sustain:if:able kiwi

No one can serve two masters: academy or church

“No one can serve two masters.” Matthew 6:24

Theological colleges are pulled two ways. The university demands intellectual rigour, PhDs, conference attendance and publications. Increasingly this includes multiple layers of academic compliance.

The church expects effective mission leaders, down to earth application, ideas with legs, lecturers who can walk the talk. Often this includes multiple process around selection, formation and mentoring of students.

The contrast became clear for me in a conversation this week. One of our local ministers, a highly effective ministry leader is also a seasoned and much loved part-time College lecturer in the area of worship.

He noted that there were over 40 new books in his subject area. Which as a minister he simply had no time to read. He wasn’t sure he would be able to continue.

Who would you rather have teach? A person who leads worship every week, an effective practitioner in a complex, growing, multiple congregational church? Or a person with time to read 40 books, a university researcher?

The ideal is both. The reality is we have to choose. Do we face the university? Or the church?

(Note – Practical theology offers a way to do both. John Swinton defines practical theology is critical reflection on the actions of the church in the light of the gospel. Church and university, actions and critical reflection. However, not every lecturer is trained in this way).

Spirited Missiology for a global world: our 2012 intensive

We’re delighted to have international missiologist, Kirsteen Kim, with us in a few weeks teaching our mid-year intensive.

For more information, contact the ACD Office, on college dot divinity at flinders dot edu dot au.

churches that connect

I’m currently spending three days at Ministry Education Commission. It meets annually and involves around 20 people, Principals from Uniting Church Theological Colleges (there are Colleges in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Darwin) and key leaders in education from the various Synods/States. Being here is a “perk” of being Principal, representing Uniting College, and continues my long list of firsts. (It’s been a HUGE first 2 weeks in the role).

Being new, it strikes me as a very obvious window into the Uniting church. Each College presents an annual report. Each College gets peer reviewed every 5 to 7 years by the other Colleges. These reviews get tabled and discussed before all the other Colleges. Issues in education and formation are discussed. For example, yesterday we discussed a recent report on Youth and families and brainstormed ways to ensure the formation of leaders includes training in working with all generations.

It’s hard work. It takes time. It demands considerable maturity, a way of being that is neither defensive nor big noting.

And it says something about being church, about being the body of Christ.

Some church denominations operate mainly as local churches. Each local church sees itself as an entity by itself and chooses what levels of relationship it will have with other churches.

Some church denominations operate in a more top down approach, with an overall leader (a Bishop or a Pope), who provides a sense of continuity and connection.

Some church denominations operate in a more inter-connected, connectional manner. They recognise a shared life, that alone they are not complete, that parts of the life of another body are embedded in each other.

Which seems to me to be what is being expressed at MEC. Uniting College is not an entity by itself, choosing what relationships it will have with other colleges. Rather it exists in web of relationships. How it acts shapes others and it needs this mirror, for accountability and feedback. How it acts is also shaped by others, other groups and Colleges.

It’s not individualism. Nor is it communism. It’s connectionism (is that a new word?), a shared life.

end of week one: a full team

One of the key challenges over the last few months has been re-building the team at Uniting College. We’ve had three appointments to make:

• in April needing to replace a Ministry Practice Coordinator (the previous person felt God calling them to plant a multi-cultural church);
• in June needing to replace a Director of Missiology (the previous person felt God calling them to become Principal) – announcement here
• now needing to find a 0.5 Principal’s PA (the previous person felt God calling them to serve the next President of the Uniting Church in Australia).

This week, the last of the appointments was clarified. On Tuesday we offered the role of Principal’s PA to Eloise Scherer.  Eloise and I worked together last year on the first Adelaide msm course. She is a key leader in the South Australian Youth Camp Out (SAYCO) team and has a deep faith and passion for justice and God’s kingdom.  Work wise, she is currently Regional Coordinator (Rural SA Business) for a bank, with key roles including Executive Assistant and administrator to a staff of 20, organising regular conferences and providing training materials. I’m really looking forward to working with someone I’ve worked with before, and to what she will bring in terms of Christian passion and administrative and organisational skills among us.

