1

Leadership Here and Now: Advanced Leadership Skills and Practice (PT653)

Course Description

Course Instructors: Allison Rennie, Keith Howard, and Janet Gear

Fall 2014 (3.0 credits)

Purpose

You are equipping yourself in faith for vocations in and beyond congregations - vocations of love, service, sacrament, reconciliation and compassion. There are challenges and opportunities for anyone called into vocations of guiding, nurturing, creating, building, serving and sustaining communities of faith and service. The effective leader has advanced skills in understanding, navigating and working within complex communities. Building on and advancing the skills acquired in the Leadership Studio (PT651/652), this course examines fundamental issues of leadership through the practice of self-reflection and group process and through the lenses of generational analysis and theological frameworks.

This course is required for all MA-PPL and MDiv students. The Leadership Studio (PT651/652) is normally a pre-requisite for this course for MDiv and part-time MA-PPL students. Fulltime MA-PPL students (and others with permission of an instructor) may enroll in PT653 and the Studio concurrently.

Students meeting the course competencies will grow in their capacity for effective leadership in congregations and faith-based communities in three areas:

As Self-reflective leaders able to Deepen self-awareness and assess the impact of leadership choices on group health Apply knowledge of group dynamics Theologically, as leaders able to Read the theological landscape and indentify a variety of implicit and explicit theologies of divine agency

within a community Articulate the relationship between theology and a community’s ethos Critically, as leaders able to Identify and articulate key beliefs of distinct generations Articulate the impact of these beliefs upon each generation’s understanding of and hopes for communities

and institutions of faith and service.

Course Organization:

This course is designed for education through reflective practice. Students meet together three times in the fall term for an evening followed by a full day (7hrs) of case study reflection, role play, lecture, video input, discussion, and leadership practice. Three areas of leadership will be explored: Leader as

2

Reflective Practitioner, Leader in Social Context, and Leader as Practical Theologian. Expectations, preparatory and follow-up assignments are listed below.

I Leader as Reflective Practitioner (Instructor: Allison Rennie) Sept 18, Oct 16, Nov 6 Outcomes Students will

Be able to apply theoretical models to lived experience of group process

Be equipped to analyse group experience and consider options for improving health and

effectiveness of congregational groups in which they participate

Develop appropriate vocabulary for reflecting on group experience and leadership

Audit their current group leadership competencies

Develop a learning plan for increasing effective leadership capacity

Increase self-awareness related to participation in groups

Pre-course assignments (due Sept 18)

1. Read chapters 1 and 2 of Leadership Can Be Taught - Daloz Parks and Chapter 1 of Leadership

and the New Science – Margaret Wheatley

2. 1 – 2 page Group Observation

Choose a group in which you are currently a member (not designated leader). The group could be church related, or not – book club, Outreach committee, Strata council, etc. Attend an upcoming meeting and pay close attention during the gathering. Write a 1 – 2 page description of what you observe. Focus on observation and description, not evaluation. Do not include any names of participants, or personal content shared by group members in this meeting. Two copies of this assignment must be brought to the first class.

Assignments between classes

1. Between the class sessions students will be required to keep a leadership journal. Specific

requirements of the journal will be introduced at the first class.

2. Between the class sessions additional reading will be assigned.

3. A major project will be due at the final class.

II Leader in Social Context ( Instructor: Keith Howard) Sept 19 Demographic change forms one component of an increasingly complex landscape for ministry and leadership.

The generational component of Advanced Leadership Skills and Practices focuses upon the impact of key differences in belief and practice of generational cohorts upon the life and work of the church.

Core issues include:

The meaning and use of authority

Reaction to different methods and styles of decision-making

The importance of certainty or consensus

The use of various media

The place and importance of various types of feedback

Setting the right conditions to encourage volunteers

3

Outcomes Students will:

Name and describe the different events, beliefs and practices that shape each of the four major

generations of our time

Identify the beliefs and practices of their generation plus one other that most excites and energizes them

Identify points of tension between different styles of leadership and the key beliefs and

practices of various generations

Identify the “hidden” assumptions various generations make of one another

Examine the key beliefs and practices of their congregation and how those may be in tension with the beliefs and practices of other generations

Begin to formulate approaches to inter-generational conversation and congregational life that

are authentic and have integrity

Pre-Class Viewing and Reading (due Sept 19): Generations in Anglo-American History, http://www.lifecourse.com/about/method/timelines/generations.html What is a Generation? http://www.lifecourse.com/about/method/phases.html LifeCourse Associates, Why Generations Matter: Ten Findings from LifeCourse Research on the Workforce.

