‘Learning to lead together on the high seas’

SNOWBIRD, UT —  “We are here as co-creators of a new way, sharing springs of living waters in a time of alligators,” said Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Council Chair Carol Adcock.

“Learning to Lead Together on the High Seas” is the theme of the 3rd Annual Gathering of middle governing body leaders and the General Assembly Council (GAC) of the PC(USA), held here in Snowbird Sept. 28-30. The goals of the gathering include exploring how to lead in partnership, identifying next action steps, all centered in a spirit of worship. …

…The watery metaphor continued with the opening keynote address titled “Riding the Missional Wave: Leading Faithful Governing Bodies” by the Rev. Darrell Guder, ademic dean and professor of missional theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.

“Our present turbulent passage,” Guder said, can certainly be linked to the controversies which are swirling in life of the church. But he believes that the current upheaval is due even more to being in the midst of a “massive cultural shift.” The shift is known by all the “post” words:  post-colonial, post-Christian, post-modern.

“Learning to lead together means that we need to do more than just describe the paradigm shift,” Guder maintained. “We need to examine what it means theologically, what has happened to the church’s missional vocation. This big task will generate questions: big questions. Questions we would like to avoid.” …