So that’s a full team! Very exciting. Very satisfying. We are now:

Craig Bailey, Director of Leadership
Dr Vicky Balabanski, Co-Director of Biblical Studies (New Testament)
Dr Liz Boase, Co-Director of Biblical Studies (Old Testament)
Dr Rosemary Dewerse, Director of Missiology, Post-graduate Co-ordinator
Linda Driver, Administrative Officer
Rev Jo Fulton, Distance Education Coordinator
Rev Sean Gilbert, Ministry Practice Coordinator (0.7)
Dr Peter Gunn, Manager, Educational Resources and Administration
Rev Tim Hein, Director of Christian Education and Discipleship (0.5)
Annette Latham, Administrative Officer (0.5)
Craig Mitchell, Director of Christian Education and Discipleship (on secondment to the Assembly)
Rev Beatrice Panne, Lecturer in Pastoral Care (0.5)
Eloise Scherer, Principal’s PA
Nichola Shaw, Administrative Officer
Rev Dr Steve Taylor, Principal

first team meeting

This week has been a endless string of firsts as Principal – first Leadership Formation day, first job contracts to sign, first email as Principal. Yesterday was the first leading of the team meeting, which happens weekly.

I was awake at 5.20 am, unable to sleep, which I suspect is some evidence of the stress being generated, my body needing to process the move from team player to team leader, my awareness of the giftedness embedded in the team and the skills that will be required to lead that giftedness with clarity and grace.

Some of my emotion and anxiety took me back to my first team day at Opawa, back in 2004.

It was my 1st day at my new church (Opawa) today. I asked the 4 other paid staff to gather.

I gave them all an egg – fragile, yet hopeful. I talked about the church as the bride of Christ … beautiful … hopeful … yet fragile and nervous.

I said that I felt a bit nervous and fragile in this new role. I said I thought people at Opawa were probably a bit nervous and fragile about having a new young minister on board. I said I wondered if the staff were a bit nervous and fragile, wondering how they would fit with this new young minister.

And so we prayed for each other, that in our fragility new life would emerge. (Here)

For the record, yesterday I asked each of us to bring a symbol of our work. We began, first, by reflecting on some thoughts from one of our colleagues from a chapel time earlier in the week, about the Kingdom vision which we all share. It was nice to begin with an insight from within the team.

We then read together the gospel reading for the week. Ironically (!!) it was Mark 6:1-13. Ironically, because it has echoes of one of my favourite missional texts, Luke 10:1-12. We shared what struck us, which included the need to let go and travel light, the invitation to recognise what was new, the sense of God calling us on a journey, the realisation that won’t be easy and that should not surprise us. Lots of richness and the realisation again of the uncanny way that Scripture reads us, rather than we read it.

We then shared our workplace symbol, something about ourselves and how our work life is an expression of the Kingdom vision with which we began together. Our practicality, our reality, in the midst of vision.

A good time, a rich time, a privileged time. Which leaves me hoping I’ll sleep better next Thursday.

Church out of clergy: Report to Synod says “It’s crunch time …”

The Journey, the Queensland Uniting Church Newspaper, in October 2002, led on the front page with the following headline

“Church: just out of clergy: Report to Synod says “It’s crunch time …”

The Future of Ministry Task Group brought what was described as a “shock finding” that between 60-80% of ministers would retire in the next 15 years.

“It’s crunch time for the church, said Rob Adsett, who chaired the Task Group. “We need to start recruiting young men and women to the ministry and provide flexible and alternative pathways for training them.”

That was some 10 years ago. Last year I walked into the foyer at Uniting College. Four candidates were sitting there. One was training with a focus on overseas mission. Another was Sudanese, with a heart for mission and people. Another was training as a deacon, with a desire to plant a fresh expression. Yet another was also training as a deacon, with a heart for workplace and everyday spirituality.

Each had a shared God, to serve Christ. Each sensed that would be expressed in unique ways.

Each was waiting to be part of a Formation Panel, a group of 4-6 from within the church who would talk with them about their call, help them design a unique pathway.

Flexible. Yes.

Alternative. Definitely.

The four would be followed by 21 others during the day. Currently the College is training more candidates than there are placements. It is tempting to “cap” numbers but instead we are trusting that God is up to something, that the mission of God might just be running ahead of what the church currently requires.

It’s exciting, scarey and risky. It seems a long way from the crisis of 10 years ago.

(Hattip Andrew Dutney for pointing out the article)

Posted by steve at 07:03 PM

leadership formation as DIY knitting socks

Peregrinate. A verb, meaning to travel. As a verb, the word can be used either as transitive or intransitive. (To be used in the intransitive, requires a direct object.)

Peregrinate is a distinctive pattern in Celtic spirituality, in which individuals could undertake “peregrinatio pro Christo,” – leaving home, all that was familiar, out of love for a direct object – pro Christo – Jesus.

While some peregrini sought personal spiritual fulfillment, many were about mission. These include Brendan, Patrick, Columba and Columbanus, who during their peregrini spoke peace and saw new forms of church formed in new areas.

It is also a DIY brand of sock.

You buy not the sock, but the pattern. Hence DIY – using wool, following a pattern, but emerging out of your own craft.

