Leadership development

Foundations

‘Moses chose capable men and appointed them leaders…’ (Ex 18:25)

‘The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give his life…’ (Matt 20:28)

‘We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: the prophet, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher in teaching; the exhorter in exhorting; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness…’ (Rom 12:7-8)

‘Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.’ (1 Pet 4:10)

‘It is God’s mission in which we share, participating with him in the making of disciples. Mission is the total action of God in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit – creating, redeeming, sanctifying – for the sake of the whole world. The gospel is the life-blood of the Church, and evangelism is the process whereby people are led to be strengthened in God’s mission. We have set out above the immensity of the challenge of the proclamation of the gospel in the reality of the modern world. Anglicans must be leaders in that proclamation. We believe that loving service, prophetic witness and a respectful evangelism that speaks of the uniqueness of Christ belong together.’                                    – Indaba Reflections, para. 103 (Lambeth Conference 2008)

Summary

The task team proposes an ambitious programme to make leadership a priority for the church, both to equip its own leaders to be effective, deeply ethical, moral, and visionary, and to be a resource to the wider community, including business, government, and other parts of society that seek moral, ethical, and spiritual direction in dealing with injustice and inequality.

The task team seeks to develop a programme that will address and achieve several objectives:

  • Equip lay and ordained leadership within churches
  • Foster leadership in Anglican communities
  • Provide theological and spiritual resources
  • Build capacity
  • Provide opportunities for personal development

They see much overlap with the other priority task teams, especially Theological Education and Formation, and urge close cooperation.

After reflecting on the nature of leadership, the task team report reviews a range of external challenges facing the ACSA, its own strengths and weaknesses, and opportunities for leadership development. This last section includes support for a proposed ACSA Leadership Academy as a flagship leadership development facility.

Among its recommendations, the task team report lists a range of activities aimed at leadership development:

  • Specialised leadership development (aimed initially at 600 clergy and lay leaders)
  • General theological education and training (115 sponsored learners a year)
  • Capacity development activities (620 participants in 46 Province-wide activities that include one-day lay leadership programmes, 12-month mentorship programmes, and one-day train-the-trainer programmes for five people from each diocese)
  • Spiritual support and development (90 participants a year)
  • Development of training materials

This entire programme would, according to the task team’s estimates, cost R37.8 million over five years, to be raised from Provincial, diocesan, and external sources (including fees for training services provided by ACSA, and donations).

The report ends with an outline of proposed working methods, priorities, and timelines, with implementation to begin in October 2010. Five annexures provide a detailed budget for 2011; a summary table of recommendations and cross-cutting principles for leadership development; a detailed description of existing tertiary leadership development programmes in Southern Africa; the task team’s own assessment of leadership performance in the ACSA; and a team contact list.