The competent leader faces the challenge with the right tools - not just the usual ones. David couldn't fight in Saul's armor, he needed five smooth stones. He went to battle with what he had mastered, not with someone else's weapons.

Here at HELM we work to find ways to increase the capabilities of emerging leaders so that nurture, education, and training come together with a passion for helping Christian communities become what God created them to be. We do that in partnership with many others — colleges and universities, theological institutions, campus ministries — all committed to helping a new generation of leaders find their tools and their strength.

We always welcome your feedback and ideas, through e-mail, by phone at 314-991-3000, or by mail.

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Among the more than 5,600 attendees were dozens of current and former participants in leadership development programs such as the Leadership Fellows Program, Student Ecumenical Partnership, and the Disciples Leadership Institute. Workshops on leadership development for youth and on crisis communications drew good crowds, and we lost count of how many conversations we had about the future.

Disciples colleges, universities, and theological institutions showed their commitment to the church. The undergraduate institutions hosted a pizza lunch for youth and youth sponsors that drew hundreds of potential students and leaders.

The struggling economy was on a lot of Disciples’ minds, including ours. We were proud that our giveaways were the cheapest we’ve ever offered: stickers making fun of how cheap our giveaways were. We also economized by printing fewer handouts and saved a big chunk of money by holding our Board of Directors meeting concurrently with the assembly.
Youth and leaders alike learn lessons by Shadowing a Leader
By Katie Johnson, Special to Disciples News Service
Youth were given a unique opportunity to learn from denominational leaders at the 2009 General Assembly. Thirty youth participated in the "Shadow a Disciples Leader" program that paired young people and leaders with similar interests.

HELM promoted the program and accepted applications, and Olivia Bryan Updegrove, a minister at First Christian Church of Orange, Calif., made the pairings. Evidence of this program was all around General Assembly, though it might not have been obvious. Vice Moderator Bob Alvarez was shadowed by youth Christian Smith, a member of the General Youth Council. Christian had the opportunity to participate in worship on Friday evening when he helped give the invitation to offering with Alvarez.

Amy Gopp, director of Week of Compassion, was shadowed by Kentucky native Rebecca Parker. Parker spoke highly of her experience with the program. She and Gopp had set aside a couple of hours to spend together, but time flew by and they ended up being together longer than planned.

"It really inspired me," Parker said of the experience. While it’s easy to get caught in the mind-set of being powerless as a young person, Parker said spending time with Gopp reminded her that she’s not. "I can be a part of the church, I am important, I can lead," Parker said.

Gopp had equally positive things to say about her shadow. "It was amazing, she was amazing!" Gopp said. "I wanted to shadow her after she shadowed me!" Shadows trailed representatives from a dozen General Ministries, the moderator team, and several volunteers.

Cisa Payuyo

Chesla Nickelson

Steve Mason

Kathryn Welch

1. Everybody knows that Bob Barker, long-time host of "The Price Is Right," was a graduate of Drury University, but the show’s announcer, Rod Roddy, also attended a Disciples school. Which one?
2. Name the former Disciples pastor, and graduate of Hiram College, who was said to be the first author to sell a million copies of a novel, and the first person to make $1 million dollars selling fiction.
3. How many regions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are not named for a US state or states?

The gathering marked the first time in at least 15 years that HELM’s board met formally during the General Assembly.

In addition to reviewing HELM’s scholarship program and the most effective way to use limited resources, the board also engaged in conversation about how HELM can lift up diversity in other areas such as campus ministry and how partnerships across racial and cultural lines can be moved to the center of HELM’s mission.

The board also reviewed HELM’s "very clean" 2008 audit and discussed additional ways to improve accountability.

	New Leadership Fellows C.J. Findley-Grubb and Aly Gideon (standing) get in on the act. Gideon played the office know-it-all in a staff meeting about leadership programming, much to the chagrin of Kristen Walling (left) and Merillat Pittman (second from left.) Photo by Adam Frieberg/DisciplesWorld
HELM’s Dennis Landon and Caroline Hamilton notice a striking resemblance following our presentation Thursday morning.
	Allison Enari (left) belted out HELM’s next iTunes smash, “Leader.” Backing up are Kristen Walling, Caroline Hamilton, and Chrissy Stonebraker. The presentation is expected to be available online this fall. Photo by Adam Frieberg/DisciplesWorld
During an aftersession on campus ministry, Jenny Wynn of Cameron Campus Ministry in Lawton, Okla., describes what students expect from campus ministers. Heather Godsey, incoming chair of HELM’s Council on Ministries in Higher Education, listens.
	Allie Lundblad, a second-year Leadership Fellow, staffs HELM’s display. Nearly two dozen volunteers helped out at HELM’s display over four days.

