While coaching and consulting this week, it’s clear to us on the Pinnacle Team that many clergy and church staff are working through their own angst regarding the election, while walking alongside their people who are struggling. Given this, we want to help. Rather than offer a seminar or workshop, it seems the most immediate need for clergy and church staff is….

·      A safe space for personally debriefing thoughts, feelings, and responses to the election

·      A safe space for clergy and church staff to discuss preaching and leading in politically purple, moderate, or progressive churches

Given this, Pinnacle Team Leader Rev. Mark Tidsworth will facilitate this debriefing with guided conversation. Knowing Sunday is coming soon, we are offering this opportunity right away (Friday) and then again on Tuesday, November 12. We will work to make sure this is a safe space for personal debriefing with others doing the same, while also considering communicating, preaching, and leading in spiritually sensitive and Christ-centered ways. When you register, you will receive the zoom link. After clicking “add to cart,” please complete registration by going to the cart.

While coaching and consulting this week, it’s clear to us on the Pinnacle Team that many clergy and church staff are working through their own angst regarding the election, while walking alongside their people who are struggling. Given this, we want to help. Rather than offer a seminar or workshop, it seems the most immediate need for clergy and church staff is….

·      A safe space for personally debriefing thoughts, feelings, and responses to the election

·      A safe space for clergy and church staff to discuss preaching and leading in politically purple, moderate, or progressive churches

Given this, Pinnacle Team Leader Rev. Mark Tidsworth will facilitate this debriefing with guided conversation. Knowing Sunday is coming soon, we are offering this opportunity right away (Friday) and then again on Tuesday, November 12. We will work to make sure this is a safe space for personal debriefing with others doing the same, while also considering communicating, preaching, and leading in spiritually sensitive and Christ-centered ways. When you register, you will receive the zoom link. After clicking “add to cart,” please complete registration by going to the cart.

Want to be a better leader? Engage in a four-week coaching group with Ircel Harrison, an ACC-certified coach, based on the Social + Emotional Intelligence Profile®.  Dates are October 17-November 7 at 10 am to noon CT/11 am to 1 pm ET.  The $275 fee for this group includes the cost of the profile.

A Free Come & See Event!

Do you sometimes find yourself having difficulty balancing your duties as a mom and the obligations of ministry? Do you feel exhausted from juggling both? Do you ever feel alone in those struggles? 

 Well the good news, is that you are NOT alone! In 2015, 25% of women reported losing confidence in their calling since starting ministry . . . that number climbed to 55% in 2022. 

Do you want some more good news? Rev. Dana Seiler will be offering coaching for women who would like support, encouragement, and best practices to help rejuvenate the Spirit and renew their sense of calling. If you are looking for community with commonality, then please join Dana on August 29th at 11 am for a (free) 1 hour Zoom call.  There is no commitment in this preview Zoom gathering, simply a way to learn more about being a mom in ministry while also learning about this group. Come and see if this is something that you want or need to invest in so that you can experience the unforced rhythms of God’s grace once again.

 Rev. Dana Seiler, Group Leader and Coach

Of Dana’s many titles; Mom, wife, Associate Pastor, Frenchie mom, cook, hiker,  gardener, yoga teacher, coach, and encourager, her favorite title of them all is Mom.  As a pastor who believes family is the top priority, Dana has faced the challenge of balancing the demands of ministry while still having enough time and energy to be a good mom. She is committed to helping support and encourage those who are facing the same difficulties and creating a community that can share wisdom surrounding this topic. Please feel free to contact Dana if you would like more information or if you would like to pursue a group or coaching.

 If you are interested in this topic but are not able to attend the initial Zoom call on August 29 at 11 am EST, you can sign up for one of the offerings below:

1)   Moms & Ministry cohort (Zoom) 2nd Thursday from 11:00 am-12:00 pm Sept - May

2)  Moms & Ministry cohort - TBD by Come and See Zoom call

3)  Individual coaching for women or moms -  TBD - based upon clients schedule/preference

Have You Thought about Becoming a Coach?

Looking for something that: 

• Validates your authenticity?

• Strengthens your leadership skills?

• Provides a structure for assisting others to discover their best selves?

• Reinforces the best practices in interacting with others?

Join us for a conversation about coaching and coach training. In this conversation, we will answer your questions about coaching and coach training and explore the benefits of using coaching skills in everyday life and work. Coach training can benefit all who are interested in developing healthier work and personal relationships.  

