So what are you going to do now?
The pieces are coming together. In summary, my immediate future looks like the following:
- Victoria presbytery has appointed me to Oak Bay United Church, ¾ time, for up to two years, commencing August 15th.
- BC Conference has given a contract focusing upon research and leadership development, ¼ time, from September 2011 to May 2012.
- I will continue to be part of the Vancouver School of Theology Studio for Strategic Leadership from September 2011 through April 2012. The Studio meets approximately every second Monday, September through November and January through March.
The immediate task will be time management.
I am excited about the mix. It is one thing to travel the country talking about the next chapter in the life of the church; it is quite another to be on the front lines. After five years away from congregational work, I was beginning to feel the distance between memory and practice. And I am excited to be working with the team and congregation of Oak Bay!
The contract with BC Conference will allow continuation of the work on leadership that has emerged as a key interest and will combine both research and attention to the “so what?” question. If BC Conference is serious about pursuing its stated goal of effective leadership what vision would fuel this and which next steps need to be taken by whom? Real questions that impact the life of real people.
The VST Studio forces me to articulate the theory and practices of effective strategic leadership that I feel, practice and have seen implemented. The Studio format frees me from exclusively occupying the sage on the stage role and allows me to expect discovery.
We will create a blog at Oak Bay United Church’s website, oakbayunitedchurch.ca, to explore some aspects of stepping back into the toughest job in the church, congregational leadership. Other reflections I will post on this blog. So to all those who have asked, “So what are you going to do now?” this is the answer … so far.
3/4+1/4+ vst?????
time management you say?
I am so excited to have you at oak bay. We are so lucky!
Interesting, the five question marks above. Wondering if it’s indicative of the expectation that ministers will work full-time for 3/4 (or 1/2) pay; or that full-time ministers shouldn’t have outside interests besides the congregation. But since I don’t know “Gail” perhaps she just knows something about Keith in particular that I don’t know? (????)
Thanks Gail. I’m really looking forward to it.
This all sounds very good, Keith. I trust it is as good as it sounds for you!! I’m glad to hear you’ll still have an outlet for all that vision/leadership/big sky stuff that you do so well.