This project will explore the questions of how intentional leadership development through congregation-based organizing combined with current organizational change wisdom, including Adaptive Leadership impacts congregational vitality. The grant will offer dedicated time and space to read, study, reflect on these questions through selected books. And through interviews with a variety of congregational and judicatory leaders practicing organizing and/or adaptive leadership I will explore several important questions for church leadership: What skills and practices are lacking and now needed to make adaptive change in the church? How does organizing impact the vitality of your congregation/church? What are the benefits/draw backs to organizing for adaptive change? Using a series of questions like these this project will produce a Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats (S.W.O.T.) analysis useful for pastors and judicatory leaders as they face adaptive challenges in their places of ministry.

This project offer dedicated time to:

1. Read, study and reflect on current organizational change theory with an emphasis on adaptive leadership;

2. Interview key pastors and judicatory leaders regarding their experience with organizing and/or adaptive leadership;

3. Write for teaching and disseminating the lessons of congregational change using organizing skills and practices.

4. Participation in at least one seminar related to organizational change at MIT in fall, 2015;

5. Participation in an international conference of church and organizing leaders in spring, 2016.