 Participants in the webinar will receive a discount of 20% on the next offering of SCT 101: Introduction to Coaching in September. 

This “taste and see” conversation will be offered twice:

• Monday, August 5 at 6:30 pm ET/5:30 pm CT

• Thursday, August 8 at 12 noon ET/11 am CT

Session will be approximately 90 minutes.  We hope to see you there.  Register below (coming soon!)

Have You Thought about Becoming a Coach?

Looking for something that: 

• Validates your authenticity?

• Strengthens your leadership skills?

• Provides a structure for assisting others to discover their best selves?

• Reinforces the best practices in interacting with others?

Join us for a conversation about coaching and coach training. In this conversation, we will answer your questions about coaching and coach training and explore the benefits of using coaching skills in everyday life and work. Coach training can benefit all who are interested in developing healthier work and personal relationships.  

 Participants in the webinar will receive a discount of 20% on the next offering of SCT 101: Introduction to Coaching in September. 

This “taste and see” conversation will be offered twice:

• Monday, August 5 at 6:30 pm ET/5:30 pm CT

• Thursday, August 8 at 12 noon ET/11 am CT

Session will be approximately 90 minutes.  We hope to see you there.  Register below (coming soon!)

Pinnacle Associate Doug Cushing will describe how launching missional sermon-based small groups can transform your congregation and breath new life into Sunday worship and weekly Christian formation. Join Doug as he leads an engaging conversation on how to successfully launch Missional Sermon-Based Small Groups.

Pinnacle Associate Doug Cushing will describe how launching missional sermon-based small groups can transform your congregation and breath new life into Sunday worship and weekly Christian formation. Join Doug as he leads an engaging conversation on how to successfully launch Missional Sermon-Based Small Groups.

JOIN US FOR THIS EXCITING WORKSHOP!

Join Pinnacle Leadership Associates for this free, online webinar as we discuss the key steps to take in an interim time. Rev. Andy Casto-Waters will share insights from his years in Transitional Ministry, discussing previous pitfalls and his approach to leading a church during a pastoral change. Register below, or contact Andy Casto-Waters for more information.

What People Are Saying

Description:  an interactive group process to help participants improve their sermon delivery.

Aside from comments like “good sermon” or our own evaluation (I nailed it today! I wasn’t on my game!), preachers rarely have the opportunity to review how they present their message. Does the “how” of our presentation get in the way of the “what” of our message? This seminar will allow each participant to receive constructive feedback from peers on how we say what we say.

Format:

• Limited to a maximum of five participants.

• Each participant will upload two sermon videos, one at the beginning of the lab and the second midway through the workshop. Prior to each session, the leader and the group will review each sermon and offer comments and observations during group meetings. Anticipate reviewing two sermons per meeting. 

• There will be six 90-minute sessions over the course of eight weeks. Our initial session will be on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.  We will meet every other week thereafter and conclude no later than Tuesday, November 28.

Cost per participant: $300 

Recommendations:

“Dr. Ireland has a reputation for being a very capable homiletician. As a relatively young preacher, I’m always looking for ways to hone my craft, which prompted me to seek out Dr. Ireland’s expertise. After watching my preaching, he and I had a robust discussion on the ways my sermon writing, and proclamation might be improved. If you are looking to become a more effective communicator of the Gospel, contact Dr. Ireland.” 

—Rev. Dr. Koby Strawser, First Baptist Church, Erwin, TN

“At a time when my Sunday messages were floundering, Bill Ireland coached me out of a preaching rut. It not only served me well, but his work blessed our church. He helped me focus on Scripture as a priority and helped me get to the passage sooner in my sermons. Take advantage of Bill’s decades of first-hand experience, his love for the church, and his devotion to Christ to enrich your own preaching.” 

—Rev. Dr. Larry Yarborough, Deermeadows Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL

Bill Ireland has served as a pastor for over forty years and is currently serving as the pastor of the Norris Religious Fellowship in Norris, TN and as an associate with Pinnacle Leadership. He brings a wealth of experience, insight, and curiosity to the craft of preaching.  He is the author of three books and numerous journal articles.  Pulpit Digest published a number of his sermons and his lectionary commentary.  He also served as a contributing editor to The Library of Distinctive Sermons.

Join a hospitality Initiative to build capacity among immigrants and third country partners. 

Pinnacle Leadership Associates is offering a free webinar to encourage churches to engage with immigrants, especially those from Myanmar.

