continues to grow as she sees the vitality and vibrancy present in Boston and the work God is doing in churches and among Christian leaders.

Boston Racism: Pathways for Spirit-Led Action

Boston Racism: Pathways for Spirit-Led Action

By Megan Lietz, Director of EGC’s ReWe Initiative

Megan Lietz, MDiv, STM, directs Racism Education for White Evangelicals (ReWe), a program of EGC’s Race & Christian Community Initiative. The intended audience of ReWe ministry and writing is White Evangelicals (find out why).

Black people in Boston are treated differently than White people to this day. The Boston Globe’s compelling December 2017 Spotlight on Boston racism examines how.

Church, Jesus calls us to a love that heals, restores, and sets free. To express Jesus' love in these times, we must take the time to understand the problem of racism in Boston. It negatively shapes the daily experiences and life paths of people of color, who make up more than half of the Boston community. But no one is exempt from its influence. Racism impacts people of all races—in heart, mind, spirit, and body.

If you haven't done so already, I urge you to prayerfully read the Boston Globe’s spotlight on racism, linked below. Following that, I also offer some pathways forward—questions for reflection and suggestions for Spirit-led action. May we engage what it means for us to bear Christ’s presence in our communities today. 

The GLOBE Spotlight on BOSTON RACISM

OVERVIEW

11 Takeaways

A quick overview of the Boston Globe's Spotlight Series on Race in Boston

 

Full Series

Boston. Racism. Image. Reality: The Spotlight Team takes on our hardest question

Though Boston is commonly perceived as a progressive city, many Black people feel unwelcome here.

A brand new Boston, even whiter than the old 

If people of color are not given genuine influence in city planning and development, existing channels of power will favor the status quo.

Color line persists, in sickness as in health

Black and White people are three and four times more likely to attend certain hospitals than others, thus shaping their access to medical care.

Lost on campus, as colleges look abroad

Highly-recruited international students are coming to Boston at the expense of serving the African-American community in our own backyard.

The bigot in the stands, and other stories

Our celebrated sports teams have revealed and contributed to the racist reputation we’d like to shake.

For blacks in Boston, a power outage

Though Boston is a “minority-majority” city, the power holders in politics, business, and law are overwhelmingly White.

A better Boston? The choice is ours

Seven suggestions for addressing racism in our city.

Responses ACROSS THE CITY

Don’t stop at reading the articles themselves—learn from readers' responses:

Boston Globe Race Series Not News To City’s Blacks, Shocks White Readers

An Editorial from the YW

Readers Offer Solutions After Globe’s Series on Race in Boston

Series about Race in City Sparking Dialogues

Pathways Forward

Prayerfully consider how you can contribute to God’s restorative work, and inspire others to do the same. Together, let’s nurture racial healing and justice in our city.

If Boston’s racism is news to you

• Let it sink in. Create space and take time just to mourn the loss of what you thought Boston was. Explore your thoughts, feelings, and questions with God in prayer.

• Consider sharing what you're learning with a trusted friend. Be mindful that this conversation can be emotionally taxing to friends of color.

• Explore further with me and other White Evangelicals in a race learning community.

• Throughout, listen for God’s invitations. What might God be asking you to learn more about? Who is God calling you to connect with or come alongside? How are you called to be further equipped?

If you’re aware of Boston’s racism, but not taking action

“Here in Boston, a city known as a liberal bastion, we have deluded ourselves into believing we’ve made more progress than we have. Racism is certainly not as loud and violent as it once was, and the city overall is a more tolerant place. But inequities of wealth and power persist, and racist attitudes remain powerful, even if in more subtle forms...Boston’s complacency with the status quo hobbles the city’s future.”

— Boston. Racism. Image. Reality: The Spotlight Team takes on our hardest question (Boston Globe Spotlight on Racism, December 2017)

• Connect with others already taking action. Many Christian leaders have been working to further racial justice in Boston for years, decades, generations. One starting point is to spend time learning about their work and ask how you might support them. 

• Beware that sometimes inaction can stem from comfort, callousness, or complicity with a racist status quo. Prayerfully consider if your current inaction is accompanied by a willingness to rationalize, minimize, accept, and ultimately contribute to the problem.

• Ask the Lord to increase your capacity for action. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you specific steps you can take in your family, church, community, or workplace to engage in racial healing and restoration.

• Reach out to me for recommendations, for people to connect with, resources to explore, or a race learning community to join.

If you’re actively addressing Boston racism

• Consider how God might be inviting you to refreshment or renewal in your work towards racial justice.

• Reflect: What assets (skills, resources, relationships) are available to you for continuing Christ’s restorative work? What further assets could be available through prayer? Collaboration?

• Join the Racism in Boston Facebook Group and share your ideas for how other parts of the Body could come alongside what God is already doing in racial healing in Boston. 

Take Action

• Join a ReWe race learning community for White Evangelicals

• Discuss your ministry’s needs in addressing racism and how ReWe can support you

• Volunteer with the ReWe project

Connect

Connect with Megan Lietz

Stopping Racism Starts Here: 5-Minute Entry Points

Stopping Racism Starts Here

Five-Minute Entry Points

by Megan Lietz, EGC Race & Christian Community Initiative

Busy? We get that. Troubled by racism? Good. Here are five resources you can explore in under five minutes about racism in America today.

The current face of racism

Some forms of racism—the legalized segregation in Jim Crow laws, for example—are thankfully behind us. But other forms of systemic racism—such as the mass incarceration of Black men—still create inequitable experiences for people of color to this day.

The Racism is Real video by Brave New Films explores some everyday ways racism creates different experiences for White and Black people today.

Racism is Real

April 29, 2015

 

How RacisT History Impacts Today

Do you live in a pretty homogeneous neighborhood? Most people in the US do. While we may like to think that where we call home is shaped by our personal preferences or “just the way things are," the racially segregated neighborhoods we live in today are the product of our history.

