Leadership Roles and Skills for Adult Learning and Faith Formation

Course Summary

During this course, you will discover your leadership strengths and learn the various tasks of Christian leaders. Leadership for adult learning and faith formation calls for skills in collaboration, along with ways of forming and empowering others for roles in adult learning and faith formation. Included will be learning how to facilitate effective meetings, methods for communication, dealing with conflict and ways for leaders to create a balanced approach to Christian life.

This course is part of a specialized Certificate in Adult Formation Leadership and is meant to be taken as part of a sequence. This course presupposes knowledge in the previous courses. Refer to the certificate page for more information.

Successful completion of this course earns 2.5 CEU's.

General Course Objectives

• Understand the dynamics of change in working with parish groups.
• Appreciate the Jesus model for leadership in a faith community.
• Discover leadership strengths and tasks for Christian leaders.
• Understand the role, importance and approaches for developing a team and other personnel for adult learning and faith formation.
• Learn skills for facilitating effective meetings and communication.
• Appreciate the need for balance and spirituality in leadership.

Course Materials

• Required Book: Jean Marie Hiesberger Fostering Leadership Skills in Ministry: A Parish Handbook Liguori, 2008 ISBN: 0764817434; ISBN-13: 978-0764817434
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• Required Book: Loughlan Sofield and Donald H. Kuhn The Collaborative Leader: Listening to the Wisdom of God’s People Ave Maria Press, 1995 ISBN: 0877935440; ISBN-13: 978-0877935445
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• Required Book: Loughlan Sofield, Rosine Hammett and Carol Juliano Building Community: Christian, Caring, Vital Ave Maria Press, 1998 ISBN: 087793648X; ISBN-13: 978-0877936480
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• Required Book: Thomas R Hawkins The Learning Congregation: A New Vision of Leadership Westminster John Knox Press, 1997 ISBN: 0664256996; ISBN-13: 978-0664256999
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• Required Book: Jane E. Regan Toward an Adult Church: A Vision of Faith Formation Loyola Press, 2002 ISBN: 0829418067; ISBN-13: 978-0829418064
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• Required Book: Albert L. Winseman, Donald O.Clifton and Curt Liesveld Living Your Strengths Gallup Press, 2008 ISBN: 1595620028; ISBN-13: 978-1595620026
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    This book contains a sealed envelope with a ONE-TIME USE code needed for accessing the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment.
• Optional Book: John Kotter, Holger Rathgeber, Peter Mueller and Spencer Johnson Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions St. Martin's Press, 2006 ISBN: 031236198X; ISBN-13:978-0312361983
• Optional Book: Johnson, Spencer Who Move My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in your Work and your Life G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1998 ISBN: 0399144463; ISBN-13: 978-0399144462

Course Structure and Highlights

• Week 1: Leadership and Change
  • Understand the cycle and dynamics of change in groups.
  • Appreciate the role of leaders in creating a learning environment.
  • Discover the difference between heroic and adaptive leadership.
  • Recognize the relationship between leading and learning.
  • Understand the relationship between individual, team and community learning.
• Week 2: Jesus as Model for Christian Leadership
  • Explore the characteristics and qualities of Jesus' leadership.
  • Identify the key elements for Christian leadership.
  • Discover your key strengths for leadership.
  • Understand the Gospels as the foundational guidelines for Christian leadership.
  • Discover the meaning and importance of servant leadership.
• Week 3: Tasks of Christian Leadership
  • Understand the importance of listening as a leader.
  • Appreciate the major tasks of Christian leadership.
  • Discover the importance of forming a vision for an adult faith formation team.
  • Learn a process for determining gifts and talents on a team.
  • Understand the role of collaboration, dialogue and shared decision making in the development of a parish team for adult learning and faith formation.
• Week 4: Developing Effective Teams and Volunteers for Adult Learning and Faith
  • Learn steps for developing and forming a team for adult learning and faith formation.
  • Appreciate the gifts and talents of team members for collaboratively working together.
  • Discover principles and stages for facilitating team learning and development for adult learning and faith formation.
  • Develop principles for designing and leading effective meetings.
  • Understand some skills for dealing with conflict.
• Week 5: The Person of the Leader
  • Appreciating the role of integrity in leadership.
  • Understand generativity as the goal for a mature and relational leader.
  • Learn that compassion is at the heart of leadership.
  • Discover the importance of joy and hope as qualities of Christian leadership.
  • Appreciate the role of prayer and spirituality for leaders.

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