{"id":24633,"date":"2024-11-21T16:05:10","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T16:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/?p=24633"},"modified":"2025-03-07T22:11:39","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T22:11:39","slug":"l-e-a-d-conference-gathers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2024\/l-e-a-d-conference-gathers\/","title":{"rendered":"L.E.A.D. Conference gathers in Ephrata to learn to \u2018Listen, Equip, Adapt, Disciple\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Keynote speaker Dennis R. Edwards of North Park Theological Seminary, and preachers Etienne Nsanzimana of the Church of the Brethren in Rwanda and Jeff Carter of Bethany Theological Seminary, led the main sessions at the first-ever L.E.A.D. Conference of the Church of the Brethren on Nov. 15-17. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some 150 people gathered at Ephrata (Pa.) Church of the Brethren including participants from around the country and members of the Ephrata congregation who helped host the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the three keynote sessions and two worship services, 20 break-out sessions were given by a wide variety of Church of the Brethren speakers on topics related to the four focus areas: listen, equip, adapt, and disciple. Break-out sessions were in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, and language translation was available during the keynote sessions and worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The planning team was led by Nate Polzin, executive director of Discipleship and Leadership Formation, which sponsored the conference. Also on the planning team were Ephrata lead pastor Brian Messler; pastor James Washington of the Pleasant View and Elm Street Church of the Brethren congregations in the area of Lima, Ohio; pastor Ilexene Alphonse of Miami (Fla.) Haitian Church of the Brethren and the country advisory team for Haiti; Lupita Cruz-Ortiz, church planter and associate pastor at Mount Hermon Church of the Brethren and Hispanic Ministries in Bassett, Va.; Jennifer Kreighbaum, a pastor at Buck Creek Church of the Brethren who is on the leadership team of West Marva District; and Northern Ohio District executive minister Kris Hawk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polzin announced that plans are already in the works for another L.E.A.D. Conference in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dennis R. Edwards of North Park Theological Seminary, keynote speaker for the L.E.A.D. Conference, took on the topic of humility and how it is a necessary characteristic of Christian leadership. He is the author of <\/em>Humility Illuminated: The Biblical Path Back to Christian Character (InterVarsity Press Academic, 2023).<\/em>

(Photos on this page by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Humility and Christian leadership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Edwards presented humility as a biblical value and a key characteristic of Christian leadership. His work toward his recent book Humility Illuminated: The Biblical Path Back to Christian Character<\/em> (InterVarsity Press Academic, 2023) contributed to presentations that delved into several New Testament letters and their context in the Roman Empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nate Polzin, executive director of Discipleship and Leadership Formation, opens the L.E.A.D. Conference. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A New Testament scholar and dean and vice president of Church Relations at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Ill.–the graduate theological school of the Evangelical Covenant Church–Edwards has pastored in urban settings including Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn, N.Y.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He addressed humility as a Christian identity marker (Colossians 3), in his first keynote session, and then went on to speak about humility and shepherding as a leadership virtue (1 Thessalonians 2), and to identify humility as the countercultural way to transform society (Philippians 2). As Edwards spoke about the congregations that were addressed in these New Testament letters, all in cities of the Roman Empire, echoes with the current culture in the United States became evident. Both cultural settings, although separated by thousands of years, have valued the ability to exert power and influence over others, and have shaped leaders in that mold. But the New Testament letters teach humility as a counter cultural value, Edwards said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if humility were to be accorded the status that it should have? he wondered aloud in the first keynote session. He defined humility not as weakness or self-abasement or submission to earthly powers, but as an intentional way of living that \u201cstarts out with us yielding to God\u201d and \u201crejects the show of superiority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the humility that Jesus displayed, prioritizing a relationship with God and service to others, which did not prevent him from speaking boldly. Humility as a virtue is found throughout the Bible, he said, and other biblical figures–such as Moses–also had an intimacy with God that directly related to their humility.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

It all starts with the question, what is my posture with God? The resulting humility \u201cdictates how I relate to others.\u201d Edwards characterized it as not \u201cpower over\u201d but \u201clove under\u201d and said he hopes that a new focus on humility might allow Christianity, the church, and the surrounding culture to get back on track. \u201cEmbrace this virtue,\u201d he urged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his second keynote session, he expanded on the relationship between humility and Christian leadership, which does not \u201clord it over those who are entrusted to us\u2026. We\u2019re shepherds who serve for the Chief Shepherd,\u201d he said. \u201cShepherding fosters collaboration not competition.\u201d Good leadership helps others see their gifts and abilities and use them, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Etienne Nsanzimana, lead pastor and president of the Church of the Brethren in Rwanda, gave the opening message on 2 Timothy 2:2, the theme scripture for the L.E.A.D. Conference. \u201cGenerational teaching is the essence of discipleship,\u201d he told the congregation. \u201cWe must teach in a way that empowers others to teach.\u201d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Jeff Carter, president of Bethany Theological Seminary, preached the closing sermon on the story of the call of the prophet Samuel into leadership. The words Samuel speaks, \u201cHere I am,\u201d are echoed in other stories of calling in the Bible, Carter said, and for us are a call to action. \u201cHow are we choosing to ready ourselves for Kingdom service\u2026to be ready when God calls us?\u201d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Edwards’ third keynote presentation called for humility as an antidote to the fragmentation, polarization, and discord that mark Christianity and society today. Humility which relies on our relationship with God reminds us that \u201cthe Lord Jesus is the ultimate source of\u2026unity.\u201d Our relationship to God, and by extension to each other, is more important than citizenship to the nation. \u201cUnity requires living as heavenly citizens,\u201d he said. In this understanding, humility requires great strength, and is made possible through taking on the mind of Christ as referenced in the early Christian hymn text in Philippians 2. The result, Edwards said, may be a complete social transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a talk-back session on the final morning of the conference, Edwards acknowledged the issues presented by this call to humility for non-dominant groups who do not have the privileges of power or position. The injunction to be humble has so often been forced on powerless people, he said, but true Christian humility cannot be forced. It is a voluntary stance that expresses one\u2019s relationship with God. Those Christians who are most vulnerable in our society, he said, are our best models in showing how to live the way of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about the L.E.A.D. Conference at www.brethren.org\/dlf\/lead-conference<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find a photo album at https:\/\/churchofthebrethren.smugmug.com\/LEAD-Conference-2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#MissionAndMinistryBoard #StrategicPlan #RacialJustice #LoveOurNeighbors #Discipleship #NewTestamentGiving<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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