Class is in Session

This morning we met at the Chamber of Commerce for our first class in the Strategic Leadership segment.  It was a day of learning for all of us as we attempted Troika’s first ever internet session.

Alan Cole and Tim Whitener got up early in the morning to broadcast live from the Team Room at Calvary for Module 1.  Despite there being a few technical glitches, all in all the format of having an instructor piped in worked reasonably well.  Thanks to our translator, Mariana, who did an excellent job in spite of some dropping in and out of the audio.  Nice job by Tim and Alan also of communicating well across the video medium and still being able to interact with the class.  Before the class started, Andriy was kind enough to bring the three of us t-shirts with the Ukrainian national symbol on them–just in case our luggage hadn’t arrive yet!

There were 14 members present today, and it was good for Perry to reconnect with some friends while Jim and Jay met them for the first time.  Along with the session on building a vision and mission statement of the company, Jay shared the process for Calvary’s vision and walked the class through it.  It was fun to communicate to them how even though a church is not a business, strategic alignment to a vision (especially in an organization that operates through volunteers and members who choose to partner with Calvary instead of being motivated by a paycheck) is key to accomplishing what we believe God has for us to do.

After lunch with the class participants, we took some time to rest and prepare for Tuesday’s Module 2 which Perry will be leading, and our leadership seminar based from the book, Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard.  Pray that the principles that we will teach from Jesus’ life about leadership will open the door for gospel conversations.  There is some apprehension about the subject in the fear that we will interject religion to the business world (where some believe it doesn’t belong), so pray that the participants listen with open minds and hearts.

We had an outstanding dinner with Slavic Pyzh and his wife Nadia, who is the president of the Ukranian Baptist Theological Seminary here in Lviv, Shannon Ford and his wife, who are IMB missionaries to Lviv, and Shannon’s friend Russell a missionary out of The Summit Church in Raleigh.  We talked church and missions strategy over some great food.  Dr. Pyzh’s dissertation was on the effects of Anabaptist ecclesiology on the Ukranian and American church, so we gave him a book from the Moravian archives on the foundations of the church traced back to Jan Huss (who the Anabaptists also trace their history too).  He was so appreciative and impressed, that he invited us to come and visit with him at the seminary for a tour on Wednesday afternoon so that we can spend more time talking about how they can strategically use their limited space and his vision for students to lead churches that are biblical, missional and accountable.

After our devotion time and some reflections on the day, it’s off to prepare for tomorrow.  Thanks for your continued prayers!