ORGNZTNL LEADRSHP CH & COMMNTY (FT-2923)

The course is an excursion into various forms of organizational leadership in church and community. It includes prerequisites for leadership, defining leadership, and embodying leadership. The course lifts up the importance of the self and what leaders bring to leadership. It explores how people become leaders and the dynamics between leaders and the communities (organizations) they serve. Context is critical as well as theology or worldview. The course seeks to engage the soul of students. Why are they involved in leadership? What resolve attends their visions, hopes, paths?

The course offers insights and strategies for effective change of systems, structures, and self. It also holds forth alternatives ways of organizing and being. Students will be introduced to ways of analyzing and implementing social change/transformation. Class pedagogy includes lecturers, classroom discussion, small group discussion, and guest speakers from diverse social locations and ministry contexts who model leadership incarnating social change. An essential question is how do we create beloved community, a world that embraces all and works for all? Any student enrolled in a degree and/or certificate program at the Graduate Theological Union is eligible to enroll in the course.