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Leadership Talks – Compassionate Leadership
September 12, 2022 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm MST
Sponsored by Clergy and Lay Leadership Development
Do you enjoy having opportunities to grow as a leader and to learn from other leaders? Do you find it enriching to share leadership ideas, concepts, and inspiration with others?
Opportunities are available to anyone in the Desert Southwest Conference interested in learning through a focused discussion of mixed media leadership resources, such as books, videos, podcasts, webinars, etc. Leadership is explored from various perspectives, including resources that look at leadership from more than one cultural lens.
A number of 1 1/2-hour, virtual evening conversations are offered this year.
This month’s event Compassionate Leadership will be presented by Rev. George Cushman and is based on comments by Albert Outler (Evangelism in the Wesleyan Spirit) and, also, the scripture Luke 6:36 NEB. The book is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Evangelism-Wesleyan-spirit-Albert-Outler/dp/B0006C5RDM/.
Click here to download the handout for this leadership talk.
The reasons he chose this topic were twofold:
In Luke 6:36 Jesus tells us to, “ Be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate” (NEB).
The second reason was a thought by Albert Outler in his book, Evangelism in the Wesleyan Spirit. Outler stated that if John Wesley had died before his thirty-sixth birthday his name would not have rated a footnote in history (16). Yet, just ten years later, Wesley becomes the head of the most effective mass movement in eighteenth century England. The question is, “What happened or what changed to make this possible?” Outler says it was, “Wesley’s conversion from passion to compassion as his dominant emotion, his change from a harsh zealot of God’s judgment to a winsome witness to God’s grace, from a censorious critic to an effective pastor, from arrogance to humility.”
What is it about God’s compassionate responses to creation that Jesus tells us to practice it in our relationships? And what enabled compassion to transform Wesley’s leadership and ministry into this movement we now call The United Methodist Church?
The Rev. Dr. George Cushman is a retired United Methodist pastor who served the local church for forty years. His doctoral paper focused on how we, personally, and we corporately as the church, practice Compassionate Discipleship.
The presenters and facilitators of these discussions may include recognized Desert Southwest Conference leaders, authors, and creators of the media being discussed and, as well as members of the CLLD Team. We hope you decide to try out any of the resources we have prepared for you, and join others interested in the same conversations!
Questions about this series may go to Judy Martin at stilljudymartin@gmail.com or Rev. Javier Olivares at jolivares@dscumc.org.