In this enews you'll find conference photos, Chris Heinrich's story, an article on how to work with poor leaders, a great web site for web clip testimonials "I am second" (under Resources in the right hand column) ALC courses available in 2014 and many positions available in Lay Ministry. If you have good resources or ideas to share, email us.

Many of you will be winding up for a big finish to 2013, planning Christmas or dreaming holidays!

Whatever state you find yourself in, our prayer is that you find yourself walking alongside the one who found you.

As always, keep your eyes on Jesus. The Lay Mnistry Team

Some of the Lay Workers attending the Conference at Warrambui

The 2013 Conference was held at Warrambui Retreat and Conference Centre. The facilities were very good and while also attending the conference, the 2013 Warrambui Interns helped prepare meals and looked after us. The catering was superb and above expectations. Thank You Warrambui crew!

John North, our guest speaker, stretched our thinking on what it means to be a committed follower of Jesus. His insights were timely and from the heart. He gave us a great perspective from outside the Lutheran fold.  

Pastor Fred Veerhuis challenged us in all sorts of ways... as Fred does! ...always an opportunity to look at texts and Jesus love from a previously unseen angle...truely inspirational.

Pastor Bob Kempe shared Lutheran gems and wisdom as Bob does beautifully....often, interestingly, finding a common end point to John North...just from a different direction.

We were really blessed with speakers of passion and a heart for Jesus.

Bishop Henderson shared his journey and vision and gained the respect of those there while bringing a strong sense of hope. For many, this was a conference highlight...

David Spanagel shared his amazing story in his walk of following Christ's call to serve a small Northern community.

and some quotes...

"Full marks for organisation and food, beautiful venue. I always come away encouraged, inspired and refreshed! Blessings to all. Looking forward to the next conference."

"My first Lay Workers conference. A wonderful experience."

"Listening to the 3 guest speakers. Everything the 3 of them spoke about they were only saying to me - at times I felt that no one else was in the room."

what was best..."John Henderson's talk, sharing in small groups, James' farewell, Fred Veerhuis's presentation, worship...I could go on."

about worship..."uplifting", "What a joy to be in the presence of God with like minded people. The worship leader listening to the Holy Spirit and being bold enough to be obedient. No page 6 stuff for her!" "brilliant", "Awesome, great music which stayed in my head throughout the day and great devotions." "Loved it"

Whatever your Lay Ministry role...plan to be at the next National Lay Workers Conference!

Looking toward the NSW high country from the Warrambui Lookout

A more detailed survey will be sent out for you to complete as we collate ideas and possibilities for future Conferences.

We are keen to keep Lay Worker Conferences relevant and beneficial to what you do. That may mean keeping the Conference format as it is or making some changes. We would really like feedback from people who attend the Conferences and especially from those who don't currently attend Lay Worker Conferences! The Conferences are for you and need to reflect what your needs are.

Background....

The numbers attending currently range from 30 to 70 depending on the time of year and location. We want to provide an experience that builds a sense of Lay Ministry Team, Retreats participants, further grows a vision for minstry and mission and renews a love for Jesus in those attending. How can we best encourage this?.....

Listed below are some options we have started to consider:

1. (Leave as is) Every 2 years from a Monday to a Friday. If this is the option we would bring the date of the Conference back to mid year.

2. As is but add a Training day in districts in the in between years (sort of like a Lay Workers Big Day Out!)

3. Every 2 years for three days and 2 nights. Reduce the number of days so people are not away from home and work for quite as long as they currently are.

4. Every three years and hold it the week before Synod (to encourage Lay Workers to attend Synod...do Lay Worker want to attend Synod?)

5. Hold a 3 day Conference every year with a retreat theme to renew and reinvigorate. Limited numbers (15-25) so on a first in basis. Held across Australia and New Zealand. May have a bush walking, ocean, creative, horse riding, outback camping theme. You might select one that suits you and attend every 3 or 4 years.

6. Your suggestion...maybe a combination of approaches?

Click here and Email us with comments and ideas.

