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25 Years
Chicago HQ
Affiliates in 18
US states,
South Africa,
Great Britain
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Leadership
training
Congregational
development
Leadership
tables of
clergy, lay
leaders and
allies
Issue
Campaigns
Professional
organizers
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LOCAL/REGIONAL/STATE
ISSUES
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Affordable housing
Education
Health Care
Transportation
Treatment Instead of Prison
Work force development
Tax reform
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NATIONAL ISSUES
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Voting Rights Act
re-authorization
Civil Rights of Immigrants
Health Care
Education
THREE YEAR
STRATEGIC CAMPAIGN
THREE OVERALL
GOALS
I. Build our collective power
II. Strengthen faith communities
III. Heal our democracy
Where are we now?
“We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds; we have been
drenched by many storms; we have learnt the arts of
equivocation and pretence; experience has made us suspicious
of others and kept us from being truthful and open;
intolerable conflicts have worn us down and even made us
cynical.
Are we still of any use?”
Attitude I
The work of the church is in matters of life and death – what
could be more important?
What do we do to undermine our
importance?
Attitude II
Our ministries should have an urgent relevance to the daily
lives of people
Are our ministries resulting in a stronger
congregation or are we just “managing?”
PEW: 20% OF AMERICANS ARE NOW ATHEIST,
AGNOSTIC OR UNAFFILIATED WITH A RELIGION
 “The unaffiliated are less trusting of churches and
religious organizations than the general public overall.
 “In particular, they claim that these groups are “too
concerned with money and power, too focused on
rules, and too involved in politics.”
 “That being said, a majority believe that faith and
religion can be a positive force in society and that
religious organizations bring people together and help
strengthen community bonds.”
Attitude III
Congregations must build power to be relevant
Who instilled
the spirit of timidity in us?
Power
 Ability to act
 Two components
 Organized people
 Organized money
Attitude IV
Relationships based on an understanding of self-interests are
the key to building powerful congregations
How can we love one another if we do not
know one another? What stands in the way of
knowing our neighbors?
Discipline I
Intentional relationship-building: fostering natural but
uncommon exchanges
A. Build trust
B. Understand self-interest
C. Gain/offer clarity
D. Gather information
Discipline II
Meetings that respect people.
A. Have a point - action
B. Follow an agenda – prepared in advance
C. Begin and end on time – this is business
D. Ratify decisions that have already been made
Discipline III
Build a culture of integrity and accountability
1.
Specific, measurable plans
2.
We say what we’ll do and we do what we say
3.
Evaluation: Did we meet our goals? How did people
grow? How is this building the congregation?
Discipline IV
Building a public life for our faith communities
“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels
of injustice, we are to drive a spike into the wheel itself.”
Discipline V
Ongoing leadership training and development
1.
All leaders are grooming their replacements
2.
No one is expected to “sink or swim”
3.
Everyone moving toward the center of congregational life
Attitudes
Disciplines
1.
The work of the church is a
matter of life and death
1. Intentional relationshipbuilding
2.
Our ministries must be
relevant
2. Effective meetings
3.
To be relevant we must
build power
3. Culture of integrity and
accountability
4.
Relationships are the key
4. Life in public arena
5. Ongoing development of
leaders
GAMALIEL NATIONAL
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
www.gamaliel.org
Norton@Gamaliel.org
410-458-3380
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National Leadership
Training (7 Day):
Jul 14-20: Mundelein, IL
Nov 11-17: Sacramento, CA
Other Important Dates
National Clergy/Team Training
April 24-26: St. Mary’s, Mundelein, IL
Advanced Leader/Strategic Campaign
Training
June 10-14: Gallaudet University,
Washington DC
International Leadership Assembly
December 3-5, Washington, DC
Most Rev. Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America
“My own experience of Gamaliel leadership training gave me a
deep sense that churches were not simply being used for some
narrow political agenda, but that there is a real respect for the
faith-based nature of our work. I also appreciated the emphasis
on the individual and their call to leadership in the church as
well as the community.
I believe we can use this methodology to integrate the attitudes
and disciplines of community organizing even more deeply with
our church revitalization efforts, using it as a principal tool in
developing churches and their leaders as powerfully relevant to
the daily concerns of our people.”