Hello, friends!
When I was younger staff and I first fell in love with the joy that in Ministry Partnership Development (MPD), a thought that often came to mind was why other staff didn't share the same love for MPD that I had. Being the learner that I am, I was fascinated by new and better ways to do MPD, and being the teacher and trainer that I am, I always wanted to share what I'd learned with my regional familia. So, starting in around 2015 or so, I started volunteering to lead our Regional MPD gatherings, when the whole staff team comes together at the end of the year to do MPD together.
The Regional MPD Gatherings have an interesting history. Before a few years back, the rule was that it was required to attend unless you were above a particular funding threshold. Another way to look at it was that if you haven't raised enough, you had to show up. The Regional MPD Gatherings were a detention of sorts. You didn't do the work, so you had to put in some extra time as punishment.
Needless to say, this did not make for a very inspiring time. The staff who were required to go didn't really want to be there because they felt like they were being punished. Added to that, the funding guidelines didn't take issues of funding justice and equity into account. My funding has always been in a pretty good place so I was never actually required to go. Still, it didn't feel quite right. A few years back, the standards were changed so that everyone is required to go unless there's a really good reason (like you're out of the country on a mission trip). I wasn't the one who made the decision, but I'm glad it was made.
Remember how I said that I would volunteer to lead the Regional MPD Gatherings? Well, since I've taken on my new role, it's not a volunteer job anymore. It's very much part of my job description. As I was preparing for this year's gathering, I didn't realize how much that change would affect me until I actually started getting nervous. Of course, every year I want to lead a good training, but in previous years, since it was volunteer job and not part of my job description, if the training left something to be desired, it was OK. I could just blame it on the fact that I had other stuff going on with my "real" job. The Regional leadership was just happy that it was one less thing they had to do.
But now? Well, now it's part of my job description. I had nothing but time to plan this bad boy. If it was going to be not up to standards, I had to answer for it. Added to that, I pushed for an extra day to be added to the time. Now there was even MORE to plan. What was I thinking?!?!
Spoiler Alert: Things went really well and I'm really proud of the training. It might be the best one I'd ever led. We hit all the beats that I wanted to hit. There were moments of good work being done and the Holy Spirit falling on the staff team. Staff were able to connect personally as well as professionally. It wasn't perfect, but every element felt like it served its purpose well enough. I haven't heard a ton of feedback from my supervisor yet (that will be coming in July) but I'm hopeful that she was encouraged as I was by out time together.
I have lots more details about the week that I may put into a different post later in the week (or next week). Y'all have been reading for long enough. Tl;dr - I led a thing, was worried that the stakes were higher, and it went well. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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