We need your help. If you know a Disciples seminarian, make sure that student knows about HELM’s Seminarians list serv. It’s the easiest way to find out about the Seminarians Conference, the Ministerial Grant program, and other opportunities. Send them to the HELM web site to sign up.

Campus news
Bethany College welcomes a new chaplain, good news from Lexington Theological Seminary, Eureka College recognizes two Ministry Fellows, the Barton College helps restock a local food pantry, and President James Garfield's head turns up in lost-and-found. Keep up with the news from Disciples campuses.

Sabreena Rodriguez: Only time will tell Going to college might be the biggest, toughest change in anybody's life. For Sabreena Rodriguez, the beginning of her freshman year at Chapman University has left her confused about how to live on her own, doing the simple things like meals in the cafeteria, doing her own laundry, or having a roommate. How are you and your congregation supporting students heading off to college or friends in transition?
Merillat Pittman: OK, God, I'm listening All her life, Merillat Pittman believed she'd have her life all planned out by the time she finished college. Now that she's a senior, she's still trying to figure out what's next, and not knowing has her stressed out. As she explained this dread to her grandmother, one question stuck in her mind: "Are you talking to Him?" Merillat realizes has always thought she would make all the decisions about her future, but now she's paying attention, hoping to hear what God calls her to do.
Caroline Hamilton: Life, breath, and inspiration Caroline Hamilton spent the summer as a summer ministry volunteer through A Christian Ministry in the National Parks. She has expected to go to a postcard place and was stunned when she learned her destination was South Dakota. But once she got to the Black Hills, she grew enraptured by the beauty around her. Hiking through groves of ponderosa pine and aspen, she found inspiration for her writing and a renewed awe of creation and our Creator.
Kristen Walling: Reflections on Ghana Kristen Walling spent the winter semester in Ghana, so the first question nearly everybody asks is, "How was it?" And for a long time, she's struggled for an answer that accurately reflects the experience. She has lots of anecdotes, but she's not sure how different her life will be for the experience. A book about the author's similar experience helped Kristen find that even a small change in perspective might make the difference "between holding your life in grace and simply holding on."
Jesse Stephenson: General Assembly and the life of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) General Assemblies are expensive, exhausting, and sometimes frustrating. There's unofficial talk of changing the schedule, putting more than two years between each gathering. Jesse Stephenson believes that would be a mistake. General Assemblies give the whole church its only opportunity to come together as a single congregation and talk about the issues that face us and the world. He also sees it as "church camp for adults," mini-sabbaticals providing us opportunities to learn, worship, and refocus on what God calls us to do.
Alexis Westerhausen: Where He leads me, I will follow As she looks ahead to medical school, Alexis Westerhausen jumped at the opportunity to help organize a campus fund-raiser benefitting St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. The fact that the Culver-Stockton College community raised more than $41,000 was amazing and thrilling, but hearing about the hospital's mission — caring for any child who can't afford the care they need to survive — has helped her clarify her vocational calling, too. Alexis believes the connection isn't just a coincidence, either.
Allison Enari: Camp conflict Allison Enari couldn't wait to go back as a counselor to Bedford Camp, the site of summer camp that had formed the faith she now has. When that opportunity arrived this summer, though, it was a very different experience: Her liberal beliefs and college experiences were quite different from the younger, rural, conservative counselors she worked with. Camp brought tension, but it also reminded her of the common ties of Christianity and being a Disciple: a genuine love and passion for Jesus Christ and God.
Alan Moore: A moment of peace on God's green earth A summer job at a YMCA camp in central California took Alan Moore far from home and opened his eyes to new cultures and ecologies. A pair of similar experiences at very different locales — the first in the heart of a San Francisco museum, the second by a waterfall in the Sierra Nevadas — gave Alan moments of revelation, connection, humanity, worship, and oneness with the world around us all.