Play around on PBS’ Race: The Power of Illusion website to learn how housing policies in the 20th century have had a profound impact on today’s neighborhoods and the resources that are available to them.

Race: The Power of Illusion

Implicit Bias

No one likes to think they’re biased. The six brief Who, Me? Biased? videos from the New York Times explore how we have all been unconsciously shaped to have biases. When we recognize this, we can see that even good, well-intentioned people can contribute to inequality. We’re all part of the problem.

The good news is that, with education and exposure, we can all take steps to be less biased. We can take intentional action towards equality.

Who, Me? Biased?

 

Color-Blind

One thing that I often hear among White people is that they are “color-blind.” This is intended  as a positive comment, implying that they don’t treat people differently based on the color of their skin. While well-intentioned, this lens can be counterproductive. This article by Jon Greenberg explains why.

Greenberg, Jon. “7 Reasons Why ‘Colorblindness’ Contributes to Racism Instead of Solves It.” Everyday Feminism. N.p., 20 July 2016.

Microaggressions

Microaggressions are day-to-day things we may say or do that can hurt people of color, sometimes without our intending or realizing it. Check out this Buzzfeed photo journal for some examples of microaggressions.

21 Racial Microaggressions You Hear On a Daily Basis

To explore a broader list of microaggressions, what they can subtly communicate, and why they are problematic, check out this chart:

Microaggressions

What do you think is the next step in dismantling racism?

Tell us here

What do you think is the next step to eradicating racism?

Staying Afloat in Multi-Site Ministry: 4 Key Commitments for Long-Term Health

Staying Afloat in Multi-Site Ministry

4 Key Commitments for Long-Term Health

By the EGC Applied Research & Consulting Team and Vision New England

Multi-site church leadership is risky. Enough funding, attendance, and facilities for a site launch provide a great start. But for a new worship location and community to survive and thrive long-term, more is needed. 

The multi-site church movement—wherein a single team manages the operations and shepherding of multiple co-branded churches—hit a major stride in the US just 25 years ago. So multi-sites are not yet old enough to assess their long-term impact on American Christianity. But lead teams are swimming in deep enough waters to have learned some key factors crucial to sustainability.

On November 20, Vision New England brought together 38 current and aspiring multi-site leaders from across New England for a Multi-Site Consultation at LifeSong Church in Sutton, MA. The full-day event provided a space for peers to share insights, successes and failures, and a few dirty little secrets of the multi-site experience.

Based on small group report-backs and participant surveys, Vision New England and EGC’s Applied Research & Consulting team discovered four key insights multi-site leaders repeatedly shared. We believe their insights clarify—both for leaders exploring the multi-site option and for current multi-site staff facing vexing challenges to sustainability—the need for four life-preserving team commitments.

1. Connect with Other Multi-Site Teams

Opportunities are rare to talk openly and honestly about the unique challenges of multi-site ministry. But regular connection to peers in the multi-site experience is make-or-break crucial for team health and practical insights.

Actionable ministry team learning and development happens best with others in the multi-site boat. Other church structures—church plants, missional communities, denominational leadership—are not comparable. The multi-site situation involves logistical challenges not relevant to other leadership experiences.

““What is needed is this—to share both success and shortcomings.””

— participant

Furthermore, spending time with multi-site peers means the conversation won’t shrink away from addressing real-world hazards or the ugly side of multi-site. “Hearing from others and their success and failures” added value in the table discussions.

According to a 2014 Generis report surveying 535 multi-site leaders from around the world, multi-sites also grow faster than single churches or church plants. To stay ahead of the whirlwind, multi-site leaders acknowledge the wisdom of ongoing relationships with others who are currently leading a multi-site or exploring it as an option.

Get Connected with Other Local Multi-Site Leaders

Get Connected with Other Local Multi-Site Leaders

2. Clarify Your Multi-Site Approach & Leadership Structure

Org charts aren’t sexy, and little to no attention is devoted to organizational strategy in seminary training. But a prayerfully and carefully constructed chain of team responsibility and support can mean the difference between a failed experiment and a thriving multi-site community.

“Getting a grasp on different models of multi-site ministry was tremendous," reflected one participant.  Lack of clarity on multi-site approach and leadership structure was the most commonly cited ministry challenge by both current and in-process leaders.

View fullsize

Adapted from Pastor Rex Keener's plenary presentation at the Multi-Site Consultation, November 20, 2017, in Sutton, MA. Click to enlarge.

In plenary session, Pastor Rex Keener clarified that multi-site is not a single organizational approach, but three: franchise, localized, or church-plant style (with multi-site governance). For leaders to thrive, they need to be clear about which multi-site approach they’ve chosen. Asking and agreeing upfront, “What are we going to standardize?” avoids unnecessary community stress.

In Pastor Rex’s experience, asking leaders to adjust, for example, from a more controlled role towards more autonomy is usually not difficult. But asking leaders to adjust mid-stream from more autonomy to less can be painful and demoralizing.

“A prayerfully and carefully constructed chain of team responsibility and support can mean the difference between a failed experiment and a thriving multi-site community.”

In addition, different multi-site approaches require different gifts and skills. Intentionally choosing your church’s approach from the start allows your team to avoid squandering your leaders’ gifts in the wrong role.

For example, sustainable franchise leaders tend to excel in interpersonal skills for partner-, leader-, and community building, whereas effective church plant pastors require strong communication gifts for regular preaching.

But more than any other topic, leaders cited the leadership org chart conversation as the most helpful and impactful part of the day. There Pastor Rex shared multiple, legitimate options for chains of authority and leader support.

View fullsize

Adapted from Pastor Rex Keener's plenary presentation at the Multi-Site Consultation, Nov 20, 2017, in Sutton, MA. Click to enlarge.

For example, in some multi-sites the senior leader directly supervises the campus pastors as well as other key leaders. In other multi-sites, the senior leader supervises another pastor who oversees and supports the campus pastors. Pastor Rex recommended the latter structure especially for churches with more than two sites, because it tends to be more readily scalable—adding a fourth or fifth site will not require a lead team restructure.

