Are you the same leader you were five years ago? What kind of leader will you need to be five years in the future?
How we lead is often contingent upon the particularities of our context. Those particularities can change whether we stay in the same context for a long time or transition to a different one. This is why a leader must remain attentive to what the church needs from her now, which might be different than what the church needed in the past.
A great example of someone who has reinvented herself within the same ministry context is the Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Hale. You can listen to her story on this week’s episode of Leading and Thriving in the Church.
Cynthia is the founding and senior pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Decatur, Georgia. As a testament to her unique gifts in ministry, she has served Ray of Hope for 38 years. The church has become a vibrant, multigenerational spiritual community. Because she organized the congregation, she has had to develop a variety of skills during her tenure, including the ability to evolve so that she can be the leader the congregation needs her to be.
In this interview, Cynthia talks about developing laity, mentoring clergy and identifying gifts within her congregation. She even shares transparently about the challenges of being a woman in ministry. If you’re thinking about how you need to adapt your leadership style to meet the changing needs of your context or to be more effective in a new context, you will want to hear what she has to say.
