Resurrection
L-R: Pastor Rachel, Em (Lay Leader), Blake (CYF Director), Pastor Karyn, Mary Beth (Dir. of Operations & Communications), Pam (SPRC Chair), Ricky (Lay Leader).
Navigating the first-flights-of-the-day security lines at PDX (the only time of day that TSA pre-check takes more than two minutes), seven sleepy but excited First Church program staff and lay leaders - plus a chaperone! - boarded a direct flight to Kansas City. Unprepared for the humidity, we prepared instead to ask questions like:
Where are we curious? Where do we, as the American Church, draw the line for what is moral? Where are we in our organizational lifecycle? How do we leave behind the tyranny of either/or and step into the genius of the both/and? What is the future of United Methodism? How do we find practical clarity for leading change? How do we create a culture of belonging in an age of isolation?
These questions and so many more have been tackled at Leadership Institute, hosted by Resurrection Church in Kansas City. A church aptly named, we have indeed experienced resurrection here!
Leadership Institute is the premier United Methodist-hosted leadership conference, led by Resurrection Church for the past three decades. Founded by Rev. Adam Hamilton to equip, mentor, and inspire pastors, church staff, and lay volunteers, Leadership Institute continues also to be a place of connection and encouragement for an oft-weary mainline church.
After the early haul of a travel day, the first day of the conference boasted 12 hours of stirring, sobering, and thought-provoking workshops. Topics ranged from a strategic approach to ministry with kids and families, AI wonders and worries, the art of hospitality, faithful innovation, legacy giving, digital ministry, and dozens others. It was a southern thunderstorm’s worth of Spirit-led, data driven, joy forward ideas and wonderings!
What we’ve learned so far is that there are so many things that the First Church community does so well. You all are a tremendous blessing to us as some of the current leaders of the church and to the community around us where your impact spreads.
We’ve also learned more practical, actionable strategies for building the First Church that we’ve articulated in our vision than we can begin to name (we will, we just need time for our minds to catch up). As those who do find ourselves oft-weary, it has been a breath of energy and hope.
I write this, admittedly, in the middle of one of our sessions; not a reflection on the remarkable speaker, only a reflection on the uncanny trait of chronos time to continue to march unceasingly forward. I had assumed I would have time to do some daily office work during any sub-par sessions and the break time in-between, but there has been such an incredible spirit of generous connection and wisdom to be shared and learned with one another that I have not been able to help being completely immersed in the momentum present here.
We can’t wait to share some of this wisdom and momentum with our congregation!
Until then, we thank you for continuing to prepare for our group as we participate in the second half of Leadership Institute and prepare to travel back to Portland with our learnings. We’ll see you on Sunday morning for the last installment of our series, Good Bones.
With gratitude,
Pastor Karyn
P.S. Be sure to check out the newsletter for the new Pastor’s Bible Study on The Forgotten Books of the Bible, starting October 18 at 9:30, and the Sound Check Sunday on October 11 at 9:45. I’ll see you at both!