Reflections of Elective and Specialization Courses in my MA of Ministry Journey
Power, Change and Conflict Management -LEAD 560
Dr. Charles Arn had me examine my personal improvement plan based on a 360-Degree Leadership tool. After this course, I made sure my team always knows we must continue to hold each other accountable. The key takeaway was working on a better communication plan that gets the message out to all staff. It is my desire to be an effective leader that rallies a broader group of people towards the organization’s goals, mission and objectives. The Personal Change Survey Assessment was enlightening and a great evaluation process. My challenge is to slow down, listen, and seek more feedback from my staff. I need to make sure every team member knows they are held accountable to the team. The resources in this course were excellent and useful to a leader.
Intergenerational Leadership- LEAD 550
From Dr. Charles Arn, I learned the value of intergenerational programming and applied it to my Y ministry. For more than 160 years, the Y has been listening to and responding to the needs of our neighbors from all generations. My takeaway is now it is time to bring those generations together, serving as a catalyst for positive change. The challenge is to effectively monitor progress and the success of engagement of intentional intergenerational programs. The bigger hurdle is to note engagement strategies that work effectively with strengthening intergenerationality in one Y may not work effectively with another Y, and it is critical to recognize all generations, especially those that may be demographically and/or historically underrepresented, may be unwilling to be seen as a generation with one specific set of needs. Bringing people together positions the YMCA across America to be purposely and fully intergenerational, to continue building bridges, filling the gaps, and finding common ground. We bring people together because unity requires everyone.
Communication and Leadership- LEAD 520
This course focused on communication strategies and the various ways people communicate. Dr. Joe Harmon challenged me to evaluate my existing personal communication strategies. The challenge in this course was to tackle the communication skills needed for leadership to work in today’s parachurch organizations and churches. The takeaway for me was developing a personal communication strategy and plan to optimize my personal communication skills and effectively improve the organizational communication within my ministry.
Strategic Leadership and Management -LEAD 545
The key takeaway from this course was the CliftonStrengths 34 profile, which helped me understand who I am and how to influence others, build relationships, process information, and make things happen. Teamwork in my organization is maximized when I understand and leverage my own strengths and others’ strengths on the team. This awareness empowers team members to stay engaged, productive, and cohesive. The challenge was building a personal leadership and management growth plan that enabled me to capitalize on my strengths, maximize team members, understand followers’ needs, stay connected and serve the needy, focus on diversification and unity, adaption and be innovation in programming, learn about God and personal participation in missio Dei in an effort to move forward in life. Dr. Connie J. Erpelding was an outstanding professor and resource for this course.
Christmas: Mystery of the Incarnation- THEO 520
This is the only on-site intensive course I took at IWU, and Dr. John Drury did not disappoint. To say I flexed my theological muscle would be an understatement. Challenged on unity and diversity, social and cultural, national and global as well as kingdom contexts in which my ministry takes place was quite the undertaking in five days. The key takeaway I learned was about the roots of American denominationalism, especially related to North America. Additionally, I learned the art of completing a quick exegesis on a text and a deep dive into the infancy narratives.
Space and Time in Worship- WSHP 520
Dr. Brannon Hancock helped me explore Christian worship, its rhythms, rituals, spaces and sacred actions through the thematic lens of space and time. I explored worship practices through historical, biblical and theological perspectives. This was a great complimentary course to “Christmas: The Mystery of the Incarnation” because the theology of the sacraments, the seasons of the Christian year, church architecture and sacred spaces were discussed in depth over the eight weeks. This journey ends with completed coursework that has prepared me to continue my ministry.
Impactful Text
In the book Becoming a Strategic Leader, the authors define strategic leadership as “individuals and teams enact strategic leadership when they create the direction, alignment, and commitment needed to achieve the enduring performance potential of the organization” (Hughes, Beatty, Dinwoodie, 2014, pg. 11). This impactful book helped me call on Y leaders to create more purposeful relationships with young people. It encouraged me to continue to put Christian principles into practice to create a healthy spirit, mind and body for all. If an organization’s leaders are able to help each person capitalize on this cumulative advantage, it is likely to create more rapid individual and organizational growth. When a leader knows their personal strengths, they can act to maximize their potential and learn to recognize blind spots. My top five strengths are Strategic, Achiever, Arranger, Activator and Belief according to the CliftonStrengths 34 results. The work at the Y is energizing for me as it is fast-paced and constantly changing. In Becoming a Strategic Leader, it states “Not only are thinking, acting, and influencing interdependent, they also work in tandem to produce the leadership outcome of direction, alignment, and commitment” (Hughes, Beatty, Dinwoodie, 2014, Pg. 50). I realized to improve upon this strength and maximize its effectiveness in my work, I needed a written record of my ideas that need to come to fruition. At times, I have too many projects in the works, and recording action steps for each as the ideas helps me continue to activate and achieve rather than be pulled in too many directions.
References
Hughes, Richard l., Beatty, Katherine Colarelli and Dinwoodie, David L. (2014). (2nd Ed.). Becoming a Strategic Leader: Your Role in Your Organization’s Enduring Success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Significant take-aways: Elective courses in my MA in Ministry
The elective and specialization courses inspired me in several different ways. The weekly discussion posts were the most beneficial to me because it gave me an opportunity to learn from others and explore different perspectives. Most of the materials in these courses were not new to me. Most of them I had either read before or utilized them in my work at the Y as a leadership development trainer over the years. These courses did stretch me and encouraged me to value the importance of diversity, inclusion, and global engagement in my ministry. For example, in the Intergenerational Leadership coursework the focus was not only on inclusion of people from all ages but how to blend the different generations into your ministry while capitalizing on all the generations’ strengths.
Today’s Challenges and into the Future – Need New Words
Ministry today requires a pastor to continuously evaluate and implement behavior changes. One behavior change is learning to intentionally use change itself as a strategy to expand options and opportunities to better leverage ministry resources and capabilities. Other behavior changes include creating ministry opportunities and partnerships by aligning structures, systems, and processes that are linked to the change and creating processes to implement successful changes while maintaining organizational effectiveness.
There are critical challenges facing ministries today. A few challenges I faced while in the seminary program were centered around change leadership. One demand was to grow as a leader by learning to facilitate and implement equitable change for the good of the ministry and/or community. An additional need is engaging community by learning to build bridges with others to ensure my ministries work is community-focused and welcoming of all who enter our doors. In light of the global COVID-19 crisis, future challenges will include critical thinking and decision making. Ministry will require one to make informed decisions based on logic, data, and sound judgment in order to rebound from this current climate. Fiscal management will be another critical challenge in the future. One must manage and monitor the ministry’s resources intentionally and responsibly in order to sustain the ministry. An additional opportunity will center around inclusion. One must value all people for their unique talents and take an active role in promoting practices that support diversity, inclusion, and global work, as well as cultural competence in order to grow ministries.