Leadership Development -2027

Disciples Seminary Foundation

Group-Based Medium Level Theological Imagination

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About This Course

What makes a good leader? We will explore the biases and oppressive structures that severely inhibit open, inclusive, collaborative leadership and what it looks like to embody liberative leadership in the church that counters oppression in its many guises. Possible topics include racism, homophobia, white supremacist structures, immigration, violence, poverty, sexism, and disability awareness. What are effective ways congregations can partner with faith-based community organizations to make a difference locally and globally?

This course begins March 1. This a month-long course with the first three weeks being asynchronous and ending with a live Zoom on the last week.

Course Components

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📋 5 Lessons

📚 1 Resources

✍️ 0 Quizzes

📖 8 Assignments

How to Engage with this course

Learning Objectives

Aligned with Competency Area(s) 4, 6, 9

4. Cross Cultural and Anti-Racism Experience

Be sensitive to the different manifestations of racism and prejudice in the culture and be committed to confronting and overcoming them.

6. Education and Leadership Development

Know the foundations of Christian education and the principles of leader development. Show competency in teaching children, youth, and adults, including lay leaders and staff.

9. Mission of the Church in the World

Be able to understand and articulate the centrality of the call to mission given by Jesus Christ and the prophets. Be able to empower congregations to engage in mission from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth.

Your Instructor

Rev. Sandhya Jha

Rev. Sandhya Jha (they/them) is an anti-oppression consultant currently working on their Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice, with a focus on comparing contemporary progressive and conservative social movements. Sandhya is the founder and former executive director of the Oakland Peace Center and a multifaith community organizer. An ordained pastor with master’s degrees in both divinity and public policy, Sandhya is comfortable in the pulpit, on the picket line, or hanging out with friends and friends-to-be over a good cup of tea and a good story. Sandhya’s fifth book with Chalice Press, Rebels, Despots, and Saints, came out on MLK Day 2023. They are currently heading up a research team at UPenn’s SAFE Lab focused on the cultivation of belonging in digital spaces as a tool in social movement mobilization.

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