3. Go Deeper on Timeline, Location & Real Cost

Participants agreed that not enough conversation has been happening around the logistical challenges of multi-sites.  According to one participant, “The conversation around the way to think through location, timeline, and budgeting were helpful in that they didn’t offer what to think but how to think.”

The financial realities of multi-sites were of particular interest. The most impactful topic of the day was, as one leader put it, “the budget stuff—NO ONE has written a book about that yet!” Published estimates for the first-year cost of launching a multi-site vary wildly. Participants in the room shared estimates ranging from $250,000 to $1 million. In the Generis survey of 535 multi-site churches, first-year estimates ranged from $46,000 to $1.4 million.  

“Not enough conversation has been happening around the logistical challenges of multi-sites.”

The budget discussion raised a number of factors responsible for the wide range of estimates, including: the number of staff; the combined attendance at all sites; whether the site is buying, leasing, or renting property; and the leadership structure.

The leaders broadly appreciated the time devoted to this level of logistical detail, and expressed a desire for more opportunities for such practical deep dives.

4. Prepare to Face Hard Realities

The idea of launching a multi-site in some ways can feel to a church community like a reward for a job well done. When a church community multiplies beyond its capacity, it must expand or risk crowding people out—Yay, growth!

“Going multi-site fixes nothing, it only multiplies everything.”

— from Multisite Church Pitfalls, D'Angelo and Stigile

But leaders can hold an unconscious assumption that multi-site ministry will “just flow”—that the “repeat performance” will be easier than the sweat and spiritual labor that went into the original. Similarly, churches struggling to address the needs of a community bursting at the seams may assume that the multi-site launch will bring relief for overworked ministers.

The reality can often be the opposite of these assumptions, and churches considering a multi-site need to enter such a commitment with eyes wide open. D’Angelo and Stigile warn,

Multi-site creates more problems than it solves—it multiplies exactly who you are today, nothing more, nothing less. It’s not only the good that grows, it has a way of expanding everything in your church…Going multi-site fixes nothing, it only multiplies everything.

For example, despite its efficiencies multi-sites require substantially more—not less— leadership development. Multi-sites boast a higher average level of lay participation that individual churches. Wise lead teams plan to exercise intensive leadership development as a given duty, and prepare for even higher levels of leadership skill and maturity themselves.

Pastor Rex candidly shared the pain with which his church learned the need to restructure their lead team. As the senior pastor, he had been overseeing each campus pastor directly. But he was spread too thin and ministry quality visibly suffered.

His church has now taken the hard transition to a model where he supervises another leader who oversees the campus pastors. This mid-stream shift has involved significant growing pains. Pastor Rex hoped with his radical candor to spare other church communities of this kind of potentially avoidable team stress.

As a reality check for those exploring multi-site, or those bewildered by their multi-site experience, consider how the participants in this conference honestly describe multi-site leadership:

““More is not necessarily better, just different.” ”

— a current multi-site leader

““A difficult road, if you choose it.””

— a leader exploring multi-site

““Think about your systems and structures and make sure you are ready for the challenges.””

— a current multi-site leader

Experienced leaders agree that leading a multi-site is not trivial—it’s a hard upward calling. But take heart—leaders also shared measured words of wisdom and hope:

““No one has done this perfectly. Keep working on a solution that fits your situation.” ”

— a current multi-site leader

““Take it slow.” ”

— a leader exploring multi-site

Vision New England unifies, encourages, and equips the diverse Body of Christ in New England for intentional evangelism. VNE recently convened the Multisite Consultation to create an opportunity for peer fellowship, support, and shared insights among multi-site church teams in New England. Bob Atherton, VNE's Vice President of Member Services, would be happy to connect you with other local multi-site leaders.

Get Connected with Other Local Multi-Site Leaders

Get Connected with Other Local Multi-Site Leaders

10 Ways Churches Can Address Boston Homelessness Today

10 Ways Churches Can Address Boston Homelessness Today

By Rev. Cynthia Hymes Bell

Starlight Ministries builds the capacity of churches to minister to those experiencing homelessness. Our goal is to develop relationships amongst churches and ministry groups that desire to develop mutually transformative ministries with people affected by homelessness.

Ideal partners work collaboratively not only to address the physical, spiritual, and practical needs of homeless people—they also build a healthier community. Services are coordinated effectively so that each church can find their unique contribution and no one church is overburdened.

Our target groups are church partners with existing outreach ministries or that want to launch new ministries. We pursue partnerships with churches and ministry groups aimed at achieving sustainable, relational engagement of churches with people affected by homelessness.

Starlight Ministries offers trainings opportunities, where for churches and ministry groups:

• serve alongside our staff

• develop a basic awareness about homelessness

• nurture mutually life-changing relationships that help people affected by homelessness progress through stages of change and transition out of homelessness

How can you learn more, connect and become equipped to serve the homeless?  The following is a list of  opportunities that can help you get started.

How To Get Involved

Learning Events

1. Attend a Starlight Information & Recruitment Session

We facilitate a one-hour session on the complexity of the system of homelessness and an introduction to Starlight. Following the session, leaders are invited to sign up for in-depth training and consider how their church can engage more effectively.

For in-depth training, we ask that you commit to:

• bring several lay leaders and/or clergy from your church to three subsequent training sessions

• embrace and engage in a transformational style of relationship with people affected by homelessness

• prayerfully and thoughtfully consider moving toward a long-term commitment of your church’s people and resources to launch or strengthen one or more forms of effective ministry to people affected by homelessness, customized for your church and your community

Learning Resources

2. Study Homelessness  Check out these resources that can help you understand the complexities of homelessness today:

3. Explore the Local Ministry Landscape  See what’s happening across Boston to address homelessness:

Starlight Custom Consulting

Every church community and neighborhood has unique assets and needs. Starlight offers customized training for your church or ministry group, including:

4. Site Visits  We visit your site to observe your church outreach program, and meet key leaders and ministry volunteers.

