2015 Elders Training Event

Last Saturday a half-a-dozen of our Elders and I attended a Region-wide Elder Training Event in Casa Grande. 

And when I say Region-wide, I mean it. We had over a 100 Elders present at the event!

It was a wonderful opportunity for us to talk best practices, learn about the role of Elders in Disciples congregations, and hear from our special guest presenter the Rev. Dr. Dick Hamm.

For folks who do not know, Dick Hamm is the former General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He is a tremendous thinker, speaker, and faith leader for our denomination and I can think of no one better equipped lead our Elders Training. It was a great day!

Here are a few photos (with short captions) from the day:

Don't worry, my journal didn't stay empty for long.
By the end of the day I had 13 pages worth of notes from
 the event, and plenty of good ideas to bring back!

Our Regional Minister Denny Williams calling us to
order to start the day.

All told we had 105 Elders from 16 Disciples congregations
from  all over the great state of Arizona
present for the Elders Training.

The Rev. Dr. Dick Hamm (former General Minister
and President of our denomination) led the event.

After some A/C problems forced us to relocate to the Sanctuary,
the Rev. Isaac Varner (pastor at Capilla del Sol in Tucson)
led us in a conversation about "Best Practices for Elders"
at our congregations. 

The Rev. Dr. Dick Hamm leading a very important afternoon
session on everyone's least favorite topic: Conflict!