WHAT IS ICL?

The Institute for Congregational Leadership is a department of  COR, created in 2006 to serve congregations of all faiths, as well as other religiously-affiliated entities, as they face complexity and change. Through short workshops, consultation and coaching, ICL helps these organizations to develop healthier interpersonal relationships, deal with conflict and crises, and strengthen their leadership resources.

In a nutshell, the ICL applies COR’s expertise to all interested religious organizations in ways that strengthen their capacities toward serving their members and achieving their purposes.

THE NEED

Recent research indicates, for example, that 1,500 Protestant clergy drop out of the ministry every month, and another 1,200 are fired. Congregations are buffeted by turbulent social and technological change, decreasing resources, and uncertain futures. Meanwhile, seminaries —which  emphasize training in theology—seldom offer the  practical tools needed to lead and manage increasingly  complex religious organizations in rapidly changing times. This situation is particularly acute in the Inland Northwest, which struggles with social and economic challenges as well. Thus, great need in this part of the country is frequently matched by scarce resources. ICL  was created to help fill this need.

ICL Services

Since 2006, the  ICL has offered the following services as resources to congregations  and leaders in ways that strengthen health, resilience, and  effectiveness:

• Clergy Leadership Clusters: Learning communities for 6- 10 pastoral leaders which meet for 4 hours twice a month for 5 months. Guided by a skilled facilitator, each cluster studies and discusses leadership dynamics and organizational issues relevant to participants’ ministries.
• Congregational Leadership Workshops: Offered about once a month, ICL workshops provide targeted information and practical skill development on issues relevant to today’s congregations, and are designed for both lay and clergy participants. Examples of workshop topics include:
  • Honoring and Strengthening Congregational Cultures
  • The Role of Leadership in Congregational Conflict
  • Preventing Burnout in Congregational Leaders
  • Meeting the Challenges of Congregational Growth
• Facilitation, Coaching, and Consultation: ICL leaders are trained to provide individualized services to congregations to meet a range of needs, and are provided on a sliding fee scale.  ICL can assist with:
  • Retreat facilitation
  • Individualized leadership coaching
  • Conducting congregational culture assessments
  • Intervening in crisis or conflict situations
• Respite and Retreat Opportunities: At its Clare Center campus, ICL offers a tranquil location for individual revitalization  in a hectic world through retreats of varying lengths of time.  Meeting rooms are available for groups up to 50, with opportunities to walk the Clare Center’s 140+ acres and its  11-circuit labyrinth. Rates are purposefully low to encourage all  to share the restorative beauty of this facility. Nine guest rooms,  with private baths and wheelchair accessibility, can house up to 18  individuals overnight.  An industrial kitchen allows groups to bring their own food, or catering can be arranged.
• Coming to the Table Workshops: Perhaps the best known of the ICL's projects are the workshops known as Coming to the Table.  Created amid the flurry of crises beginning in the early 2000s involving reported incidents of sexual abuse and misconduct by clergy and church leaders, the CTW was developed to assist "regular middle-pew members" of congregations to process what typically happens when such crises occur. [The sexual abuse crises involve every faith and denomination, although the Roman Catholic cases were covered most frequently in the press].

The CTW is not about theology or religious issues or sexual abuse.  It is about what happens to congregations, and the individuals within them, when a crisis of this magnitude occurs.  The workshop has been recognized nationally, and has been presented not only for the public at large, but also for intact congregations and other religious groups.  For more information on COR's schedule of upcoming public CTWs, see the COR Calendar.

To speak with someone about any of these current or past events, contact Dr. Carl Green, ICL Director.