Leadership training: the first step

Right now our church is embarking upon a giant undertaking: vision casting.  For those who don't know what that is, it is simply this: prayerfully determining where God wants our church to go in the next few years.  This conversation actually began during the discussions surrounding me becoming the senior pastor.  Many people asked me, "where is your heart for the church"? and, "what is your vision"?  I couldn't (and won't) answer that question in an exhaustive manner for two reasons: 1) I don't know the full scope of what the church should look like, since I am only one man, 2) It isn't healthy to have vision decided upon by just one individual--we need to recognize that we "have the mind of Christ" as a body of believers (I Cor 2:16).  But I do have a trajectory in mind: I want to see a church that is passionate about Jesus.  Biblically based, rooted in prayer, relevant to our community, and pursuing the fulfillment of the Great Commission.  That's what I long for.  I long for that for the members of my church, for my own family, and for the people God would have us reach for Jesus in the years ahead.

But how do we get there?  One thing I do know: we need the leadership of our church to be pulling in the same direction--pulling to where God wants us to go.  And so I have decided that the first step should be leadership development where we explore together what God has in store for us.  In recent years, I have found myself increasingly attracted to a group of churches where I see these thing happening, where passion for God is evident in a new and powerful way.  I am excited about the things I see and hear God doing in these churches, and I want our church to explore what it's all about.  This is a part of my "vision" for our church.  That is why I have booked a sizable group from my church to go to Chicago on April 22-25 for a Leadership Training Conference hosted by Harvest Bible Fellowship.  Although our church is not affiliated with this group of churches, I believe that we can take some great principles from these churches about how to be a faithful effective church for Christ.  And I hope that we can build some connections as well--connections that I have found personally to be spiritually uplifting.


So please pray for our group as we go.  Pray for spiritual renewal in all of our hearts.  And pray that EKBC will be a passionate, effective church for Jesus in the years ahead.

Below is a link to a video that explains what Harvest Bible Fellowship is all about.


http://vimeo.com/23666070