Business Leaders and Pastors
Partners in Leadership and Ministry
Saturday, March 23, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
In cooperation with Mennonite Economic Development Associates
Everence, 1110 North Main Street in Goshen, Indiana
Business leaders and pastors both provide leadership in their communities and congregations. As followers of Christ, both want to work for God’s purposes in the world and to extend God’s reign of justice and peace. Yet despite these common goals, business leaders and pastors sometimes encounter barriers to pursuing a shared vision.
This workshop will explore how business leaders and pastors can connect meaningfully with each other and jointly contribute to “God-activity” both inside and outside the congregation. It will explore how pastors and business leaders can empower each other for ministry and shape a shared mission for their churches and communities.
A summary of the first three of these workshops, prepared by Jeremy Shue, reflects themes that have emerged as important for both pastors and business leaders.
Keynote speaker
David B. Miller joined the AMBS faculty in the fall of 2009 following twenty years of pastoral experience in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Prior to coming to AMBS he had also taught in the Pastoral Ministries Program at Hesston College and directed the Mennonite Board of Missions Voluntary Service Program.
The questions surrounding how pastors and business leaders communicate and together wrestle with the shape of faithful discipleship became more than a theoretical question when he married Mary Kathryn Schmid. Mary’s father was then president of Smith Dairy in Orrville, Ohio, business founded by her grandfather in 1909. David notes, “My worldview had been shaped by the experience of blue collar workers. I was the son and grandson of tool and die makers. Needless to say, Mary and I had much to learn from each other—and how to communicate when formed by such differing perspectives. Ours has been an ongoing conversation in which stereotypes have been challenged and categories re-arranged.”
Schedule
8:00 am Registration and Gathering
8:30 - 12:30 pm Sessions
Facilitator: Len Geiser, Owner, Len Geiser & Associates; retired Professor of Business, Goshen College
Session 1: A Theology of Leadership for Business Leaders and Pastors
David B. Miller, Associate Professor of Missional Leadership Development, AMBS
Table group discussions
Session 2: Caucus Groups: Exploring what causes and contributes to the divide between business leaders and pastors
Facilitator for business leaders: Jon Geiser, Associate Professor of Business and Director of the Center for Business and Entrepreneurial Education, Goshen College
Facilitator for pastors: Janice Yordy Sutter, Pastor of Worship and Preaching, Kern Road Mennonite Church
Session 3: Exploring how pastors and business leaders can connect in meaningful ways and empower each other for ministry and shape a shared mission for their churches and communities
Caucus group reporting
Table group discussions
David B. Miller
Table group discussions
Session 4: Affirming and Blessing the Work and Calling of Business Leaders and Pastors
Len Geiser
David B. Miller
12:45 pm Optional Lunch. We will continue the conversation over lunch with facilitators Jon Geiser and Phil Waite. ($7)
Registration
Early registration deadline is March 8.
Individual registration fee $39.
Business Leader and Pastor registering together $65.
Questions?
Email: ctzehr@ambs.edu
Phone: 800-964-2627 or 574-296-6269
