Leadership Retreat

Introduction to the day

 The theme of spiritual
leadership
• What does it mean to be a leader in a spiritual
community?
• What does it mean to be a spiritual leader in a
community?
• How does it differ from other kinds of leadership?
• Good questions for Lent…
Morning prayer and
scripture reflection
From Psalm 51
Open my lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall
proclaim your praise. Create in me a clean
heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within
me. Cast me not away from your presence and
take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the
joy of your saving help again and sustain me
with your bountiful Spirit. Glory to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was
in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.
Exodus 3

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his
flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of
the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was
blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great
sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside
to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then
he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are
standing is holy ground.” 6 He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was
afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have
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heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8 and I have
come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a
good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites,
the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 The cry of the
Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So come,
I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said
to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He
said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you
have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”
Prayers may be offered for ourselves and others.
Including on-line prayer requests.
The Lord's Prayer
The Collect
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you
have brought us in safety to this new day:
Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may
not fall into sin, nor be overcome by
adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the
fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ
 A vision for RenewalWorks:
To make spiritual growth a priority
To build cultures of discipleship in our
congregations
 AKA
The Great
Conversation
Best Practice Principles
1. The leader’s heart
2. Get people moving
3. Embed scripture
4. Create ownership
5. Pastor the community
The leader’s heart:
It’s at the center.
Embed the Bible
Why Moses?
Impressions?
 What makes for a
good leader?
What makes for a not-
so-good leader?
Leaders exhibit
humility
Number 12:3:
 
Now the man Moses was very
humble, more so than anyone else
on the face of the earth.

(aka, meek)
Characteristics of leaders of
spiritually vital congregations:
 
•Start with their own spiritual journey
•Model a life of discipleship
•Focus on growing hearts, not ASA or
budgets
•Are disarmingly humble and
transparent
4 essential principles of leadership: Harry Kraemer:
From Values To Action
 
•Self reflection: Ability to reflect and identify what
you stand for
•Balance and perspective: ability to see situations from
multiple perspectives
•True self-confidence: ability to accept yourself as you
are; recognizing strengths and weaknesses/focusing on
continuing improvement
•Genuine humility: never forget who you are,
appreciate value of each person in the organization,
treat everyone respectfully
 
 What’s the secret to
humility?
How might we practice
it?
Humility is often confused with the gentlemanly self-
deprecation of saying you’re not much of a bridge player
when you know perfectly well you are. Conscious or
otherwise, this kind of humility is a form of gamesmanship.
If you really aren’t much of a bridge player, you’re apt to be
rather proud of yourself for admitting it so humbly. This
kind of humility is a form of low comedy.
 
True humility doesn’t consist of thinking ill of yourself but
of not thinking of yourself much differently from the way
you’d be apt to think of anybody else. It is the capacity for
being no more and no less pleased when you play your own
hand well than when your opponents do.

-Frederick Buechner
As long as you are proud you cannot
know God. A proud man is always
looking down on thing and people:
and, of course, as long as you are
looking down you cannot see
something that is above you.

-C.S.Lewis
Leadership calls for
vision
Exodus 13
Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on
which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of
slavery, because the Lord brought you out from there
by strength of hand; no leavened bread shall be
eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going
out. 5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the
Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites,
and the Jebusites, which he swore to your ancestors
to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey.
A vision for RenewalWorks:
From here to there
 There is no such thing as a
stationary Christian. A stationary
Christian is sick in his (or her)
identity. A Christian is meant to
walk. To move.
-Pope Francis
2018 RenewalWorks Goals
 
Wanting to grow as disciples of Jesus, we commit to:

1. Gathering weekly to encounter Christ in the

Eucharist.
2. Engaging daily with God through prayer and
Scripture.
3. Growing in our knowledge of Anglican beliefs and
practices.
4. Discovering, nurturing and using our spiritual gifts
to pastor our communities
 Vision:
What will St. James’ look like if
those goals are pursued?
What is leader’s role in helping
to realize that vision?
What is your role?
Leadership takes
courage and trust
Hebrews 11:24-29

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be

known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be
mistreated along with the people of God rather than to
enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for
the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of
Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By
faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he
persevered because he saw him who is invisible.  By faith
he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that
the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn
of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as
on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they
were drowned.
 When has your spiritual
leadership, in this church or
elsewhere, called for
courage and trust?
Personally and/or
collectively?
Leadership attracts
complaints
Exodus 16
The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from
Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is
between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second
month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. The
whole congregation of the Israelites complained against
Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to
them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the
land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill
of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness
to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Psalm 78:17-20
Yet they sinned still more against him,
    rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their heart

    by demanding the food they craved.

