What is the LEAD program?
LEAD stands for Leadership, Equipping And Development. The purpose of the program is to identify emerging leaders in our congregation and help them to develop into competent leaders. Each participant in the program (we refer to them as a protégé) is paired with an established leader (“coach”)– ideally someone who is established in the area of ministry that the protégé is interested in stepping into.
The protégé is challenged to grow in character, competencies (directly related to their area of desired leadership) and theological convictions. Growth in character and competency occurs in the coach-protégé relationship and depth in theological convictions is provided by a systematic theology class attended by all in the program.
What are the coach and protégé relationships like?
Coaches are encouraged to meet with their protégés twice a month. They develop a personal relationship. Trust, openness and respect are very important in this relationship. In addition to their formal meetings (called CAP or Coach and Protégé meetings) coaches and protégés are encouraged to spend social time together and with each other’s families.
What happens in CAP meetings?
CAP meetings center around growth in either character or competencies. In order to aid this, coaches are provided with guides that encourage dialogue on a particular character or competency, often include study material as well as practical application and assignments. These guides provide specific, measurable goals to be obtained before the guide is considered complete.
How do coaches know which guides to go through?
Early in the relationship, protégés have people close to them fill out an evaluation that helps isolate areas for character growth and development. Using the results of those evaluations as well as the coach’s own insight, the coach and protégé form a Personal Development Plan (PDP), which lays out the character, guides that the protégé will go through.
Competency guides are selected by the coach (or auxiliary coach) who evaluates the protégé competency to perform the ministry leadership role they are aspiring to and identifies areas for growth.
What does the systematic theology class look like?
Once Sunday afternoon a month everyone in the program gathers together for our systematic theology class. Each meeting consists of two sessions, each one covering one aspect of systematic theology. For the most part, each session pairs with a corresponding chapter from Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrine.
Prior to gathering together, participants are asked to go through the corresponding guide for the sessions. These guides state the purpose of the session; introduce the doctrine in question by way of quotes from various perspectives. They then include Scripture passages to be studied and reading (usually the Grudem book and occasionally other supplementary reading). These guides ensure that the participants come to the class with a firm grasp on the doctrine and have already began to wrestle through its application.
The time together is spent on discussion questions designed to take the doctrine deeper and to apply it directly to the areas of ministry leadership that the protégé’s are involved in.
Finally, the last session in the guide is an opportunity to reflect on the doctrine in light of the previous reading and class discussion and to summarize it and its relation to the participants’ life and ministry. This step also involves the participant writing practical, measurable steps to implement what they learned to a) their own life b) their families c) their ministry d) other areas of their life. Coaches will often follow up with these during the next CAP meeting.
How can I find out more?
Feel free to give me a call or drop me an e-mail. I would also love to share any files I have regarding the LEAD program which are conveniently filed on Google drive and can be shared easily. Finally, we would love you to come and see the program in action. We don’t do it perfectly but would welcome your eyes seeing how it works.