“We’re living in times different than ever before. Some would call it unprecedented times,” says Rev. Dr. Barrie Tritle, “And because of that, we need to think differently and strategically.” Rev. Tritle, who serves as lead pastor of First United Methodist Church in Iowa City, is also the convener of the Bishop’s Operational Team, which was ...
The Iowa Conference has been on a journey towards greater health for the past several years. From the adoption of our strategic priorities in 2014 to the approval of the Conference mission and vision in 2016, operational teams across the state have worked diligently to align our systems and structure to create and support vital communities of faith...
For two years, the Iowa Conference has been taking part in the Healthy Conference Initiative process with the coaching guidance of Greg Survant and Christin Nevins from Spiritual Leadership Incorporated (SLI). It is now a critical juncture in the process, as the coaches lessen their roles and the teams that they have been working with are charged ...
Members of many ministry groups gathered at the Conference Center to affirm their common purpose and commitment to the emerging mission and vision of the Iowa Annual Conference. The joint session of the operational teams, help on April 24, 2017, provided an opportunity to review the basis of their work together and to experience consensus about ...
By Robert Lyons* God has many tools at his disposal from inspirational pastors to dedicated congregants, but in the Iowa Conference, his tools are that of two very important committees. These two committees are the Bishop’s Operational Team and the Bishop’s Appointive Cabinet and members of both serve at the behest of Bishop Laurie. The ...
As the Iowa Conference continues to work through the coaching tips of Spiritual Leadership Inc. (SLI), participants in the program are getting out to the districts to begin grassroots organizing. “We have been learning about our ministries and where mission and ministry need to get realigned,” said Rev. Lanette Plambeck, Broadway UMC in Council ...
by Robert Lyons Beginning a little over a year ago, the Iowa Conference entered into a transformative and collaborative partnership with Spiritual Leadership Inc. (SLI). SLI is a coaching organization dedicated to educating, developing, and empowering religious leaders. One of the organization’s founders, Greg Survant, works directly with the ...
Loving, Learning, Leading with SLI By Roxanne Strike* Conference leaders are starting to see the impact from their Spiritual Leadership Incorporated (SLI) coaching as they come closer to the one-year anniversary of SLI’s implementation in the Iowa Conference. “It has been a fruitful experience in the sense we have been given the opportunity to ...
The Iowa Conference is getting some serious coaching right now. Spiritual Leadership Incorporated (SLI), an organization that seeks to help church leaders grow and put their ideas into action, has provided two coaches to guide two teams – the Bishop’s Operating Team and the Bishop’s Appointive Cabinet – through a year-long process that will ...