Proposed Guidelines and Implementation Plan to Annual Meeting, June 2006

Draft 5, January 22, 2006

Developed by Leadership Development Commission Sub-Committee: John Hudson, Terry Martinson, Bruce MacCullagh, Larry Adkins, Bob Livingston, Cal Mutti; Ann Plumley providing staff assistance.

Continuous Professional Development Guidelines for Clergy -  Rationale

Continuous professional development is essential for all clergy. The Leadership Development Commission of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ makes this assertion because the practices of ministerial leadership are changing rapidly – demographics are shifting in our ministerial settings; the missions God calls us to are challenging; the social, political, and environmental settings within which we minister are confoundingly complex. We believe God is Still Speaking, and that there is always more to learn about God, God’s call on our hearts, and God’s plans for achieving God’s kingdom on earth.

Clergypersons learn and grow in faith and in leadership skills in many ways, of course, but chief among them are intentional study of our faith traditions, challenging give-and-take with colleagues in ministry, and careful examination in concert with leaders of our congregations about what together they need to learn to grow towards God’s vision of peace with justice. While solitary study and prayer are foundational, we know robust engagement with others is also essential to learning. We walk together in covenant with God, clergy colleagues, our own local churches and other ministry sites because it is through the gifts God has granted others that our own gifts are called forth most effectively and faithfully. We are listening to, and growing in faith with God – together.

The Leadership Development Commission of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ presents Continuous Professional Development Guidelines for Clergy to stimulate discussion among clergy, local church leadership and Church and Ministry Committees about living into a culture throughout the Conference that overtly, conscientiously and faithfully supports growth in ministry for the up-building of God’s Kingdom. These guidelines support growth in leadership and pastoral skills in those whom God and we have called to authorized ministry in the United Church of Christ. The Leadership Development Commission recognizes that circumstances, needs and resources vary among our local churches and other sites of authorized ministry. We encourage thoughtful and creative examination of these guidelines, followed by conscientious and tenacious work towards implementing them in spirit and in fact for the sake of the vitality of our local churches and the Church we love.

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