December 4, 2008
by Toya Richards Hill

LOUISVILLE – Presbytery and synod moderators from throughout the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) gathered here recently to evaluate what it means to be a leader and to discern their own personal leadership styles.

Meeting under the theme "Leadership for the 21st Century," the Nov. 21-23 2008 Moderators' Conference united about 130 middle governing body moderators and vice moderators everywhere from Boston to Arkansas to South Dakota to San Francisco.

"Each of you has been called by God to step up to the plate," said the Rev. Jill Hudson, coordinator of governing body relations for the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council.

Worship services, workshops, shared meals and time visiting the national offices of the PC(USA) encompassed the gathering.

Plenary sessions led by the Rev. Carol McDonald, co-executive of the Synod of Lincoln Trails and moderator-elect of Wabash Valley Presbytery, also spanned the conference and provided opportunities for in-depth discussions about effective leadership.

Participants spent a good deal of time in one-on-one and small group discussions exploring such things as barriers to effective leadership, becoming a "self-differentiated" leader and how to bring about transformation by pursuing profound questions.

One critical element of leadership that was highlighted is the ability to facilitate dialogue. "We really need to be willing to be in conversation with one another," McDonald said.

"Conversation is how we discover together the way we transform the world," she said.

When folks stop talking to each other, "we start thinking of people as things, as objects," McDonald said. "We stop acting intelligently. ... We don't act to change anything."

The moderators learned about conversation behaviors, including acknowledging each person as an equal and taking time to listen. And, they discussed the art of powerful questions.

"Questions are an invitation to creativity," McDonald told the group. We need to be able to "create that climate of discovery."

Time during the conference also was spent discussing dockets. Each participant was asked to bring one from their governing body for discussion and critique.

Participants also left the event having developed their own mission statement. The Rev. Jaina Anderson, moderator-elect of North Alabama Presbytery, said she came to the conference hoping get "some tools" to use in her role back home.

"I came away not only with the tools, but a sense of being connected," she said at the conclusion of the event. "There are people who will help me through this."

Anderson said her mission during her tenure is "that all voices will be heard and honored," and "that we can build space for true conversation."

Although the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA), could not be present because of the unexpected death of his brother-in-law, vice moderator the Rev. Byron Wade was present for the conference. He also preached for the closing worship service.

"It's an important time in the life of the denomination to learn to think differently," Hudson said. What the conference was trying to do was help the moderators look at how to become a more "dialogical community," she said.

Presbyterian News Service
Toya Richards Hill is a free-lance writer in Louisville. She formerly served on the staff of the Presbyterian News Service.