Innovative Leadership Rounds Explained

Perhaps I got ahead of myself with my last blog post. It happens. I am often guilty of: “Ready. Fire. Aim.” In mentioning the Minnesotans' trip to Southside Abbey, I mentioned the Innovative Leadership Rounds, without really unpacking what that program is.

First, the Innovative Leadership Rounds program is made possible by the generosity, support, and faithfulness of the Episcopal Church Foundation's Fellowship Partners Program. For those who had not heard, I am humbled and honored to be named a Fellow for 2015. I am humbled and honored beyond words, which is rare for me – to be without words, that is.

This reality calls to mind the speech the character Kevin makes at the end of an episode of the television show, The Office. Kevin, who is not known for his knowledge or wisdom, is part of a team that has just won a trivia competition. Upon reflection, he offers: “Look, I know it's easy to say tonight was just a fluke, and maybe it was. But here's a piece of trivia: A fluke is one of the most common fish in the sea, So if you go fishing for a fluke, chances are... you just might catch one” (The Office, “Trivia”). That's some deep theological stuff right there. How often are we in the presence of the Holy Spirit, present in the ordinary, and we just miss it?

In short, ECF has been gracious enough to see the Holy Spirit present in the work that Southside Abbey is doing and supportive enough to offer that work as a resource to others engaged in similar work around the Church. This is what the Innovative Leadership Rounds program, which is funded by the Fellowship, is all about.

The Innovative Leadership Rounds are based medical rounds, which demonstrate the best analysis and treatment of real patients to groups of physicians, as these patients personally share their stories. Observing, sharing, and inquiring in groups can teach more than one-sided lectures or presentations. The Innovative Leadership Rounds Project will invite missional church lay and clergy leaders to participate in Rounds with other like-minded leaders from across the Episcopal (and Lutheran) Church.

The Church will tangibly benefit by having leaders developed and learning documented and disseminated. The Rounds project could be a resource for dioceses contemplating starting missional communities, or in early stages of such work. Leadership of dioceses not yet engaged in this kind of work might even be more supportive of an emerging community with an established model and program, like Southside Abbey and the Rounds project.

In a broader sense, the Church will benefit by having more current clergy and lay leaders thinking missionally and communally about spreading the good news of Jesus. People who haven’t traditionally been raised up as leaders will also have an opportunity to participate in the growth and future of the Church, benefitting creativity, diversity, and strength.

Southside Abbey is not the model of the Episcopal Church moving forward. We are a model. The Rounds project is mutual learning. Hopefully the Episcopal Church can learn much from Southside Abbey and the communities with whom we partner. Look for the fruit of this labor to be shared on Southside Abbey's website under our Open Source tab in the coming year, as well as continued sharing through ECF's Vital Posts.

This post was originally published on the Episcopal Church Foundation's Vital Practices Vital Posts blog on June 23, 2015. It has been reprinted here with permission.

The Minnesotans are Coming! The Minnesotans are Coming!

Well, they actually have already come, and gone. One of the blessings of being an ECF Fellow for 2015 is the opportunity that it affords Southside Abbey to grow with other communities that will come visit us as part of the Innovative Leadership Rounds Program. Our time with the Minnesotans was a pilot of that program, graciously put together by Missioner Steve Mullaney and the Episcopal Church in Minnesota.

Nine Minnesotans descended upon Chattanooga's Southside late Thursday evening. I don't know what any of us thought would happen, but I can share what did happen. Somewhere along the way the Holy Spirit showed up for each one of us.

While it certainly helps that Steve brought a fantastic group of faithful followers of Jesus with him, I know that this special weekend is one that I will treasure for a long time to come, as it continues to feed me days later.

This time together was an opportunity to learn from one another. We at Southside Abbey were able to share with our new friends what we are doing, while at the same time seeing Southside Abbey's mission and ministry through fresh eyes.

During our time together: We ate, we prayed, we shared our hopes for the trip, we slept, we went on a “reality bus tour” of Chattanooga's Southside, we ate, we met immigrants and those experiencing homelessness, we shared Christ's table with them at H♥ART Gallery, we ate, we jubilee-ified (now a word) a laundromat – providing quarters, pizza, soap, and hope, we were part of house blessing of a man who had lived on the streets for more than a dozen years, we ate, we worshiped in “traditional” Episcopal ways, we worshiped in “non-traditional” Episcopal ways, we shared stories, we talked, we processed, we ate, we wrote a compline liturgy together (which still requires some editing and permissions, but will soon be up on Southside Abbey's website under the “Open Source” tab), we sang, we prayerfully walked the neighborhood, and we said “see you later.”

Most importantly, during our time together we got to know one another and ourselves, deeply. Our community was formed so strongly that tears were shed when we said goodbye. It felt like camp before cell phones or video games if that makes any sense at all.

One of my favorite phrases to come out of the weekend was uttered by Southside Abbey's Claire LePage. Claire, along with her brother Graham (who happens to be Southside Abbey's lay missioner), grew up in Kenya. As such, she got to see a lot of “mission trips” from the point of view of those who stay behind after the mission trip is over. Claire reminisced that: “the weekend offered everything that a mission trip is supposed to do, but rarely ever does. It built real relationships that will last and we all learned from one another.”

I'm excited to share here a small part of the collaborations that the Innovative Leadership Rounds will bring. The Tennesseans invade Minnesota in the fall...

This post was originally published on the Episcopal Church Foundation's Vital Practices Vital Posts blog on June 10, 2015. It has been reprinted here with permission.