Growing Spiritual Transformational Leaders: Courageous Conversations are Possible!

Kim Shockley, Coordinator for Pathways of Spiritual Leadership

One of my blessings during this pandemic and the resulting consequences of working from home, lots of Zoom meetings, and some opportunities for introspection has come through a new focus on the last statement of Micah 6:8 “...walk humbly with God”. The Courageous Conversations course became an avenue in which I learned more about how walking humbly is tied to listening to understand and even picking up the adage that, ‘I could be wrong.’ The humble statement about being wrong allows me to be more present with people as I learn from them and expand my understanding. Even if we disagree, we are able to preserve our relationship because we understand each other, without having to convince the other person that I am right. 

The Grow, Equip, and Connect ministry areas of the Susquehanna Conference are partnering with Discipleship Ministries to present Courageous Conversations, a four-session online course that will help us to gain confidence in how we have hard conversations. The instructor (and creator) of Courageous Conversations is Rev. Scott Hughes. Scott is the Director of Adult Discipleship and Executive Director of Congregational Vitality & Intentional Discipleship for Discipleship Ministries, an agency of the United Methodist Church. Our partnership with Discipleship Ministries will allow participants to use the course – a special edition that will be only available to the Susquehanna Conference – and offer CEU credits for taking it. 

Registration for the course is now open at: https://susumc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Courageous-Conversation-flyer.pdf. Be sure to use the special code that allows 100 participants to take the course without cost. 

The course is organized in four sessions which include a video teaching from Scott, additional articles to read, and an opportunity to answer questions in a format that will allow you to interact with Scott and others taking the course. There is a downloadable booklet that accompanies the course. This material embodies the Fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control in order to have Courageous Conversations! Against such things there is no law! (Gal 5:22-23) 

GROW: Let’s Have a Courageous Conversation!

By Kim Shockley, Coordinator for Pathways of Spiritual Leadership

We all know that we are living in unprecedented times that are characterized by our diversity of opinion, interpretation of information, and melatonin. Because of the COVID pandemic we have been staying at home and much of our interaction with others, especially face to face conversation, has been minimized to the point where at best we can tolerate opposing views, and at worst, demonize each other. And the issues that fuel our conversations are becoming more diverse and difficult from day to day! How will we function when we can be together again?

The Grow, Equip, and Connect ministry areas of the Susquehanna Conference have realized that we have a great opportunity to create better ways of communicating with one another, and there is a tool available to us for this purpose at no cost to you or your congregation. Coming this winter, we are partnering with Discipleship Ministries to present Courageous Conversations, a four-session online course that will help us to gain confidence in how we have hard conversations. Our partnership with Discipleship Ministries will allow participants to use the course – a special edition that will be only available to the Susquehanna Conference – and offer CEU credits for taking it. Registration for the course will open in January – watch QuikLINK for more information. 

The ultimate hope in providing this course is that clergy and lay people throughout the conference will have the skills and confidence to hold Courageous Conversations in their local areas. These types of conversations are a witness to our local communities that we can experience harmony of purpose even when we have different ways of understanding issues. 

The instructor (and creator) of Courageous Conversations is Rev. Scott Hughes. Scott is the Director of Adult Discipleship and Executive Director of Congregational Vitality & Intentional Discipleship for Discipleship Ministries, an agency of the United Methodist Church. Scott and I created an informational video that you can watch here: tinyurl.com/ybbqfy6z

The course is organized in four sessions which include a video teaching from Scott, additional articles to read, and an opportunity to answer questions in a format that will allow you to interact with Scott and others taking the course. There is a downloadable booklet that accompanies the course. I found the course to be extremely helpful to me as I seek to understand before I expect to be understood. This material embodies the Fruit of the Spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control” in order to have Courageous Conversations! “Against such things there is no law!” (Gal 5:22-23)