5. Listening Sessions  We listen to you to learn about your church’s specific needs and your community issues.

6. Custom Classroom and Experiential Trainings customized training for church partners are provided by request.  For committed, partnering churches, Starlight provides:

• customized classroom training on homelessness, effective engagement, and intervention principles and practices

• opportunities for your group to gain hands-on experience in effective outreach while being coached and mentored by our team of experienced staff

Giving and Fundraising

7. Donate to Starlight  Be a matching donor, lead donor, or give to the annual Starlight Ministries fundraiser.

8. Join the 2018 Walkathon  Be a sponsor, lead donor, build a team to walk and raise funds or volunteer for Starlight Ministries Spring 2018 Walkathon.

9. Hold a Fundraiser  Organize a fundraising event in your church, neighborhood or community.

10. Donate Goods  Contribute clothing, coats, shoes and other personal care items to our Resource/Drop-in center.

Cynthia Hymes Bell

Cynthia is leading Starlight Ministries in its mission to build the capacity of Boston’s churches and leaders to create life-changing relationships with people affected by homelessness. She has a degree in mental health from Tufts University, a Master of Public Health from Yale, and a Master of Divinity from Harvard. From 2002 to 2008, Cynthia traveled to South Sudan with “My Sister’s Keeper,” where she participated in the redemption of more than 1,200 slaves. She is a licensed and ordained minister and serves on the ministry team of Morning Star Baptist Church in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston.

Avoiding Babel: 5 Tips for Spiritually Healthy Collaborations

Avoiding Babel: 5 Tips for Spiritually Healthy Collaborations

By Jess Mason

Does Christian collaboration move us towards God’s ideal of healthy urban life? If we're working together to accomplish a justice-oriented goal, does that mean we’re honoring God’s will and reflecting Christ’s love together? It depends. We may just be building another Tower of Babel.

For Christian leaders, collaboration minus discernment can add up to idolatry.

Babel as Cautionary Tale

The story of the Tower of Babel is the classic Biblical warning against ill-conceived collaborations. A group of people with a common language work together to build a city with a high tower. This endeavor displeases God, who then confuses their language to hinder their cooperation. Why?

While scholars diverge on the exact sin in the Tower of Babel story, the people appeared to be taking collaborative action without openness or obedience to God. Christian leaders have a part to play in the Church avoiding Babel in Boston.

5 Disciplines for Avoiding a Babel Scenario

1. Beware empowerment for empowerment’s sake.

You have to hand it to the people building Babel—at least they weren’t at war with each other. They were in complete harmony, with plans for a shared urban prosperity. What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that what Boston Christian leaders are working for?

“Collaboration minus discernment can add up to idolatry.”

The problem is that humans alone can't fully envision ultimate urban prosperity.

The people of Babel thought they should build a tower to reach God (Babel means "gate of God"). How could they have predicted God’s solution to the distance between God and humankind? They couldn’t know about the coming of Jesus, the cross, or the indwelling Holy Spirit. But God knew.

I attended the third Woven Consultation on Christian Women in Leadership in June. There the Woven team warned us, the would-be ministry collaborators, against shared empowerment for empowerment’s sake.

Setting a tone of spiritual openness for the day, wise leaders warned us against judging the success of the day merely by the creation of action steps. Instead, the Woven team offered us permission NOT to take action if that’s how the Spirit was leading. Alicia Fenton-Greenaway, the founder of Esther Generation, further shared that real progress for Christians means that real progress for Christians means being comfortable with not knowing the outcome of what the Spirit is accomplishing, yet still committing to the process of advancing the work of the Spirit in our souls, groups, or communities.

If we want the highest vision of human thriving for Boston, we'll want to listen together for God’s guidance on what is needed next.

2. Beware action from anger or fear — favor action inspired by love.

What was the motive for building Babel? Partly, the people didn't want to "be scattered over the earth.” The people may have feared a second flood and wanted to fortify themselves against God’s judgment. Or they may have been putting down roots in rebellion against God's command to multiply and fill the earth.

Whether from fear or anger, the people decided together that Babel was their vision of human thriving. 

“Fear, as well as anger, when we look at them in solitude and quiet, reveal to us how deeply our sense of worth is dependent either on our success in the world or on the opinions of others. We suddenly realize we have become what we do or what others think of us.” - Henri Nouwen”

Anger is powerful—it can energize us away from the status quo. But anger alone isn’t a wise guide to strategic action and can lead to counterproductive reactions. We need Christ’s love—for us and for others—to sustain us through the bumpy journey towards lasting change.

Similarly, fear can be useful—to make us aware of risks. But we need Jesus’ love to balance risk with appropriate courage.

Anger and fear can make us, for example, condemn human trafficking. But Christ’s love and guidance are what sustains the exploitation aftercare program Amirah House through their years of steady trauma care and strategic advocacy to bring about systemic change.

3. Beware obsession with branding.

“Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves.”

“We can trust God to grow our group’s reputation as far as His purposes require.”

In today's culture, churches and Christian organizations create their brand to be clear with the public about what they stand for. But God has not laid on those teams the responsibility to control how prominent their brand becomes, and at what pace.

I ran a non-profit organization for five years under a tremendous weight of needing to build brand recognition. I can attest to how merciless—and distracting—that burden can be. 

We don’t need to be anxious to "make a name" for our ministry. As we’re clear about what we stand for and diligent in what God has led us to do, we can trust God to grow our group’s reputation as far as His purposes require.

4. Beware celebrating new skills and accomplishments without celebrating growth in Christian character.

The people building Babel were innovators. They developed the technology for bricks, an advancement over stone construction. They had design thinkers with big visions, who could oversee the building of the largest edifice ever conceived.