19 They spoke against God, saying,

    “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

20 Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed

out
    and torrents overflowed,
can he also give bread,
    or provide meat for his people?”
Change is good.
You go first.
-Dilbert
Relationship of clergy,
staff, lay leaders and
congregation…
 What are obstacles to
reaching goals?
“Can God set a table in
the wilderness?”
 What are some
effective strategies for
dealing with critique?
What did Moses do?
What do you do?
Break
Leadership involves
coaching
Hear the commandments of God to his people:

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of bondage.

You shall have no other gods but me. Amen. Lord have mercy.
You shall not make for yourself any idol. Amen. Lord have
mercy.
You shall not invoke with malice the Name of the Lord your
God.  Amen. Lord have mercy.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Amen. Lord
have mercy.
Honor your father and your mother. Amen. Lord have mercy.
You shall not commit murder. Amen. Lord have mercy.
You shall not commit adultery. Amen. Lord have mercy.
You shall not steal. Amen. Lord have mercy.
You shall not be a false witness. Amen. Lord have mercy.
You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Amen. Lord have mercy.
Elevating expectations.
Expecting growth.
What might that look
like?
 How does spiritual
coaching go on at St.
James?
Where do coaching and
elevating expectations
come as a challenge in
spiritual leadership?
Leadership requires
sustenance:
Is it well with your
soul?
Exodus 24
The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and wait
there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the
commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” So Moses set
out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of
God.  To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us, until we come to you
again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to
them.”
Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the
mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud
covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the
cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring
fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses
entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the
mountain for forty days and forty nights.
What has worked for
you in discovering
spiritual sustenance?
What has gotten in the
way?
Leaders delegate and
share leadership.
Exodus 18

The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning
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until evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is
this that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, [i] with all the people standing
around you from morning until evening?”

Moses told his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. [j] 16 When they have a
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dispute, it comes to me and I decide between a person and his neighbor, and make known the statutes of
God and his instructions.”

Moses’ father-in-law told him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You will certainly wear yourself out,
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both you and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot do it by
yourself. 19 Now listen to me. I’ll advise you, and may God be with you. You are to represent the people
before God and bring the disputes to God. 20 You are to teach them the statutes and instructions and make
known to them the way they’re to go and the things they’re to do. 21 You are to look for capable men
among the people, men who fear God, men of integrity who hate dishonest gain. You are to set these men
over them as officials over thousands, hundreds, [k] fifties,[l] and tens.[m] 22 They are to judge the people at
all times. Let them bring every major matter to you, but let them judge every minor matter. It will lighten
your burden, and they’ll bear it with you. 23 If you do this,[n] and God so commands you, you will be able
to stand the strain,[o] and all these people will also go to their homes in peace.”

Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 Moses chose capable men from all
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Israel and appointed them as heads over the people, as officials over thousands, hundreds, [p] fifties,[q] and
tens.[r] 26 They judged the people at all times; the difficult matters they brought to Moses, but every minor
matter they judged. 27 Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and he went to his own land.
What are growth edges
in delegation and share
leadership?
At Noon
From Psalm 113
Give praise, you servants of the LORD; *
    praise the Name of the LORD.
Let the Name of the LORD be blessed, *
    from this time forth for evermore.
From the rising of the sun to its going down *
    let the Name of the LORD be praised.
The LORD is high above all nations, *
    and his glory above the heavens. 
Deuteronomy 30
 
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See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and
adversity. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God[b] that I
am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his
ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you
shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in
the land that you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and
you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve
them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long
in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call
heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life
and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your
descendants may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and
holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that
you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob
Prayers may be offered for ourselves and others.
The Lord's Prayer
The Collect
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles,
"Peace I give to you; my own peace I leave with
you:" Regard not our sins, but the faith of your
Church, and give to us the peace and unity of
that heavenly City, where with the Father and the
Holy Spirit you live and reign, now and for
ever. Ame
Lunch!
10 Practical approaches to spiritual
leadership
•Surround meeting in prayer
•Embed scripture in everything you do
•Frame the work you are doing as ministry
•Equip the saints for ministry; Leader as
coach
•Develop leaders: Power of invitation
10 Practical approaches to spiritual
leadership (continued)
•Remember it’s relational: Steward the
conversation
•Practice accountability/elevate
expectations; covenant?
•Anticipate resistance and conflict
•Honor people’s presence and participation
•Joy
 Summing up:
What does the story of Moses
have to do with the story of St.
James’ Church?
What answers (if any) does it
provide for exploration of
spiritual leadership?
Speaking of Lent:
A season of spiritual
growth…
If you come here,
you will grow.
As a participant in this
retreat, how would you
like to grow as a
spiritual leader this
Lent?
• How can you all support each
other in your leadership roles?
How can the church support
you?
• How can you develop your
own minsitry as a leader in
days ahead?
Concluding prayer
followed by Holy
Eucharist