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Friday, April 19, 2002

DHE Board of Directors
Learns From Church Leaders

Students learn the most from the best instructors. That's why the Division of Higher Education Board of Directors welcomed three guests, known in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for their abilities to transform institutions and people, for a day of conversations about transforming leadership.

DHE continues its mission to develop transforming leadership for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Helping to clarify what leadership means during DHE's spring meeting were John Moore, president of Drury University; Holly McKissick, pastor of St. Andrew Christian Church in Olathe, Kan.; and Wallace Ryan Kuroiwa, leader of the United Church of Christ's Economic Justice Ministry.

The board asked each guest to describe the experiences that prepared him or her for leadership and to list qualities to look for in leaders. In the discussion, each guest identified traits of a leader:

  • Leaders lead by example. "I think setting standards is something the leader does. You set a tone for a place. You set expectations for how the place will operate. Personality, style, and values color the atmosphere of the place," said Moore.
  • Leaders have a vision that includes change. "It is important as we think about leadership for the 21st Century to think of American Christianity and where we are headed and what we will be like in 2050," Kuroiwa said. "In 2050, the church will not look like it looks today. Are we preparing a leadership for the kind of church we will be in 2050?"
  • Leaders need be willing to take risks and have a willingness to fail. "If a mission has a 100 percent chance of success, there's no need for God, is there?" asked Kuroiwa.
  • Leaders often learn from mentors. "Strong leaders nurture other strong leaders," McKissick said. "We have got enough room for everybody to do the best dang job they can do."
  • Leaders must be prepared to struggle. "We need to go to people and say, 'this is going to be the hardest thing you've ever done.' I would discourage people from (entering the ministry) unless they have stamina and a call from God," McKissick said.
  • Leaders have to be committed for the long haul. "To stay over a period of time, if you can do it and are effective, gives you leverage over that organization," Moore said. "Anybody can be a blasted genius over two or three years. The mark of a leader is to be able to do it over a long period of time."
  • Leaders surround themselves with resourceful coworkers. "You have a key role in picking people," Moore said. "If you want to be successful as a leader, the quickest and easiest way is to get people who are smarter and better than you are."
  • Leaders never stop learning. "I think I'm at about 60 percent as a leader," McKissick said. "I've learned a lot, and I have an infinite amount to learn."
  • Leaders are discovered differently in different cultures. "Markers we set for determining excellence are conceived within a certain cultural context, and they're not necessarily the markers that would signal a person as a potential leader," Kuroiwa said. "If we look for those markers, we may miss some people."
"These hallmarks are already evident in the college students DHE has identified as future leaders," said Carla Fletcher, chair of the DHE Board of Directors. "Our guests reaffirmed our belief that leadership can be nurtured and taught. They taught us that with more opportunities to lead in a variety of environments and contexts, leadership ability will grow and strengthen." "This dialogue tells us that DHE is on the right track as we ask our Leadership Fellows to participate in leadership development activities such as representing DHE at Quadrennial and regional assemblies, taking leadership roles on their campuses, and working at church internships," Fletcher said. The board will continue discussing leadership development at its next meeting, scheduled for November in St. Louis. In other action, the board:
  • Approved an initiative to develop a program to enhance cooperation with ethnic minority constituencies;
  • Directed staff to develop portions of the DHE web site in Spanish and Korean in an effort to improve communication with ethnic minority Disciples;
  • Agreed to research existing options for alternative ministerial education, currently offered in some regions and institutions, to serve as a common resource to the whole church;
  • Established a subcommittee to examine changing the name of the division to reflect more accurately the division's leadership development mission;
  • Approved the executive search model, a set of guidelines from the General Board of the church to be considered when a Disciples-related institution is in the process of calling executive officers;
  • Approved awarding the College/University Grants to Culver-Stockton College, Drury University, Jarvis Christian College, and Lynchburg College;
  • Affirmed the election of Miriam Cruz, Madge Vasquez, and Paul Rivera to the board;
  • Accepted the annual review of the audit of 2001 financial activities, and directed DHE President Dennis Landon to determine whether DHE will contribute to a fund to pay for emergency needs of the denomination;
  • Approved a new parental leave policy for all staff and a sabbatical policy for the DHE president; and
  • Set May 2-4, 2003, as the date of the spring meeting.
Fourteen universities and seven theological institutions in 12 states are in covenant with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), serving more than 24,400 students. In addition, three schools and three theological institutions maintain historical or associate ties with the denomination. DHE is also affiliated with more than 80 campus ministries programs across the country. Including cooperative efforts with local congregations, DHE helped distribute almost $178,000 in scholarships in 2000.