God didn’t deny their skill or potential—in fact, God declared that nothing would be impossible for them once they set their mind to it.

But nowhere in this story do the people mention developing in character or wisdom. They wanted to grow in size, in prominence, in technology, but not in human maturity or godliness.

My friend Smita Donthamsetty worked for 20 years in Christian microfinance around the world. Her training materials are translated and contextualized into the local cultures of Peru, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, India, Togo, Mali, and other countries.  

A key factor to the success of her trainings was balancing skill training and character development. Those who participated in her micro-savings groups learned about financial accountability and discipleship simultaneously. They discussed their broken relationship with God and others, and their new hope through Christ, as they explored treating money differently.

Smita admits that progress in those groups happens more slowly than organizations just teaching financial tools. But the balanced groups continue to this day to self-replicate and sustainably transform lives and communities through Christ-centered stewardship and microfinance.

As Christian leaders, we need to affirm that every shared endeavor is an opportunity for spiritual deepening. Foster and celebrate both the spiritual—as well as the concrete—impacts of your work together in the city.

5. Beware brainstorming and decision-making with no discernment practices.

Even when our teams are made entirely of Christians, our brainstorming and decision-making don’t automatically represent God’s priorities. Perfunctory opening prayers to “cover” the process are not enough.

How quickly our hearts can forget, as we develop momentum and build partner agreement, what it means to be a Christian leader. God isn’t calling us to merely guide others in soldiering on for Jesus, reaching out to God in occasional moments of uncertainty or need. Christian leadership nudges others to walk with Jesus continually.

One of the jobs of a Christian leader in a group setting is to create opportunities to listen to the Spirit. Then we can all, as God gives grace, take part in what the Spirit is accomplishing in the city. For example:

• prepare a tone-setting devotional to address your group's human need for a transition into a sacred space

• normalize pausing for prayer, especially when anyone senses the group might be forcing a false clarity before its time.

• foster active stillness—that inner state of self-control that allows us to deliberately listen and honor God instead of just riding group momentum.

• model a group culture of surrender to the Spirit, submitting any assumptions or plans to His greater wisdom.

“As Christians, God is forever our First Stakeholder.”

My supervisor, Stacie, will shamelessly call on Jesus in the middle of a team meeting. In mid-thought, eyes open, she’ll say something like: “So team, here are ten things we could accomplish in the coming month... (Sigh) Dear Jesus. We need your help! Guide us, help us get out of your way, help us hear what’s important to you. We love you, Amen.”  

She makes it normal for us to do that. So she makes it natural for our team to need Jesus—and to include Jesus—in everything.

Shared cooperation with the Spirit is at the very heart of building God’s Kingdom on earth. In nonprofit work, we learn ways to gather input from stakeholders. As Christians, God is forever our First Stakeholder.

TAKE ACTION

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JESS MASON

As a Ministry Innovation Strategist at EGC, Jess enjoys contributing to EGC's effectiveness in serving the Church in Boston. A former licensed minister, Jess is a spiritual director and Christian Formation Chair at her church. She loves to see God’s goodness revealed to and through Christians.

HOW ARE WE DOING?

5 Ways Christians Can Support Refugee Employment & Entrepreneurship

5 Ways Christians Can Support Refugee Employment & Entrepreneurship

By Fargol Dyrud and Kylie Mean, Greater Boston Refugee Ministry

We at the Greater Boston Refugee Ministry have learned that employment is one the toughest issues refugees face in rebuilding their lives in the US. The Christian community has a vital role to play in addressing this widespread challenge.

A church’s extensive social network can provide refugees with connections that can speed up the process of finding a job or starting a business, in some cases by years. Welcoming refugees into our community network can transform their employment and entrepreneurship journey.

REFUGEE VOICES

"Before I got my first job, I was lost and under pressure." - Afghan woman

If you’re interested in making a positive difference in the lives of refugees, pray with your church community about how God may be calling you to engage in refugee employment or entrepreneurship in any of the following ways.

ways you can HELP

“Working with refugees has enhanced my life. It just has!
- Meggaan Ward, Beautiful Day Rhode Island”

1. As a Potential Employer

If you are a hiring manager, or are part of the hiring process, consider hiring a refugee. Their credentials may not look the same as some other candidates, but consider how their skills, experience, and resilient character may benefit your company.

2. As an Advocate

Speak to friends, co-workers, and others in your community about the value of refugees as workers, consumers, and contributors of rich cultural diversity to their neighborhoods. Encourage others to celebrate refugees as gifts to our workplaces, communities, and local economies.

Our Refugee Advocate Toolkit can help you share with others the positive difference refugees make in American communities. Sign up to receive conversation starters, facts & figures, and other resources.

LEARN MORE

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3. As a Job Search Volunteer

Several organizations in the Greater Boston area support refugee employment and entrepreneurship, and they welcome volunteers to help with résumé-building, mentoring, mock interviews, and job application help.

If you are interested, let us know, and we can help point you towards some options.

Learn More

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4. As a Community Researcher/Learner

Add to our knowledge of resources available for our refugee neighbors. If you know of an organization that is doing great work in refugee employment or entrepreneurship in the Boston area, share what you know with GBRM. You may also consider serving GBRM as a research intern.

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5. As a Church Community

Each church has different skills they can leverage in addressing the issue of refugee employment and entrepreneurship. Your community of faith can offer:

• access to essential resources and knowledge

• mentoring relationships

• a sense of community and connection

• a space for refugees to soundboard/test business ideas

Refugee Voices

"I think the churches could support refugees in many ways. They could maybe do some more connecting...they could plan some activities, get people together, support them more, get them into the society.” - Karen

God may have also gifted your church in specific ways that you can use to bless refugees looking for a job or hoping to start a business. Does your church have ESL programs, classroom space, members with industry-specific skills, etc.?

GBRM would love to help your church think through what could be your special leverage point within the refugee employment and entrepreneurship system.