Panelists will include Rev. Dr. Lai Uk Thang, pastor of Chin Bethel Church of Houston and Rev. Dr. Leslie Turley, former Director of Southeast Asia and Japan, International Ministry (ABC/USA); Rev. Dr. Mary Wood, Pinnacle Associate, will be the Convener.

If you have questions for panelists, you may submit questions the day of the event or submit ahead of time by email to: calvinucc_revmary@yahoo.com

Although this event is free, registration is required. To register please fill out the form below. Prior to the event, a Zoom link will be sent to your email.

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?

—Psalm 137:1-4

Pinnacle Associate Doug Cushing will describe how launching missional sermon-based small groups can transform your congregation and breath new life into Sunday worship and weekly Christian formation. Join Doug as he leads an engaging conversation on how to successfully launch Missional Sermon-Based Small Groups.

Join Pinnacle Leadership Associates for this free, online webinar as we discuss the key steps to take in an interim time. Rev. Andy Casto-Waters will share insights from his years in Transitional Ministry, discussing previous pitfalls and his approach to leading a church during a pastoral change. Register below, or contact Andy Casto-Waters for more information.

What People Are Saying

Pinnacle Associate Doug Cushing will describe how launching missional sermon-based small groups can transform your congregation and breath new life into Sunday worship and weekly Christian formation. Join Doug as he leads an engaging conversation on how to successfully launch Missional Sermon-Based Small Groups.

Join Pinnacle Founder and Team Leader, Mark Tidsworth, for The Great ReEvaluation Learning Experience. The TGR Experience include small and large group discussions, a copy of the Integration Guide, and additional content and activities to integrate learning and guide churches.

Anticipated Outcome of this Learning Experience = Leaders are positioned to guide their churches toward maximizing the growth opportunities inherent in these moments during TGR

Topics in this learning experience:

• Describing The Current Situation – Includes anecdotes from the field, trends from church research, and a deeper dive into understanding TGR

• The Spiritual Posture Required For Proactively Engaging TGR

• What Churches Must Refuse To Do in These Moments

• What Churches Must Pursue in These Moments

• What We Need From Church Leadership To Thrive

• Five Key Moves for Church Leadership During TGR

• Plotting Goodness in TGR

Join Pinnacle Founder and Team Leader, Mark Tidsworth, for The Great ReEvaluation Learning Experience. The TGR Experience include small and large group discussions, a copy of the Integration Guide, and additional content and activities to integrate learning and guide churches.

Anticipated Outcome of this Learning Experience = Leaders are positioned to guide their churches toward maximizing the growth opportunities inherent in these moments during TGR

Topics in this learning experience:

• Describing The Current Situation – Includes anecdotes from the field, trends from church research, and a deeper dive into understanding TGR

• The Spiritual Posture Required For Proactively Engaging TGR

• What Churches Must Refuse To Do in These Moments

• What Churches Must Pursue in These Moments

• What We Need From Church Leadership To Thrive

• Five Key Moves for Church Leadership During TGR

• Plotting Goodness in TGR

Note: Time listed is Eastern Standard Time

Dealing with loss and grief is a constant in congregations. It can be overwhelming for the clergy who serve them.

In this webinar, you’ll discover some of the myths around grieving, gain tools for addressing congregational grief as well as tools to help you in your own grieving. You’ll also get an introduction to Pinnacle’s new resource, Navigating GriefLand, an 8-week grief support and education group. There will also be a question and answer time.

Participants will receive a PDF guide, “Beyond The Longest Night: Ways to Address Grief Throughout the Year.”

The webinar will be led by Pinnacle Associate, Rev. Peggy Haymes. The creator of Navigating GriefLand, Haymes was trained by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ staff and was later invited by them to help carry Kubler-Ross’ workshops forward.

The webinar will last 45 minutes to one hour.

Tuition: Free

Six Sessions—Thursdays at 3pm EST
February 23—March 30, 2023

DEEP LENT

Lent provides a time for self reflection and for pursuing a deeper relationship with Christ. Holding the ancient wisdom of the enneagram alongside traditional Lenten themes, Rev. Dr. Rhonda Abbott Blevins will guide participants in a six-week, online exploration of how the enneagram can be a powerful tool for transformation and spiritual growth, especially when paired with the Christian narrative.

