Quakers and Leadership

Workshop # 30
Jennie Isbell

Participants will explore "leadership" in the manner of Friends including examination of current supply and demand issues, and theological and historical understandings of authority, stewardship, giftedness, community, and obedience. Other topics will include resistance to leading and to following, discipleship to the Spirit, and leadership as ministry.

Percentage of time:
Worship/worship-sharing 40; Lecture 20; Discussion 20; Experiential 20

Open to all

Participants will explore "leadership" in the manner of Friends including examination of current supply and demand issues, theological and historical understandings of authority, stewardship, giftedness, community, obedience and other timeless, relevant and sometimes scary terms.

Participants will give and receive challenges related to difficult and confusing ideas (e.g. the universal accessibility of God up against a seemingly unequal distribution of gifts), be encouraged to find their edges around willingness to lead and be led (e.g. “rampant individualism” versus meeting as covenant community), and dive deeply into the images and metaphors of Christian scripture as Early Friends did. Emerging from these considerations of theological issues and personal resistance, the group will proceed to talk concretely about Friends experience in local and yearly meetings, and in Quaker-run organizations.

Hoped for outcomes include an increased sense of preparedness to lead, encourage, and facilitate exploration in ones home meeting around the topic of the distinctives of Quaker leadership, including Friends leaders and the communities that name, nurture and sustain them.

Friends who choose this workshop should be willing to sit comfortably or uncomfortably among the Christian roots of Quakerism. Participants may expect a minimum of 20 minutes of unprogrammed, expectant worship each day, and several worship times throughout the week devoted to worship sharing around relevant queries. Other tools for the workshop may include Bible study, self-survey, small group discussion, and reflective writing.

It would be helpful if participants wrote on the following topics prior to arrival for the first day:

• A leader is…

• A Quaker leader is …

• Religiously/spiritually/theologically speaking (pick one or two), leaders come into being by/through/because…

• The best leader I ever knew had the following three characteristics…

• The most difficult attempt at leading I can recall (for myself or another) had the following three characteristics…