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About Internships

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Fargol Dyrud  

Fargol was a 2017 GBRM research associate working in refugee employment/entrepreneurship and refugee housing as a part of her MBA. As an Iranian immigrant whose life has been affected by geopolitical forces, she empathizes with refugees and is passionate about serving them. Fargol leverages her fresh, insider perspective to push the boundaries of the refugee resettlement/recovery field. 

Kylie Mean 

Kylie’s heart for social enterprise, intercultural ministry and hospitality fits well with her role with EGC’s Greater Boston Refugee Ministry. She helps GBRM leadership and ambassadors consider how they can empower refugees and their employers to create transformational employment opportunities.

 

HOW ARE WE DOING?

Reconciliation in Troubled Times

By Rev. Dr. Dean Borgman and Megan Lietz, STM

 Includes excerpts from “Reconciliation in Troubled Times”, the inaugural Dean Borgman Lectureship in Practical Theology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, March 20, 2017. 

Megan Lietz is Director of Race & Christian Community at EGC. Her ministry focus is to help white evangelicals engage respectfully and responsibly in issues of race and racism.

Disclaimer from Megan Lietz: This post is based on a lecture from March, and not written in direct response to the Charlottesville violence. While not stated explicitly in this article, we condemn white supremacy in any form. Many congregations in Boston are working together to develop a unified response. I am in consultation with many Boston-area church and organizational leaders. I look forward to sharing the fruit of those collaborations for action planning.

Our society is deeply divided. These divisions can be found in our national, communal, and church life. From polarization between political parties to disagreements in our response to immigrants and refugees, these divisions are rooted in a fear and distrust of people different from ourselves.

These divisions are not recent phenomena. Rather, they are shaped by our history. How we see ourselves and others, and how we choose to interact with the world around us is colored by what has come before. Unfortunately, much of the division and inequality that has tainted our history was reinforced by faulty anthropologies, psychologies, and theologies that are still with us today in various forms.

We all have a part to play, and the Church should be responding.

Christians today, black or white, wealthy or poor, new or old to this country, must be concerned—be distressed—over our divisions and the inability of our system of economics and government to provide adequate remediation and relief to the suffering.

The God who freed the Hebrews and the American slaves, and who brought relief to the segregated and oppressed under Jim Crow—that God will hear the united cries of American Christians, should we humbly pray for justice. 

In the News: Boston Faith Leaders Responding to Charlottesville Violence

Begin with Lament

Lament is a biblical practice, where we acknowledge that things are not right—in the world, nation, community or church—and where we embrace our role and responsibility in it. Lament comes not out of a spirit of complaint. Rather, it invites God into the situation so healing and justice can occur.

For example, laments and confessions came from Moses, Daniel, Nehemiah and other prophets, and Christ on the Cross—for sins they didn’t individually commit. They were earnest, prayers of systemic confession.

Furthermore, of the 150 Psalms, the majority are Psalms of Lament. They provide us examples  and guides for the expression of our desire for social, political and church reconciliation.

Biblically, lament is often coupled with confession of how we have contributed to the problem at hand. When Nehemiah is lamenting over the broken walls and associated disgrace that had come upon Jerusalem, he first makes a confession:

LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments… I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you... (Nehemiah 1: 5-7a, NIV)

Nehemiah was not born in the land where such injustice was taking place. He had never participated in the sins he was confessing. But he still confessed the sins of his people and lamented over them, even though he wasn't personally responsible.

We must reflect, lament, and confess today, whether or not we feel personally responsible. We all have a part to play, and we can all go before God to change ourselves and affect healing in our land.

Choose to be Reconcilers

After we lament the division around us, churches must make a choice to engage the division in our midst. Such work is not something that people enter into casually. Rather, it requires intentionality and effort.

Any church or group must first decide that they are committed to biblical social reconciliation. They should be committed to giving this important challenge some time and thought.

Study the Realities and Positive Examples

It's important that we learn more about the division around us and how to be agents of reconciliation. We could begin with understanding the biblical notion of reconciliation, centered on God's reconciling work in Jesus Christ. But we must also gain understanding of sociological, psychological, historical, and theological realities.

Consider the examples of Black churches under slavery, during Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement and continued discrimination. Their spirituals, their persistent prayers, and their courageous demonstrations invited collaboration, and slowly produced some measure of social justice. They provide countless examples of how to be agents of reconciliation in a broken and divided world.

We must also seek to understand the perspective of those today who are different from us—this is especially true for white evangelicals. It is very important that we invite the 'others' into conversation, and give them a chance to voice their own stories and hurts.

We can also learn from local organizations. Some of EGC's partners doing reconciliation work include:

Unite Boston

Collaborate Across Lines

As we listen, we must also work together with people across dividing lines. We must reach across the chasm of differences and choose some shared Kingdom priorities in which we can invest. As we collaborate with "the other," healing takes place. As we engage with the other, we get glimpses of the coming Kingdom of God.

“It is very important that we invite the ‘others’ who are different from us into conversation, and give them a chance to voice their own stories and hurts.”

Imagine how you might be able to come together with others around shared kingdom values:

• spending time with those outside our fortunate situations

• hearing the stories of those who have been freed from oppression or rejuvenated, experiencing the hope of the seemingly hopeless

• hearing the deep cries and music of the oppressed

• seeing victims become survivors and then confident leaders

These are the “now-but-not-yet” experiences of God’s coming Kingdom. When we share mutual love, respect, and inspiration with those who because of our privilege have so much less, we experience something of God’s beloved community—a community of hope.

TAKE ACTION

STOP. REFLECT. PRAY.

• What does our city need from its churches?

• How might churches collaborate in bringing peace and welfare to the city?

• How can seminary educators collaborate with other serving and training organizations working for shalom—the peace and welfare of our city?

JOIN With A REFLECTION/ACTION GROUP

Are you a white evangelical who wants to join with others in a journey of respectful and responsible conversation and engagement of race and racism issues? 

