2023 Adaptive Leadership & Faithful Innovation Coaching for Rostered Ministers

Leaders across the churches today face massive challenges on two fronts: understanding a pluralist culture that no longer supports Christian identity and practice; and leading faith communities through processes of learning, adaptation, and innovation in mission. Leaders are most ready to engage these challenges when they have developed basic pastoral competence and are serving in contexts where they confront these realities on a daily basis. Such learning functions best in communities of peers who mutually encourage, support, challenge, and deepen one another, while being held accountable to a disciplined structure of action/reflection under the guidance of faculty mentors and coaches.

Luther Seminary's Faith+Lead, through the generous support of the Siebert Lutheran Foundation, is inviting all six ELCA synods in Wisconsin to identify pastors who are ready and willing to go deeper in an intentional learning community that will equip them for advanced missional leadership. These pastors will be identified through a competitive application process as those who are committed to leading their communities in faithful innovation, ready and eager to experiment in their leadership to address core challenges facing their congregations, and willing to learn in a cohort of peers.

This program is organized around a cohort of 24 participants who commit to a 12-month learning journey. There are three in-person gatherings of 3-4 days each, interspersed with readings and monthly online engagement with a peer group and a coach. We anticipate that the time commitment to this project will require approximately five hours per week.

Applications are due by December 30, 2022 and applicants will be notified by January 10, 2023 about their acceptance into the cohort. If you are accepted into the program, all costs will be covered by grant funds. The only cost to your congregation would be travel to the three retreats which will all be located in the state of Wisconsin. 

For more information and to learn how to apply, contact dara.clifford@ecsw.org.