2017 GATHERING!

Another great Gathering has ended!

The TENTH Annual
Transitional / Intentional
Interim Ministry Specialists Association

2017 TIIMSA GATHERING

MAY 2-4, 2017
DES MOINES, IOWA

Tuesday Registration and Reception: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The event begins at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday,
and concludes at Noon, Thursday.

Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Larry L. Foster

“Meeting Bowen and Friedman Again
for the First Time:
the Perpetual Task
of Self Differentiation”

 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE THEME, KEYNOTE SPEAKER, AND PRESENTATION

 

REGISTRATION AND LODGING INFORMATION
Registration closed.

 

OPTIONS FOR THE WEDNESDAY WORKSHOPS:

Life Seeks Life, therefore….How to Destroy a Congregation if You Have the Skill.” By Larry Foster

Much or even most effort goes into helping a congregation restore, renew, manage transitions. Healthy congregations are the goal for most of these efforts. How might an approach look if the goal was to destroy a congregation? What would such an adventure turn up? What would it take? A family systems model can offer some clues.

Finding Shalom: Transitional Tools for Everyday Spirituality” By Bill Kemp

Intentional interim ministers have a tool box they use to bring Shalom to traumatized and conflicted congregations. That same tool box can helpful for individuals seeking Shalom. To find inner peace we must learn from our past, live compassionately in the present, and plan without anxiety for our future. This is more than simply a balancing act. One must develop a healthy decision making process. One must understand the roles and relationships that provide structure for our individual lives. One must find new ways to bridge conflicts and offer forgiveness. If our lay people can apply these lessons to their personal lives, they will be more effective as church leaders and less anxious throughout their congregation’s transition.

Emotional Intelligence and Interim Ministry”
By Darrell Coats.

We will explore the promise that developing emotional intelligence can have for the practice of interim ministry.

“Conflict – Management of Polarities”
By Diane McClanahan

Roy Oswald and Barry Johnson identify eight polarities that are present in all thriving congregations. Too often these polarities are treated as problems to solve rather than polarities to manage. Participants will learn how to identify and map polarities in order to assist their congregations to shift from an either/or, to a both/and way of being.

“Why TIIMS?” By Vivian Hiestand

This Powerpoint presentation provides laity with an explanation of why churches are experiencing more pressures than ever before, an overview of the TIIMS process, and how the TIIMS process can benefit a church. This useful tool is ecumenical and can be customized for your church. Workshop participants will have an opportunity to ask questions, will receive printed materials, and be able to make copies of the Powerpoint (please provide a flash drive).

You Can Lead a Staff to Water, but You Can’t Make Them Walk on It” By Charles Murray and Bonnie K. Koeppen

The focus will be dealing with staff: clergy, laity – both paid and unpaid. Our class will examine how some of the developmental and formative tasks of TIIMS are used in mentoring employees whose anxiety levels are high. We will cover managing conflict among or between staff members, and look at practices that build staff as a team.  From the Committee on Nominations to the Staff (or Pastor) Parish Relations Committee, tools are needed to achieve effective outcomes. This is needed in both the transitional intentional interim parish as well as a newly appointed long-term pastorate that is conflicted. In other disciplines, our topic would be known as personnel and human resources.  In church language, it is calling and discipleship.

 


Here are some photographs of what happened
at the 
2016 TIIMSA Gathering, April 19-21,
at St. Andrew UMC in Highland Ranch, Colorado…

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See photographs from the 2015 TIIMSA Gathering…


See photographs from the 2014 TIIMSA Gathering