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

About Rev. Dr. Dean Borgman

About Megan Lietz, STM

WHAT DID YOU THINK?

Emotional Intelligence for Ministry Collaboration

Emotional Intelligence for Ministry Collaboration

By Jess Mason

I sometimes find collaborative work agitating. My temperament enjoys the satisfaction of extended focus, of flowing through tasks in solitude.

But I also find collaboration exciting and hopeful. As a results-focused person, I have to face facts—healthy collaboration yields better outcomes. For me, collaboration means taking part in a greater story, rather than being the hero of a small one.

I don’t mean to imply that all work needs to be done in groups. Focused, solo work has value. In fact, without the depth of individual thought, groupthink can yield outcomes that are driven by personality dynamics instead of shared insight.

But extended solo work can sometimes give a false sense of progress. As well-meaning leaders, we can unknowingly hinder our own goals if we’re not in conversation with other players in the larger system in which we’re working.

Collaboration Requires New Skills

David Stroh reminds us that good systems thinkers engage in "continuous communication" with partners. Communication with partners is usually full of unpredictable challenges, so it can feel surprisingly messy and slow. But the fruits of that communication can yield multiplied benefits.

Connecting well with partners also requires our willingness to be humble. In shared learning, we open ourselves up to ways we’ve been blind—where our efforts might have been ineffective, or even counterproductive. Healthy collaborators foster a gracious environment and celebrate shared learning—from failure and success alike.

Not surprisingly, healthy collaboration requires more emotional effort and social skill than solo work. Fortunately, these skills can be learned. I’d like to share what I’m learning at EGC. Here I explore six social skills relevant to any ministry collaboration.

6 Social Skills for Healthy Ministry Collaboration

1. Prepare to be more gracious than you think you’ll need to be.

At times partners may seem inconsiderate or disrespectful. Assume first that they’re well-intentioned, but unaware, and share your concerns accordingly. Similarly, whenever partners appear hostile, assume first that they are afraid or feeling insecure, and respond with solidarity.

Prepare yourself mentally to be ready to respond to human needs as they surface. While you may capture participant ideas on shared spaces, you may also want to have a private space, paper or electronic, for noting the dynamics you observe, so you can plan to respond when the moment is right.

When someone sounds insistent or repetitive even after their thoughts are captured, use brief, affirming statements, such as “I hear that”. When emotions get more intense, you can say , “I can tell this is important to you”, and reflect back what you’re hearing them say.  

You don’t need to co-opt the entire meeting every time someone expresses an emotion. But making people feel seen, heard, and empowered within the purpose of the meeting is, in fact, the main purpose of meetings.  

When significant issues arise that are beyond the scope of the meeting, make shared plans to follow up at another time.

2. Communicate to learn together, not to perform.

Don’t wonder whether you’re still in a learning phase together—you are. Instead, ask yourself what kind of learning is important now. As David Stroh said, “Learning is a better stance than knowing.”

You may be engaged in learning about the wider system and collaborators’ current efforts. You may have advanced to what strategies are having positive impact, or about the unintended negative consequences of past efforts. Throughout your work you’ll keep learning the quirks of various collaborators and organizations you are working with—what tends to activate vs. shut down certain people in your network.

Don’t be surprised—there’s always more to learn from your partners, and others can expect to continue to learn from you. Mentally prepare yourself before partner meetings with the attitude of a learner.

3. Prepare FOR listening well.

We build trust when others feel heard; we build motivation when people feel empowered. Logistically prepare, both to hear people, and to foster doable actions.

Prepare logistical tools to capture insights, value diverse voices, and display agreed-upon points for action.

If you are not an auditory learner, plan to jot down notes so you can listen well. If you’re the planner for a group time, some version of a mutually visible workspace like a board, a giant post-it (or their electronic analogues) with a designated note-taker is key. If you’re the note taker, try to capture the essence of what you’re hearing, and discipline yourself not to “correct” it in that moment. Follow meetings up with a "What We Learned Together” communication.

A concrete plan for quality listening can transform chaotic time-wasting into sensible empowerment.

4. Practice strategies to calm down.

Interpersonal communication can be powerful, subtle, and complex. If we rush it or force it, we may miss what’s really being shared. If we charge forward in an unchecked adrenaline mode, we may even foster pathological communication by triggering fight, flight, or freeze behavior in others or ourselves.

Some strategies to calm down in shared learning settings include:

• Slow down your words and body.

• Take several long, deep breaths, until you feel a tension release in your body.

• Lower the volume or tone of your voice to invite calm in others.

• If you feel yourself in knee-jerk reaction mode, pause to make a note.

• If you find yourself ruminating on past events, take a moment to focus your mind and senses back in the present moment. Notice the sounds, smells, sights, and sensations in the present moment.

• Acknowledge strong emotions respectfully and appropriately, according to the culture.

• Ask for a group break with a tone of respect for group well-being.

• Thank the group for their time and courage, acknowledging they are taking part in difficult but worthy work.

• Reset your shared goal for the day. Tensions can run high under time pressure. If the group agrees to adjust their expectations, you can finish together with a sense of empowerment.

5. Accept that people wear different hats.

Collaborators are not interchangeable—we each bring a different temperament, set of skills, and scope of concern. See if you recognize any of the following characters in your community:

• She brings information but doesn’t suggest action; he does the reverse.

• He’s a systems thinker and big vision strategist. She holds the group accountable to brass tacks for realistic action in realtime.

• He’s a relational bridge builder, who keeps the entire collaboration sustainable, but doesn't give concrete input.

• She processes information quickly, and may sometimes jump ahead to conclusions; he processes what he’s learning over time and comes back with solid buy-in.

• He contributes by asking thoughtful questions, she by suggesting solutions.

• She’s primarily thinking of the needs of stakeholders in the community, while he’s focused on the needs of the team in the room.

• These two people can put on whatever hat you ask them to, for the purpose of the meeting.