http://www.lifecourse.com/assets/files/Why%20Generations%20Matter%20LifeCourse%20Associates%20Feb%202012.pdf

Asa J. Lee, Reaching the Millenial Generation,

:http://www.churchleadership.com/leadingideas/leaddocs/2014/140507_article.html Yael Cohen, How to Convince Gen Y to believe in Your Cause and Your company,

http://www.fastcompany.com/1841544/how-convince-gen-y-believe-your-cause-and-your-company Courtney E. Martin, This isn’t her mother’s feminism, http://www.ted.com/talks/courtney_martin_reinventing_feminism McQueen, Michael, The New Rules of Engagement. BookBaby; 2007. (section one) Spiegel, Diane E. The Gen Y Handbook: Applying Relationship Leadership to Engage Millennials, Select Books, 2013(chp 1-2)

Assigned Reading on reserve or posted on Moodle: Barbour, A. and A. Goldberg. “Principles of Confirmation,” in Kathleen M. Galvin and Pamela Cooper. Making Connections:

Readings in Relational Communication. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury, 2000.

Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, The Faith of Generation Y (Explorations) Church House Publishing 2010; chapters 6, 7 & 8 Howe, Neil, William Strauss and R.J. Matson Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, Vintage Original 2009 Howe, Neil, Millenials in the Workplace; Publisher: LifeCourse Associates (2010) (chapters 5-12) McQueen, Michael, The New Rules of Engagement. BookBaby; 2007. Spiegel, Diane E. The Gen Y Handbook: Applying Relationship Leadership to Engage Millennials, Select Books, 2013 Walrath, Douglas Alan, Frameworks: Patterns for Living and Believing Today, Pilgrim Press 1987

4

Pre-Class Assignment (due Sept 19):

Interview two people of different generations, each of a generation different than your own, about their life and perspective of a good life. In preparation for the interviews, identify five pivotal questions you will ask each.

Reflect upon their answers from the perspective of your generation and the implications of these insights for leadership and the mission of the church. (1500 words max)

A major final assignment will incorporate and build upon the generational analysis advanced in this assignment.

III Leader as Practical Theologian (Instructor: Janet Gear) Oct 17

Faith leaders/practical theologians are able to listen and speak to how faith animates the lives of others. Leaders in communities of faith have a complex task of reading the various theologies shaping and informing shared and dissenting commitments (vision and mission). Outcomes: Students will

Be able to differentiate theological frames expressed in faith communities (implicit or explicit beliefs about God, world and church)

Recognize how theological frames shape commitments and actions (the difference these make to how the community lives and works together)

Demonstrate a developing appreciation and fluency in reading and speaking across a variety of theological frames, including areas of compatibility and incompatibility

Engage in critical analysis of activities and mission strategies emerging from theological worldviews

Pre-Class Reading Assignment (Available on Moodle by September 5, 2014) Students with fewer than two graduate courses in theology should read:

Ford, David F., Theology: A Very Short Introduction Oxford 1999

All students will read and prepare notes for reference and discussion on the readings posted on Moodle due October 17.

Pre-Class Assignment (due Oct 17):

A brief preparatory assignment will be distributed and explained on Sept 19.

Post-Class Assignment (due Oct 27)

A short reflective exercise will be assigned on the lecture and readings.

Final Course Project (due Nov 7) Using an existing group in your faith community prepare and present an in depth analysis using all the tools, models and frameworks presented in this class. This will include generational frameworks, theological lenses, and models for understanding group life. Your project must demonstrate your ability to understand, integrate, and apply these models in a real life faith context. The conclusion of your project must include the identification of 3 – 5 specific leadership choices you would make to increase the effectiveness of the group you have chosen. Further instruction will be given on the course syllabus.

5

Bibliography will include required and recommended readings from the following texts:

Leadership, Group Process, Facilitation:

Baldwin, Christina, Storycatcher: Making Sense of our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story New World Library 2007

Bens, Ingrid, Facilitation at a Glance: Your Pocket Guide to Facilitation, GOAL/QPC 2012 (3rd

ed)

Block, Peter, Community: The Structure of Belonging, Berrett-Koehler 2008

Daloz Parks, Sharon, Leadership Can Be Taught, Harvard Business Press 2005

Johnson, David and Frank Johnson, Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills , Pearson 2012 (11th

ed.) (recommended)

Palmer, Parker, Let Your Life Speak, Jossey-Bass 1999

Parks Daloz, Laurent A., Sharon Daloz Parks, Cheryl H. Keen, and James P. Keen, Common Fire, Lives of Commitment in a Complex World Beacon Press, 1996.

