Fifteen Lutheran (ELCA) pastors from four states and six synods gathered for the first week of their Transforming Leaders Initiative three-year learning journey. Pastors formed peer-coaching triads and quads. They learned basic coaching skills for equipping leaders in the parish and their own monthly peer-coaching. We unpacked self assessments and instruments including DISC to increase self awareness and team-building skills. Missional theology framed this journey into the future, exploring our paradigms of faith. Each practiced personal visioning and began to discern their own vision of call, and what the journey will look like from here.

This is the second part of an article on the Body of Christ as Ministry Team. You can read Part 1 here. Once you decide to move from the traditional Council and Committee structure to an organic Body of Christ characterized by Gift-Oriented Ministry Teams, you need to take several steps to build effective teams.

Charlotte Roberts has joined the Founding Board of TransformingChurch.org. She is an executive consultant, speaker and writer who focuses on organizations’ sustainability and competitiveness. She is co-author of two cutting-edge leadership books with her colleagues Peter Senge, Art Kleiner, Rick Ross, Bryan Smith and George Roth.

by Gregg Burch

As I have worked with the Academy for Transformational Leadership and TransformingChurch.com for the last three years, I have gotten a peek at how we develop leaders in the Lutheran Church (ELCA), and I wonder at how little we invest in equipping our future leaders. Seminaries have very