Lead On
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 4, 2019 – A new branding campaign of The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) of The United Methodist Church (UMC) expresses the agency’s commitment to sharpen its focus on the ways that it resources, coaches, trains and consults with lay and clergy leaders throughout their lifetimes, as they discover, claim and flourish in their callings.
“Nurturing Leaders. Changing Lives” articulates the agency’s mission to expand and re-envision the ways that the UMC identifies, trains and provides continuing enrichment for its leaders.
“Well prepared and supported leaders strengthen the church’s effectiveness in growing disciples and spreading the gospel to the world,” said Rev. Dr. Kim Cape, GBHEM’s general secretary. “To assist the church in meeting its central mission, we are providing exceptional tools and opportunities to help gifted leaders make a difference.”
Drawing on extensive research with United Methodists from across the church, GBHEM is proactively developing new resources and services and reshaping existing ones to enhance lay and clergy leaders’ ministries in their contexts and cultures.
GBHEM is reframing itself as a “leadership center” that will disseminate best practices, training, coaching, consultation and thought-provoking publications from leadership experts. It is also working toward offering demographic data, trend analysis, an online “virtual toolbox” of leadership resources and forums for examining and discussing leadership issues and challenges.
Among the new resources and events that GBHEM will introduce this year:
- The United Methodist Leaders’ Summit, September 23-25, Orlando, Florida. Key denominational leaders will gather to discuss leadership concerns facing the church and strategize goals for growing and sustaining leaders for the church and world.
- The Awakened Life. An eight-week curriculum to help collegiate ministers address issues of emotional, mental and spiritual well-being among students.
- Effective Ministry 360. EM360 helps pastors and staff/pastor-parish relations committees identify areas of ministry effectiveness and guides congregations in establishing a formation plan to ensure that ministry and mission goals are met.
- “Truth-Telling in a Post-Truth World.” This book by D. Stephen Long, Cary M. Maguire University Professor of Ethics at Perkins School of Theology, explores questions such as, how can we recognize the truth when everyone follows their own perception of it? When we accept and expect lies, is civil society possible? If everyone has their own moral compass, is there any compass at all? It identifies ways for private citizens and people of faith to practice truth-telling, for the common good.
Victoria Rebeck serves on the communications staff of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.