Is that what theological colleges are about? They are about a journey. They link with historic patterns of Christian spirituality. They encourage travel, both in lifelong spiritual growth, and in lifelong exploration of mission. They offer not a ready made model, a “this-is-the-way-walk-you-in-it,” but rather a DIY experience, some patterns, some wool, lots of guidance and encouragement, both from those expert in knitting and those learning to knit, a community shaped by peregrinatio pro Christo,” out of love for a direct object – Jesus.

new Director of Missiology and Post-graduate Co-ordinator

Here is the latest Mission Matters newsletter from the Missiology stream at Uniting College. Highlights include some resources, upcoming courses and some ways the Missiology stream is serving the church. But the main feature is the announcement of the next Director of Missiology at Uniting College, along with an extended interview with her.

Rosemary Dewerse has a call to form leaders, with a particular passion for developing leaders who will be attentive to context.

She has a PhD in leadership formation with a focus on intercultural (across cultures and generations) ministry. She has 12 years teaching experience, in three different cultures (Maori, Central Asian, New Zealand). She defines herself as ecumenical, expressed an empathy with, and appreciation of, the Basis of Union, and made an unreserved commitment to the training of Uniting church ministers.

The Joint Nominating Committee were blown away by the calibre of people who applied and are very excited about the gifts and charisms Rosemary will bring among the College and church in South Australia.

big day, big night

“Take care and tread gently and carefully” – words this week from my supervisor.

Today – tonight actually – I’m commissioned as Principal of Uniting College, at the opening gathering of the Presbytery and Synod of South Australia. I start officially on 1 July and tonight marks the time when the church sets me aside for this role. I will be asked to reaffirm my faith in Jesus and to commit myself anew to the mission of the church. In turn, the church will be asked to commit itself to prayerful support. It feels significant personally.

Today is also the 35th anniversary of the formation of the Uniting Church. A coincidence I’m sure! But it does provide a way to reflect on a question I’m often asked – how I, as a Baptist from New Zealand, end up leading a Uniting Church College.

It’s a great question, one that was explored fairly thoroughly in my interview processes, both in first coming to the College as Director of Missiology in 2010, and then as Principal.

In the interviews, from my perspective, I reflected on the man from Macedonia, in Acts 16:9, who invites Paul to come on over, to work amongst them in mission. It was my sense that God might be calling me also to “come on over the ditch”, to work in mission. For Paul and for the Macedonians, this was going to mean a journey of working out how to do that in a way that might honour the past, yet fully serve the present, as part of embracing God’s good future. So also for me, it felt like a call to serve, for a period of time to journey among a different culture and group.

From the Uniting church end, I wonder if their perspective might best be captured in the video below, produced to celebrate today, June 22nd, the 35th anniversary of the Uniting church

For Alistair McRae – “Lets demonstrate in the life of the church what God intends for the whole world.” For Ken Sumner – “I think that’s the mission of the church, to bring about reconciliation.”

What a wonderful ethos to celebrate.

So I can’t speak for the Uniting Church, but perhaps tonight, in some small way in my commissioning, there is again that affirmation of hospitality and inclusiveness, these Uniting values of reconciliation in mission, so central to the formation of the Uniting Church and it’s ongoing vision and values.

Local Adelaide folk can you help? I need a PA

The Uniting College for Leadership and Theology has a part-time (0.5 FTE) 3 year fixed term opportunity for an energetic, enthusiastic and highly organised Personal Assistant. The role is an interesting and varied one, which involves a wide range of secretarial and administrative responsibilities. Additionally you will manage and coordinate projects, provide research assistance, and develop promotional materials. (Position re-advertised)

Enquiries to Peter Gunn at peter dot gunn at flinders dot edu dot au

refreshed by Robe

It was a rich weekend just gone. The destination was Robe, a holiday beach town 3.5 hours drive south of Adelaide. The occasion was the invitation to Refresh, to explore mission with rural churches from the South East of the state. With a theme of refresh and with the destination a holiday place, I decided to go early and stay on. Which meant I woke on the Friday to this

and on Saturday to this

The theme of Refresh was Getting on with mission. I did three sessions, one on what is mission, another on the place of church in mission and a third on engaging the community through practices of listening and presence. Plus I lead worship and communion. (This was one result, folk writing in liquid chalk on the lovely chapel windows a word that summarised their weekend.)

I talked about the importance of asking “What is God up to in the world?” which was picked up superbly by one of the other worship leaders, who invited folk to make a windsock, writing on it where they were seeing the Spirit in their community.

They made such a bright and beautiful addition to our life together. It was probably one of the most enjoyable groups I’ve worked with in a long time. I’m still trying to reflect on why. Perhaps it was that I was more rested, being on study leave and going early. But I think it was also their honesty and realness.

