What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “church leadership?” What images, feelings, or memories does it conjure up?

It could perhaps be argued that very often our imagination, training, and practice of leadership related to the life of the Church succumbs to the patterns and expectations of the dominant culture. Reading books, achieving degrees, attending conferences, refining technical skills… all of these things have their place in terms of the development and exercise of Christian leadership. However, we might ask if they hold any true or lasting value in terms of the formation and work of Church leaders apart from that which makes leadership uniquely Christian, the person and activity of the Holy Spirit.

This week, we’d like to host a conversation about the role of the Holy Spirit in Church leadership.

• What does it mean and look like for you and the people you serve with to follow the Holy Spirit in leadership?
• If you have advanced theological education, was the role of the Holy Spirit in leadership something that was conceptually and practically emphasized?
• Has our imagination for Church/Christian leadership become enculturated? If so, how and what might it take to develop a new imagination?

As a prelude to this discussion, be sure to check out this workshop by Jo Saxton and A.J. Swoboda from the Future Gospel gathering this past April.

Workshop Description:

Amid the cacophony of conflicting voices from our culture and our own expectations and ambitions, every leader knows the struggle of discerning God’s voice. How do we both discern and declare Gods voice for our lives but also our given missional context? This workshop will offer practical, theoretical, and theological approaches exploring the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit.

The audio download of this workshop is available HERE and is available for free all day today, 7/1/13 (discount automatically applied when you add the workshop to your cart).

For additional perspective from Jo Saxton, check out the plenary address she offered along with Amos Yong, “The Interruptions of the Spirit & the Future of Mission” and another workshop she co-led with Michael Rudzena, “Missional Communities: Fad, Fiction, or Fact?”

And for more from A.J. Swoboda, check out the workshop he did with Christine Sine, “Dirty Theology: Lessons of Justice, Grace, and God in the Dirt.”