At the annual Leadership Institute hosted by Resurrection, a United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, participants from 44 states, representing 10 different denominations, heard a variety of religious leaders and authors. All photos by David Burke
Great Plains Conference | Oct 8, 2025
LEAWOOD, Kan. — More than 1,600 people, either in person at Resurrection, a United Methodist Church, or online, got a “Rise” in their mission and their ministry during the annual Leadership Institute, Oct. 1-3.
“We know you can rise to be the leaders that your church in your community needs,” said Megan Cullum from ShareChurch, who emceed the three-day event with Rev. Bill Gepford, Resurrection West location pastor.
Rev. Adam Hamilton is joined by Florida Bishop Tom Berlin and Indiana Bishop Tracy Smith Malone at the opening of Leadership Institute.
Participants from 44 states, representing 10 different denominations, heard a variety of religious leaders and authors.
The 27th annual Leadership Institute came on the eve of the 35th anniversary of Resurrection, which Rev. Adam Hamilton began in a funeral home. During the opening to this year’s event, he showed video of the first service, which had about 90 in attendance.
Hamilton also told the audience that he was retiring in five years, after four decades with Resurrection.
“No church should have to suffer with one pastor for more than 40 years,” he quipped.
Hamilton lamented the rise of Christian nationalism, polarizing churches and their members.
“Sometimes Christians play a part in fanning these flames,” he said. “They have a faith that no longer centers Jesus.”
Indiana Bishop Tracy Smith Malone and Florida Bishop Tom Berlin joined Hamilton for a discussion on the new United Methodist vision statement.
Bishop Smith Malone, chair of the Council of Bishops, said the vision statement was needed following disaffiliations earlier in the decade.
“Where are we going? Who are we as a church?” she asked.
Each gave examples of the three key elements of the new statement — Love Boldly, Serve Joyfully and Lead Courageously — at work in their own conferences.
“You’re trying to build healthy churches in an unhealthy environment,” Bishop Berlin said.
Author Dan Heath speaks about leadership.
Dan Heath
The author of books including his most recent, “Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working,” Dan Heath gave a visual animated description of moving a boulder to indicate how change could be made, relying on “leverage points” with several individuals rather than doing it individually.
Leaders, he said, often get “so stuck in the means that we forget about the mission.”
Heath encouraged leaders to “let people drive” as well as remember “the goal of the goal.”
“I want you to be ready to move that sucker more,” he said of the hypothetical boulder.
Andy Stanley talks about the outward-facing church.
Andy Stanley
The founder of North Point Ministries in the Atlanta area, Andy Stanley said he normally doesn’t speak at events such as Leadership Institute but changed his mind when he was asked to talk about outward-facing churches.
“The gravitational pull of the local church is always toward insiders,” he said.
Stanley introduced the five disciplines of outward-facing churches, including assuming the newcomers are in the room, evaluating through the eyes and ears of outsiders, fostering a culture of invitation, employing rules of engagement (endear, inspire and invite) and celebrating it when you see it.
He encouraged leaders to concentrate on the mission over the model, citing the defunct Blockbuster Video, whose mission was “to get movies into the hands of people.”
“You marry the mission, and you date the model,” Stanley said.
Bishop Tracy Smith Malone speaks on leading with power and purpose.
Bishop Tracy Smith Malone
“We have lived through moments we never expected to face,” Bishop Tracy Smith Malone said in her talk, “Leading with Purpose and Power.”
Leaders, she said, must be willing to step back at times for the good of their organization and themselves.
“Leadership is not defined by certainty or perfection,” Smith Malone said, encouraging “a practice of showing up with our whole selves.”
“Leading with purpose and power does not emerge from perfection,” she added. “Ministry isn’t meant to be a solo act. It as a shared, sacred mission.”
The bishop said leaders should not have to try and prove themselves.
“God gave you wisdom to let you know what to let go of,” she said.
Leaders shouldn’t be ashamed to say they can’t lead alone, the bishop said.
“There is strength in telling the truth,” she said, “and grace meets us there.”
Grace Ji-Sun Kim discusses intersectional leadership.
Grace Ji-Sun Kim
Born in Korea and raised in Canada, theology professor Grace Ji-Sun Kim says her “life story is a K-Drama,” giving a synopsis of her history.
“As leaders we really need to understand who we are,” she said. “Most strategy or self-authority is deeply rooted in self-awareness.”
Kim talked about her and others’ efforts as a teenager to “hide my Korean-ness,” including dying their hair blonde and using tape to widen their eyes.
“The Gospel is that Jesus loved everyone. We are valuable and everyone else is valuable,” she said.
Jesus, Kim said, modeled leadership for us, “pray, reflect and rest.”
Kim told anecdotes about the release of her book, “When God Became White,” how she did not choose the title but has come to like it, and the response the book had received.
Adam Hamilton wraps up the 28th Leadership Institute.
Adam Hamilton
In his traditional role as the final presenter of Leadership Institute, Rev. Adam Hamilton celebrated not only Resurrection’s anniversary that weekend, but the opening of new locations in Lee’s Summit, Mo., and Mason, Ohio.
Hamilton said he was asked for a job description, and he came up with a list of seven, five of which could be for any church and not just Resurrection, the largest United Methodist Church in the country.
His list:
- Be a “real Christian” and lead by example.
- Set the culture — character, values and ideals.
- Love and care for the people — both personally and the systems.
- Preach the Word — inspiring, helpful sermons.
- Discern and cast vision — what could and should be done to close the gap between the world as it should be and what the world is now.
- Stewardship — model and inspire commitment and sacrifice.
- Represent Christ and the church in the community.
Hamilton also introduced the “Why Church?” campaign, aimed at getting people back into sanctuaries and services. It included a Resurrection-based video spot that could be substituted with local church information, he said.
“People think they don’t need church anymore,” he said. “If you and your people are not making the case for churches, who is?”
David Burke
David Burke is a content specialist for The United Methodist Church's Great Plains Conference.