we enjoy learning, exploring, and growing

We love partnering with churches and judicatories to lead change, transform conflict, and create environments for discernment and transition, we also enjoy teaching. Over the past ten years we have taught biblical history and theology, preaching and pastoral care, Christian education leadership and worship planning, contemporary theological movements and much more. We relish the opportunity to teach and create space for exploring new ideas. 

Listed below are new courses.  More are on the way, including elements of spiritual growth and direction; practices of pastoral ministry; leadership growth and development; and more.

Conflict Transformation

Mission and Conflict: It's hard to have one without the other (1-3 sessions, coaching, workshop)

Keeping the challenges of mission from derailing the mission of God. 

Becoming a missionary people means being prepared to have expectations, traditions, and practices challenged.  Even while holding to the content of a shared faith, new encounters, new partners, new cultures becoming welcomed in our churches all can lead to difficulties.  Being aware of the conflicts that might arise as a result of fruitful mission is the first step in dealing with them well.

Conflict is Normal (1-4 sessions):

As Christians, we understand that God is always seeking to transform us and our relationships. God’s mission of “reconciling the world to himself” invites us as well to share in the work of reconciliation. Fundamental to reconciliation is awareness, growth, and change, in a word, transformation. Through conflict transformation we are changed and our relationships and communities are changed, too.

This seminar will use readings, role plays, and an over view of methods of conflict transformation in different contexts, depending on the number sessions chosen.

Spirituality of Conflict (1-3 sessions, coaching)

How do we react when we enter a conflict? How do we feel and respond? Regardless of the conflict, how we approach each conflict is affected by our own unique spiritual history and makeup. Personality and emotional differences, as well as our theological beliefs, are significant in shaping the way in which we engage the conflicts we seek to mediate, or in which we are personally engaged.  

This seminar will include self-assessments, journaling, prayer exercises, as well as readings in conflict transformation. As coaching, the content of this seminar is available to assist those engaged in or mediating conflict.

Conflict and Leadership (1-4 sessions, coaching)

Conflict is inevitable. As leaders, we know that our decisions will lead to conflict, there always seems to be someone upset which ever direction we lead. Worse yet, sometimes it is the way we lead that stirs up more conflict. However, leadership is flexible term with a wide variety of approaches from leader-exchange styles, transformational leadership, servant leadership, and many more. What are the best contexts and situations for each of these approaches? What conflict contexts might be better served by a different leadership approach? This course will help leaders deal with the inevitability of conflict by choosing leadership styles that best fit the situation.

The seminar provides an overview of leadership styles through readings and case studies. As coaching, the content of the seminar is the same but can take place over and extend period of time and with greater depth.

Mission and Ministry

What is God Up To? (2-6 sessions, coaching)

You cannot know what God is up to unless you know what God cares about. While many churches seek new ways of doing things, new formats, and changing routines, the basis for change in church is to follow what God is already doing. As a result, making decisions and changes in church is less about deciding, and much more about discerning what God is creating and unfolding. Discernment begins not with the question, “what should we do?”, but with “what is God doing?”

This seminar is provides an overview of the spiritual practices leading toward personal and congregational discernment. Especially appropriate for congregations anticipating change, experiencing loss, or having plateaued and seeking new clarity for mission.

Mission of the Seemingly Mundane (1-3 sessions)

Churches can thrive with the right people managing the details of paying bills, upkeep of the building, landscaping, legal and tax issues, printing bulletins or making sure the website is working. All these jobs are needed but often are not resourced and informed by God’s mission through the church. Missional theology is not just for preachers and pastors and other “leaders”, but for everyone. Helping all of the church’s volunteers understand the greater scope of God mission and their place in it.

The seminar looks a aspects of church polity and administration as well as readings in missional literature.