Not everyone needs to weigh in on every part of the conversation. Certainly if there are objections, those need to be heard. But don’t feel the need to get everyone to the same level of understanding and buy-in at every turn. If there are no objections, feel free to move forward as a group.

6. Set achievable expectations for what success looks like.

Prepare the group for this “messier” vision of what healthy consensus on a diverse team looks like. At the beginning of partner meetings, verbally set everyone free from any unhelpful expectations you think they might bring.

Make it a practice to retrain the team’s source of satisfaction. Instead of hoping for everything to go swimmingly, invite people to notice solid, forward momentum amidst real challenges.

With shared expectations, together you’ll be able to recognize and celebrate successful collaboration when it’s happening.

TAKE ACTION

observe a healthy collaboration in action.

Take any opportunity you have to be a participant-observer in a healthy collaboration environment. During and after the experience, make note of how key partners contributed to healthy collaboration.

Disclaimer: We all go astray at times—we all have bad days. So as you observe, don’t focus on judging “troublemakers”. Instead, focus on how healthy collaborators respond to bring the group forward together.

If you have the opportunity for professional development conversation, discuss what you’re learning with your coach or mentor.

FEEL FREE TO Connect with me with questions or comments!

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Jess Mason is a former licensed minister and spiritual director. She is currently a ministry innovation strategist in Applied Research & Consulting at EGC, and the chair of Christian Formation at a church in Jamaica Plain. Her passion is to see God’s goodness revealed to and through Christian leaders and pillars in the Boston area.

Tips for Developing Church Leadership

Tips for Developing Church Leadership

by Rudy Mitchell and Steve Daman

Starting a new church, but short on leaders?

A few years ago, we interviewed a number of Greater Boston’s church planters to ask how they were developing new leaders for their churches. Here are some of their tips for raising new leaders.

1. Pray first. While you might be thinking you need people with particular skills, what you really need are people with spiritual maturity and Christ-like character. These foundational qualities take time to develop and time to discern. Lining up leadership should not be rushed. Do what Jesus did before he chose his team. Get up on the mountain and pray.

2. Examine and test. You don’t want to rush into appointing someone as a leader until you have thoughtfully and prayerfully assessed their potential and discovered their passion. To get there, you’ll need sufficient face time to begin to listen to their hearts.

• Motives: Ask them to tell you their story about their calling to serve Christ and his church, and see if you can discern their motives for accepting a leadership role.
• Beliefs: Are their beliefs sound and consistent with Scripture and with the church’s vision?
• Character: Are they teachable? Faithful? Humble? Do they love Jesus?
• Skills: Talk openly about the candidate’s strengths and potentials, but also weaknesses and limits. (You might go first in this one.)
• Vision: Ask them about their vision for the position and brainstorm together what it might look like for them to take leadership over a particular ministry. See how that conversation goes.

Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to implement this type of assessment as it may save both you and the candidate much pain and difficulty if, in fact, it turns out they are not the right person for the job. For scriptural precedent on testing, read 2 Corinthians 13.

3. Make disciples. Developing leaders can look exactly like making disciples.

• Replicate yourself: Move beyond the rigid supervisor/supervisee relationship and consider that your goal is to replicate yourself, to pass the torch to others who can learn to do the work even better than you do.
• Spend time together: Training, discipling and mentoring require that you and the emerging leader spend time together and become part of each other’s lives in a deep and meaningful way.
• Lean in: Lean in to the relational aspect of leadership development. Make yourself available. Listen well. From listening will grow understanding, spontaneous prayer, love, and maturity.
• Huddle up: Add a regular Bible study time with your mentee with an eye toward applying what you learn reflecting on Scripture to ministry and life situations. This kind of intentional discipling can be one-on-one or in small huddles of three or more.
• Grow yourself: With humility, remember that iron sharpens iron, and through this relationship, you’ll be changing and growing, too.

4. Learn together. Add to the essential, relational side of leadership development some formal training and exploration. Look for opportunities to gain knowledge and insight together.

• Create training opportunities: Learning can happen in regular leadership meetings, special training sessions, or on retreats. Listening, vision casting, and discussion can all help.
• Pick resources: Choose books or articles, and maybe online resources or video series that your team can study and discuss.
• Flex scheduling: If team members seem too busy or have conflicting schedules, you might be able to provide some training through virtual online meetings, one-on-one or in groups.
• Back to school: See what’s available at local Christian colleges, Bible institutes, and seminaries. Encourage your emerging leaders to pursue and gain academic credentials along with practical knowledge. The learning and the credentials may open doors for them for even more effective ministry.

5. Do and reflect. When it comes to raising up leaders, nothing can substitute for hands-on-experience and on-the-job training. Perhaps your church or ministry can offer internships, residency, or apprenticeship training. In the same way that Jesus’ disciples watched and followed, listened and asked questions, and then were sent out, follow that pattern.

• Show and send: After instruction in and modeling specific skills in real life ministry with your mentees along for the ride, start delegating responsibilities and monitor how it goes. Let them lead a small group, or teach a lesson, or get out and get dirty serving.
• Reflect and send again: Observe, supervise, and coach. Give feedback. Reflect together what happened. Pray together. Send them out again.

A couple final hints:

• Articulate roles and responsibilities: Make sure the new leaders can articulate back to you their responsibilities and what they are accountable for so that your expectations and theirs are always in sync.
• Shepherd their hearts: Periodically discern if the leaders find joy and fulfillment not only in doing the work of ministry, but in learning to do it better.

SOURCE: In 2014, the Emmanuel Gospel Center’s Applied Research team completed 41 in-depth interviews with Boston area church planters of various denominations, ethnic groups, and church planting networks. This article was derived largely from responses given by these church planters regarding their own practice and view of leadership development, with added insights from the EGC Applied Research team.

TAKE ACTION

Connect with church planters: Visit the Greater Boston Church Planting Collaborative.