From today’s CoB Newsline (3/29/07) I read,
“Vital Pastor program continues to launch and conclude pastor groups.
In late 2006 and early 2007, six pastoral cohort groups in the Church of the Brethren were awarded Sustaining Pastoral Excellence (SPE) grants that launched a two-year, self-chosen study focus for each group. SPE is administered by the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, a joint ministry of Bethany Theological Seminary and the Church of the Brethren General Board, and is funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. Following are the groups of pastors, their congregations, and their questions for study:
Ryan Braught, Hempfield Church of the Brethren in Manheim, Pa.; Dennis Garrison, Spring Creek Church of the Brethren in Hershey, Pa.; Steve Hess, Lititz (Pa.) Church of the Brethren; John Hostetter, Lampeter (Pa.) Church of the Brethren; Bob Kettering, Lititz (Pa.) Church of the Brethren; Phil Reynolds, Mohler Church of the Brethren in Ephrata, Pa. Question: “What leadership skills are needed to pastor disciple-forming communities in a postmodern world?”
Dennis Lohr, Palmyra (Pa.) Church of the Brethren; Twyla Rowe, Westminster (Md.) Church of the Brethren; Dick Shreckhise, Lancaster (Pa.) Church of the Brethren; Jim Zerfing, Lake View Christian Fellowship Church of the Brethren in East Berlin, Pa. Question: “What are the insights and skills needed for effective pastoral leadership to minister amid the intersections of our Anabaptist/Pietist identity and the emerging postmodern church/culture?”
I hope these pastors will add to this website with their questions, insights and learnings. I would love to hear from them! Perhaps by posting here, we could contribute to their learnings, too.
So. . . what do you all have to say?
Jeff Glass