A Retreat for Past, Current, & Future Leaders
Most Americans do not know what their strengths are. When you ask them, they look at you with a blank stare, or they respond in terms of subject knowledge, which is the wrong answer.
-Peter Drucker, author, professor, and leadership consultant
LEADERSHIP RETREAT
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
“Building on our Strengths”
Friday at 7:00pm, January 23 to Saturday at 12:00pm, January 24, 2009
(Optional dinner at 6:00pm on Friday)
Click here to download Retreat Schedule, Costs, and Registration Form
MainStay Suites Conference Center
410 Pine Mountain Road
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee 37863
MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW
Retreat Theme and Preparation
The Gallup Organization has invested years of study and millions of dollars into how organizations work well (often such studies are on what is working poorly, what is weak, what is failing). Their two guiding assumptions are that (1) people are unique and different and (2) our greatest area of growth, productivity and contentment involve our strengths.
To make these assumptions more tangible, think about who sings in the choir. One way to approach who should be in the choir is to find all the people who are poor singers and work hard to build them up! The silliness of such an approach is self-evident. Instead, we look for those who are energized by music and have demonstrated that they want to learn more…can learn more. We encourage the building up and the building upon strengths.
In I Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul developed the image of the church as the body of Christ. One of the implications is that we all have a role to play in the body. But the eye is not to try to become the stomach. The ear is not to try to become the hand. The Gallup Organization’s emphasis on strengths is complementary to this idea: we will be both more contented and productive in the body if we know our strengths, rather than concentrating on what we cannot do well. So, you are invited to join other church members in identifying and building on strengths. Soon there will be opportunity for you use the Strengths Finder inventory and become “fluent” in this language of strengths. Your church staff has already done some work in this area (ask any of them some of their strengths and they will be able to answer you!). What’s next?
1. Take the opportunity to do Strengths Finder inventory when it is offered. The Strengths Finder books will be made available for purchase at a group rate in the church office or during fellowship times on Sunday mornings or go to
2. Plan on attending the Leadership Retreat (above).
Let’s build on our strengths.
William Pender
Permanent Link | Posted in Adult Education, Calendar Items, Church News at Wednesday, November 12th, 2008
Expressions of Faith Class , on Wednesday nights, will be the same course that was in the James Park room last year. The core will made up of variety of one time topics and speakers, visiting missionaries, invited speakers of note, or church members. The topics will relate to the myriad of ways we express our faith here at First Pres. such as our global and local missions and topics that our members our passionate about. A newcomer attending this class could quickly learn the core of how First Pres. members put their faith into action and their interests. Paul Rader has organized an array of speakers and topics for the Fall Block. Below is a short description of each:
Theology on Tap, on Wednesday nights, will be a time of informal discussion of faith, politics, the Bible, everyday issues — whatever’s on people’s minds. While discussions will be flexible and fluid the leader will use curriculum from The Thoughtful Christian, “Bible study should be timely. It should stimulate our thoughts about Christian values and how they relate to today’s world. The Thoughtful Christian is a Web-based resource center designed to attract and keep participants’ attention. The studies encourage class members to share their thoughts and beliefs while wrestling with questions that inform the way we live out our faith in everyday life.” This course will be not have a limit on participants and will be open to all adults. The goal is to provide another avenue to build and nurture our Christian community at First Presbyterian in a relaxing and less intimidating way for newcomers to get acquainted with First Pres. members. Theology on Tap will take place after our Wednesday meal at 6:30pm at the Downtown Bar and Grill.
The Faith Discovery Class studies, on Wednesday nights, are meant to be structured discussions centered around a book of interest, contemporary or historical, and related to our faith. These classes will not have a strict size limit. These studies will be open to all adults interested in the book topic. However, the first classs from September 3 through November 19 will be led by Dr. William Pender and open only to young adults without children. This topic will be offered again and open to everyone in the future. Below is a short description of “Simply Christian” by Dr. Pender:
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