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Home | News > Lay Speaking: Take the Initiative

Lay Speaking: Take the Initiative

02-08-2010
By Roger Curless
Conference Director of Lay Speaking

We are into our Lay Academy season with the winter and Lenten academies planned and underway in all our districts.  There is a celebration for our Elgin District which will hold its first academy in three years.  Karen Sersen is the new District Director of Lay Speaking and has an active committee and an academy ready to go.  There is also a new District Director in the Rockford District, Gretchen Wallander.  Across the Conference new Lay Speakers and those in their advanced courses will be in classes over the next several weeks.

Once again, as the Annual Reports of the Lay Speakers were received at every church conference, many lay speakers indicated that they are willing to contribute more in their lay speaking ministry.  Lay Speaking Ministries are not designed to just fill in for preaching duties, but to focus on leadership development, caring ministries and other ways to serve in the local church.  So let’s take a quick look at what The Book of Discipline says about the work of the Lay Speaker.

Among the list of functions in paragraph 266 of The Book of Discipline is this – "To take initiative in giving leadership."
That’s correct: take initiative.  Initiative to start a small group.  Initiative to start a Bible study.  Initiative to create a study group.  Initiative to create ministry in a new place with new people.  What calls you to take initiative to do something in your community, in your church to bring people into a new and stronger discipleship. Take initiative!

God has already put opportunities around us…in church, in the neighborhood, in the wider community.  Just prayerfully look around.  I believe any trained lay speakers can find something to put your skills, your training, your passion to work at making disciples.

Lay Speakers are called and should be prepared to provide involvement in caring ministries, communication ministries and of course leadership.  This means Lay Speaking should always be open to take on the work of God in God’s good time.  That time may be now.  God is always calling and from The Book of Discipline Lay Speakers are called to “take the initiative.”

Before your next church conference, before you complete the next annual report please discern where you can go, working with God to make new disciples for Jesus Christ.  When you complete that next report make sure you can check that “Yes, I have been putting my Lay Speaking training to work.” God expects that you are going to use your training.  There are opportunities, so take the initiative.

For more information, including the dates and locations of all Lay Academies, please visit our Lay Speaking page.