Scott, Susan Fierce Conversations. Berkeley 2004

Senge, Peter, M., The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization Crown Business 1994

Wheatley, Margaret J. Leadership And The New Science: Discovering Order In A Chaotic World (3rd ed.) Berrett-Koehler 2006 Generational Analysis: Barbour, A. and A. Goldberg. “Principles of Confirmation,” in Kathleen M. Galvin and Pamela Cooper. Making Connections: Readings

in Relational Communication. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury, 2000.

Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, The Faith of Generation Y (Explorations) Church House Publishing 2010 Howe, Neil and William Strauss, The Fourth Turning Three Rivers Press 2009 Howe, Neil, William Strauss and R.J. Matson Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, Vintage Original 2009 Howe, Neil, Millenials in the Workplace, LifeCourse Associates 2010 Kinnanman, David, You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church...and Rethinking Faith. Baker Books 2011 Spiegel, Diane E. The Gen Y Handbook: Applying Relationship Leadership to Engage Millennials, Select Books, 2013 Walrath, Douglas Alan, Frameworks: Patterns for Living and Believing Today, Pilgrim Press 1987 Theology:

Althaus-Reid, Marcella, The Queer God, Routledge 2003

Baum, Gregory, “Critical Theologies in Canada” in Schweitzer, Don and Derek Simon (ed) Intersecting Voices: Critical Theologies in a Land of Diversity, Novalis 2004

Bennett, M.J. “Toward ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity.” In Education for the intercultural experience, 2

nd ed., ed. R.M. Paige, 21-71. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 1993.

6

Berry, Thomas, “The Great Work,” in Schwartzentruber, Michael (ed), The Emerging Christian Way, CopperHouse 2006

Caputo, John, The Insistence of God: A Theology of Perhaps, Indiana University Press 2013

Ford, David F., Theology: A Very Short Introduction Oxford 1999

Graham, Elaine, Between and Rock and a Hard Place: Public Theology in a Post-Secular Age SCM Press 2013 (recommended)

Moe-Lobeda, Cynthia, Healing a Broken World: Globalization and God, Fortress 2002

Morisy, Ann, Bothered and Bewildered: Enacting Hope in Troubled Times, Continuum 2009

Oord, Thomas Jay, Defining Love: A Philosophical, Scientific and Theological Engagement Brazos Press 2010

Reader, John, Reconstructing Practical Theology: The Impact of Globalization, Ashgate 2008

Rieger, Joerg (ed.), Liberating the Future: God, Mammon and Theology, Augsburg Fortress 1998

Rollins, Peter, Insurrection: To Believe is Human; To Doubt Divine, Howard Books 2011

Ruether, Rosemary Radford, Integrating Ecofeminisism, Globalization, and World Religions, Rowman and Littlefield 2005

Church and Ministry:

Butler Bass, Diana, The Practicing Congregation: Imagining a New Old Church, Alban Institute 2004

Greene, Colin and Martin Robinson, Metavista: Bible, Church and Mission in an Age of Imagination, Paternoster 2008

Hasler, Joe, Crying Out for a Polycentric Church, Church and Society 2006

Hauerwas, S and William Willamon, Resident Aliens, Abingdon Press 1989

Jones, Paul, Worlds Within a Congregation: Dealing with Theological Diversity, Abingdon Press 2000

Kim-Cragg, HyeRan. “Postcolonial Suggestions for Intercultural Ministries.” The Ecumenist: A Journal of Theology, Culture, and Society 49:2 (May-June 2012). Roxburg, Alan J., Missional Map-Making: Skills for Leading in Times of Transition, Jossey-Bass 2010

Tickle, Phyllis, The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why, BakerBooks 2008

Van Gelder, Craig (ed), The Missional Church and Denominations, Eerdmans 2008

These required texts will be available for purchase at the UBC Bookstore:

Baldwin, Christina, Storycatcher: Making Sense of our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story New World Library 2007

Bens, Ingrid, Facilitation at a Glance: Your Pocket Guide to Facilitation, GOAL/QPC 2012 (3rd

ed)

Ford, David F., Theology: A Very Short Introduction Oxford 1999 Walrath, Douglas Alan, Frameworks: Patterns for Living and Believing Today, Pilgrim Press 1987

Wheatley, Margaret J. Leadership And The New Science: Discovering Order In A Chaotic World (3rd ed.) Berrett-Koehler 2006