Grace and Truth column

Life is just one big continuing education opportunity, if one is of that mind set. There are many opportunities throughout life to continue one’s education, and one need not enter a program, attend a seminar or go to classes to expand one’s knowledge. However, I have entered a program to become better educated in one specific area.

Thanks to some encouragement to consider it and the assistance of some scholarship money, I am taking part in the Values-Based Leadership Program. Offered through the Institute for Anabaptist Leaders and held at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center, Mt. Pleasant, Pa., the program seeks to help people become the leaders God is inviting us to become.

Participants pay attention to their faith as well as life experiences as they are encouraged to grow in five areas, called core values. These core values are Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act and Encourage the Heart.

We met for two and a half days and will meet again for another two and a half days. In between we have homework to do. We also are expected to check in with the peer coach we were assigned—peer because we are both participants in the program and coach because we are to be coaching and encouraging one another.

During a three-way phone conversation with my peer coach and our group leader, I listened to a story of good leadership and heard all five core values in the story. When I told the other two what I had heard, Lee Schmucker, our group leader, said, “Donna, I think you have your next article for The Mennonite.” So I asked my peer coach for permission to tell her story.

My peer coach is Ruth Yoder Wenger, pastor of North Bronx (N.Y.) Mennonite Church. As she led a baptism class in understanding Mennonites, Ruth realized that the congregation’s 20-year-old mission statement no longer fit the current group. The words were too big and unfamiliar for some who had less education than the writers of the earlier mission statement or for some whose first language was not English.

Challenge the process: Ruth decided they needed a new mission statement. In doing so, Ruth was challenging the process. She looked at what was and wondered if it should be. Was the mission statement serving its purpose? Clearly it was not. It may have been good at one time, but now it needed to be replaced with something that better fit the people of North Bronx Mennonite Church.

Model the way: But Ruth wasn’t going to write the new mission statement alone. She needed the voices of those in her congregation. As Ruth led them in a process of naming who they are and what is important to them as people of North Bronx, she displayed another core value—modeling the way. Ruth demonstrated for them how to enter the conversation as she explained the process and entered it herself.

Enable others to act: As Ruth invited others into the process, encouraging them each to be a part of the process, others were enabled to act. In her gentle way, space was made for all to take part. Together they named what they thought most important and vital to the life of their church.

Inspire a shared vision: Working together, they discovered that what they were naming were things they were already doing. Soon a new mission statement had been fashioned out of those things they had named. Together they wrote a lovely, simple mission statement that fit them. Ruth had inspired a shared vision.

Encourage the heart: The people of North Bronx now have a mission statement they can remember easily. The words are simple and grew out of their work together. Their hearts are encouraged as they live into their mission statement, together doing the work God has called them to do in their part of the world.

No doubt education will continue in North Bronx Mennonite Church as Ruth works with her congregation and they learn from each other. I learned as I listened to the story and realized how each of the core values was present in the story. I hope to continue to learn because life is just one big continuing education opportunity, if one is of that mind set.