Participants will:

• Understand how Lenten austerity can help free us from ego fixations

• Grasp a basic understanding of the nine enneagram personality types

• Explore the three personality centers alongside the three temptations of Christ

• Consider the solitary (and sometimes lonely) nature of the spiritual journey

• Gain an understanding of enneagram wings and tri-types

• Discover enneagram type stress responses alongside Jesus sweating drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane

• Learn type-specific spiritual practices for greater freedom and oneness with Christ

• Apply learnings toward a plan for continued growth using the process enneagram

A SNEAK PEEK AT EACH 75-MINUTE Session:

1. Session 1: “Into the desert.” Participants will explore the idea of giving up personality fixations for Lent alongside the story of Jesus entering the wilderness to fast and pray for forty days. Session includes an introduction to the enneagram and an overview of the nine types. Options for type discovery will be presented to those who do not know their enneagram type.

2. Session 2: “Tempted in every way.” Participants will explore the three enneagram centers alongside the three temptations of Christ in the desert. Session includes lost childhood messages for each type.

3. Session 3: “Not welcome.” Participants will explore the solitary nature of the spiritual journey alongside the story of Jesus returning home where he was no longer welcome after claiming his deepest truth. Session includes enneagram wings and tri-types.

4. Session 4: “Drops of blood.” Participants will explore stress responses for each type alongside the story of Jesus sweating drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. Session includes enneagram instincts and learning to respond versus react.

5. Session 5: “That they may be one.” Participants will explore growth responses alongside Jesus’ prayer during the last supper “that they may be one.” Session includes spiritual practices for each type that can lead to greater freedom.

6. Session 6: “Take up your cross.” Participants will consider the enneagram as a tool for “taking up our cross” to follow Christ. Session includes integration of previous sessions toward creating a plan for continued spiritual growth following the process enneagram.

Tuition: $150 per participant (contact Rhonda Blevins for group rates)
Recordings: Will be made available to registrants

OPTIONAL ADD ONS

In addition to the Lenten Enneagram Study, select one or both of these ongoing, stand-alone options for further growth and discovery.

Enneagram Typing Interview

Discover your Enneagram Type! Certified Enneagram Trainer, Rev. Dr. Rhonda Abbott Blevins, is offering 90-minute Enneagram typing interviews for individuals ages 15+. An individual report will be prepared and delivered to each interviewee. Cost: $150

6-Month Enneagram Coaching

Go deeper into your understanding of the Enneagram and its application to your life. Continue the work of letting go of personality type fixations with at least two, one-hour coaching sessions monthly with trained coach and Certified Enneagram Trainer, Rev. Dr. Rhonda Abbott Blevins. Cost: $1,200

Trauma can be an unseen participant in coaching sessions. This class provides coaches with a deeper understanding of the prevalence of trauma, its impacts, how it may present in a session, and how coaches can utilize the experiences of trauma survivors for positive change. The course will give special attention to generational trauma and the trauma of living through the Covid-19 pandemic.

The course lasts for 8 weeks, 75 minutes per class, Thursdays, 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm EST, April 28-June 16, 2022. Participants who complete the class will earn 10 hours of Resource Development Continuing Course Education (RD CCE).

Tuition: $350

Ready for a Coach?

Are you stuck? Faced with new challenges? Maybe it is time to think about a leadership coach who can walk alongside you in this journey. Want to learn more about coaching? Join us for a free webinar entitled “What is Coaching?” on Wednesday, March 23 at 11:00 am Central Time/Noon Eastern time. We will introduce the purpose of individual coaching and the value it can add to one’s personal and professional development as well as hear from individuals who have been coached. Presenters are Pinnacle Associates Robin Sandbothe and Ircel Harrison.

To register, click “Add to Cart” below, then go to your cart to complete registration.

A new year with new challenges! Time to think about a leadership coach who can walk alongside you in this journey. Want to learn more about coaching? Join us for a free webinar on Wednesday, January 12 at 1pm Central Time/2pm Eastern time. We will introduce the purpose of individual coaching and the value it can add to one’s personal and professional development as well as hear from individuals who have been coached.

Register by clicking “Add to Cart” below.

CLERGY HEALTH COHORT in Columbia, SC | Facilitated by Cathy Jamieson

CHURCHCRAFT LEADERSHIP SERIES: THE EFFECTIVE LEAD PASTOR

LAYERS: PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL POST-PANDEMIC GROWTH

PASTOR LIFE SERIES: COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS