Excellence in Leadership is a ministry born out of the need for courageous and resilient people in the church, in organizations, and in the world. We are currently living in a time that asks specifically for leaders who have the capacity to think about the future in new ways and we believe that effective leadership begins with the individual and is honed in community.
Reconciled at The Table
As a church we have forgiveness to offer, and as we are becoming more and more aware, we have repentance to offer, to many who we’ve harmed. Likewise, as individuals and in our congregations the same is true. Even though it may not be easy, and even if you don’t quite feel like it yet, don’t procrastinate in this labor.
E-News 8-7-2023
E-News 7-17- 2023
We are definitely in a season of transition. Being in transition can be unsettling and uncomfortable. A very human response to that discomfort is the desire to conclude it as quickly as possible. In my work with these ministry sites, I urge folks to navigate transition with a posture of patience and openness.
E-News 7-3-2023
A message from Bishop Meggan, plus an invitation to Synod Trip to visit our companions in Tanzania, the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese (UKD) July 5 to 22, 2024. The goal of the trip is to strengthen our relationship as we spend more time together. Here is more information so that you can determine your interest.
E-News 6-19-2023
Manlove’s own story as bishop of the Northwest Intermountain Synod will begin July 1. As she looked ahead to her new role, she cited post-pandemic communication as the biggest internal challenge for a synod that stretches across half of Washington state, includes all of Idaho and reaches into Wyoming.
Who Is Jesus?
I spent the first two weeks of June leading summer staff training sessions for Luther Heights Bible Camp in the Sawtooth Mountains and Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp south of Glacier National Park in Montana. I led sessions on Lutheranism 101 and then took the counselors on deep dives through the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Bible Studies.
The text for Day 2 Who is Jesus? Is John 15:1-17 (the vine and branches passage). Because we were at the beginning of staff training at both camps, biblical passages about community were also used for worship and devotions.
These passages included 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (the body of Christ). I found it wonderful to juxtapose these two passages with the summer staffs, but I also find it helpful as I begin my call as bishop of our synod. In the passage from John, Jesus uses a metaphor that highlights interrelationships and is nonhierarchical. Perhaps most significant, the branches are also anonymous; nothing distinguishes one branch from the other. The only measure of one’s place in community is to love Jesus. Period. Contrast that with the Apostle Paul’s metaphor of the body in his letter to the church in Corinth. Instead of anonymity, Paul has an abundance of specificity. What both passages share is an emphasis on interdependence, with God in Jesus and with one another.