Innovation & Change for Spiritual Leaders
Learn the skills needed to revitalize spirituality in our rapidly changing world
The religious and social landscape in North America has shifted. Once full churches and vibrant denominations have seen participation decline dramatically as much as 50% or more, with no sign of abatement.
Yet, disruptions of political division, violence, racial and ethnic injustice, and escalating rates of loneliness, depression and despair continue.
We must increase the impact of spiritual and religious communities, not decrease them.
This need is matched by a consistent and growing interest in spirituality, but not in its traditional institutions.
Spiritual leadership and its institutions must change radically and dramatically.
Change and Innovation Is Needed!
Develop the Skills for Innovation and Change:
Conscious Use of Self, Where Change Starts
You will increase your self-aware and self-management through conscious choice and spiritual discernment, including how to…
- Engage in spiritual discernment to assure the intention of you and you congregation’s actions to create the desired impact.
- Build stronger personal connections through emotional and social intelligence
- Manage your own ego in healthy ways to increase effectiveness.
- Examine core beliefs about yourself, your work, and your congregation and how they might best serve possible innovation and change.
Human Systems, Where Change Happens
- Understand why organizations and congregations resist innovation and change, despite the intention of individual members.
- Build the inclusion and supportive systems that make individual change and transformation is possible.
- Build systems to withstand resistance and generate support for discernment, innovation and change.
Communicating for Change
- Build necessary feedback systems to support spiritual discernment and mission objectives.
- Receive feedback that is sound, current, and relevant to mission objectives.
- Shape your and your congregation’s understanding of yourself and your context with sound and current data, rather than nostalgia or assumptions.
Transforming Conflict & Differences
- Use differences as a source of curiosity, learning and spiritual discernment, rather than escalating conflict.
- Implement a Conscious Use of Self to provide a non-anxious presence amid difficult work.
- Transform hostile conflict into greater innovation and “win-Win” solutions.
How You Will Learn
The learning processes of the Innovation & Change for Spiritual Leaders program are deeply engaging. No one ever gets bored and multi-tasking is never a problem over the four hour sessions of online programs or the eight hour sessions of in-person programs. Concepts are offered through group discussions that involve application to the individual contexts and situations of each participant.
Depth of learning is ensured through experiential exercises, small (3 or 4) group discussions, and large (9 to 12) group debriefing with the expert facilitators. In the concept and debriefing discussions, the facilitator consistently challenges the group and each person to inspect habituated behaviors and belief systems for current effectiveness.
Schedule of Topics and Dates
| Month | Topic | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| January | Conscious Use of Self | Shifting from automatic behaviors to intention choices |
| January | Human Systems | Understanding the nature and power of human systems |
| February | Support Systems | Building the support needed for effective change |
| March | Contracting | Building the agreements needed for effective change |
| April | Sound and Current Data | Distinquishing sound and current data from assumptions |
| May | Feedback | A new view to making feedback work |
| June | Power, Influence, & Conflict | Understanding and managing power dynamics and conflict |
| July | Learning from Differences | Using differences for learning instead of conflict |
| August | Empowerment | Supporting others toward conscious use of self |
| September | System Change Application | Creating systemic change projects and review |
| October | Ending, Completion, Graduation | Letting go of what is to get to what you want. Graduation! |
Format
The “Innovation & Change for Spiritual Leaders” Workshop will be conducted in two four-hour sessions each month for ten months over Zoom. The first month and the last have two pairs of four-hour sessions.
Tuition: $2995 with a $500 non-refundable deposit
A few partial scholarships may be available. Click to contact Paster David Shelor for more information.
Your Staff
- Dr. Michael Broom
- Rev. Dr. David Shelor