Which still gave me time on Sunday to tuck up in bed, listen to the pelting rain, read The Time That Remains: A Commentary on the Letter to the Romans, before getting up to appreciate this

Pentecost gifts: pioneering and Graham Cray

Graham Cray, Archbishops’ Missioner and Team Leader of Fresh is currently in Australia, speaking at Clergy Conferences in Adelaide and Canberra/Goulburn. He rang on Saturday and it was great to be able to connect with him for a quiet wine yesterday. (No photo this time :)) Of course, Sunday was also Pentecost and it seemed so appropriate to be talking mission, pioneering and future church on this day of Spirit celebration. Four things have stayed with me.

First, the God of fun and surprise. It was Graham’s wry conclusion as he noted that there are now over 1000 Fresh expressions among Anglican churches in England. And that latest results just coming in from the Methodists in the UK indicate that when you add in the numbers attending Fresh expressions, they have grown as a denomination.

Second, the ratios. During the conversation Graham noted that there are now around 130 Ordained pioneers being trained in the UK. Coming home, I did the math. Adelaide has about a 1 million people, while UK has around 50 million. Comparative numbers would have us here in South Australia, having training 2-3 ordained pioneers. I thought with gladness of current candidates and recent graduates at Uniting College including Titus, Sarah, Karen, Amel, Peter Riggs and Mandy. It made me glad of what God is doing among us in South Australia. Yet with 6 it is still hard to generate a sense of community and cohesion. As I thought about ratio’s, I began to wonder if it will be sensible for every State, and every Denomination in Australia, to be training their own pioneers? Or do we need a few co-operative ventures among Colleges? And even, heaven forbid! among States?

Third, the sheer intentionality of the change project. As we talked about training of lay pioneers, selection processes for ordination, supervision structures, networking of Diocesian leadership teams in mission learning networks, it was a reminder that this is a whole church reformation. Such is the pioneering Spirit of Pentecost, birthing and re-birthing the church.

Four, the phrase leaders in mission. The UK expects all of their clergy in training to develop their ability to be leaders in mission. All clergy, not just pioneers. A nice re-focusing for me, as I think about the task of being Principal at Uniting College come 1 July, and the call to train leaders for a healthy, missional church.

Thanks Graham and thanks Spirit for Pentecost gifts.

2 great mission shaped ministry video resources

Following the success of mission shaped ministry Adelaide in 2011, a creative and hardworking team are beavering away, working on a course for the 2nd half of this (2012) year.

Venue: City Soul (13 Hutt St Adelaide). This facility offers a casual cafe set up which will ensure a communal, creative and interactive environment.

Cost: $400. This includes 11 evenings of input plus 2 weekend gatherings.

Credit: The course can be taken for credit in the Adelaide College of Divinity Bachelor of Ministry degree. Enquiries to Steve Taylor.

Dates:
– 4 Thursday evenings, July 26 to August 23, gathering from 7:00pm, input from 7:30-9:15 pm.
– Weekend Retreat 1, West Lakes Resort, Friday Night and Saturday, 31 August and 1 September.
– 3 Thursday evenings, September 6 to 20
– 3 week pause between Sept 20 to Oct 18 is given as a chance to put legs on some of the content in your local community
– 3 Thursday evenings, October 18 to November 1
– Weekend Retreat 2, Old Adelaide Inn, Friday Night and Saturday, 9 & 10 November

This includes a number of great video clips. Like this, a short 1 minute long video clip – single shot, creative use of an object, short script.

Which really nicely compliments another excellent 7 minute long video, with course participants from last year sharing what they valued about the course.

It’s a joy to see this type of creativity at work. Go mission shaped ministry Adelaide 2012.

a pioneer doctoring of ministry

Congratulations to Pat Cronin, the first ever Doctor of Ministry at Adelaide College of Divinity. A pioneer!

Pat did his thesis on adult conversion in the Catholic church and the discipleship processes that surround that. It is a fascinating study of ministry, of how the church is in mission, how it engages with people on their life journeys.

The photo is of all the work Pat did to gain the award. For a Doctor of Ministry, you don’t just write a thesis. You also undertake Program Seminars, doing theology in community, and undertake multiple Guided Readings, doing further research across the breadth of ministry. It’s a considerable stack of material, which Pat has all had bound, as a marker.

Impressive aye!

Pat’s a pioneer and it was a great celebration last night. He’s being closely followed by at least six others in our Doctor of Ministry programme. Research interests include the studying of learning communities, the practices of pioneer leaders, street chaplaincy, community gardens as a context for ministry, identity for women in ministry and ministry teams in multiple parish settings. It makes for a very rich and vibrant programme (which needs a Postgraduate Co-ordinator, applications closing 11 May, 2012).