PASTORAL AND COMMUNITY CARE COORDINATOR

My ministry began in May 2011 when I was challenged to take on the above position on a part time basis. I was reluctant at first, as we had retired to Bundaberg from South Australia via Central Australia, mainly to be near two of our three daughters and their families that had ‘migrated’ earlier. They had made it very clear that they were unlikely to return to the land of their birth anytime soon!
My call from God came in loud and clear as I recognised all the signs, for experience had taught me that if God really wants you to do something for Him, He will keep niggling at you and to simply trust His bidding. My family, friends and members of the congregation encouraged me to give it a go, and so the application letter was submitted.
The position involves co-ordinating our Community Care Team of volunteer visitors; co-ordinating and participating in Holy Communion visitations to the hospitalised, elderly and  homebound; organising volunteer team meetings for learning, sharing or debriefing.  Leading Bible Studies, organising counselling sessions and having a listening ear are also part of my role. Maintaining a ‘Register of Prayer Shawl Presentations’, is a very pleasurable task. Prayer Shawls are knitted or crocheted by ladies of our parish and presented with a Prayer Card to the sick, bereaved and grieving, also for special birthday milestones, within our church community and beyond, even interstate. They give great comfort to the recipients, reminding them of God’s love for them and that others care and pray for them too.
More recently the Flood Relief co-ordination took more of a priority and presented me with many new challenges including preparation and distribution of ‘Hope Packages’, food parcels, baby packages, towels, linen and bedding for flood affected families.  Volunteers came forward and donations of all kinds arrived abundantly from every direction. The overwhelming amount  of donations were received with thanks and gratitude as the need was great; and so the co-ordination and organisation of delivering this assistance to flood affected families became a top priority for our Ministry Team and volunteers. 
Now six months after the floods we still have families from the wider community in need, mainly with the restoration work on their homes or for long term health issues, especially with their mental and emotional wellbeing and family concerns. Individuals continue to come to us for a chat and a cuppa as one small way of coming to terms with the devastation that invaded their lives in January.
Along my journey with new and continuing challenges I praise and thank God for our dedicated Volunteers that willingly contribute to the wider ministry of our congregations, and to my Prayer Team and others that support and encourage me. My gratitude also goes to our Pastors and Ministry Staff for their prayers and support. A special thankyou to my wonderful husband and family who maintain the home front, thus enabling me to enjoy my work and appreciate that the housework and cooking somehow gets done without any effort from me!!
God has richly blessed the work I attempt to do for Him in this role, He also gives me the patience, wisdom and strength to face the challenges of each day especially when the going gets tough. He has also proved that when you think you are going to settle into retirement He may have another challenge for you!!
Christine Heinrich

The following is taken from Michael Hyatts blogg "Intentional Leadership"....I'm sure most of us have faced this dilemma at least once in our working life!

Though I eventually became a CEO, I spent most of my corporate years in middle management. I had my share of bad bosses. A few were very difficult. I imagined myself quitting or at least giving them a good tongue-lashing. Others were incompetent. I wanted to pull my hair out or rat them out to their boss.
Fortunately, I didn’t do any of these things, though I was often tempted. And, I’m glad I didn’t. Each of these bad bosses served to make me a better leader. You can learn from positive role models. Sometimes you can learn even more from negative ones.
But what if you are in that situation right now? Here are five ways to cope:
1. Manage your expectations. When you read a lot of books and blogs about leadership, it is easy to become idealistic. If you are not careful, you can create a set of expectations that no one could possibly meet. You have to remember your boss is human—and fallen at that. He struggles with his own fears, wounds, and weaknesses. He has his own accountabilities and pressure. He will experience good days and bad.
2. Evaluate the impact. What kind of effect is your boss having on you and your teammates? Is he over-bearing and abusive? Incompetent or careless? Or is he checked out or inaccessible? I have worked in all of these situations and each of them requires a different response. Some are easier to put up with and manage around than others.
3. Consider your options. If the situation is bad enough, it may warrant your resignation. I have only been in one job where I did this, and frankly—knowing what I know now—I wish I had stayed. But your circumstances may be different. Most situations provide an opportunity to learn, if you are alert and teachable. Some of the best lessons I ever learned were from bad bosses.
4. Be assertive. Bad bosses have a way of creating a culture of fear, where people are afraid to speak up. But this may be the perfect opportunity for you to become more courageous. This doesn’t mean you have to be disrespectful. Nor does it require that you become inappropriately aggressive. Being assertive means giving voice to your needs and establishing clear boundaries.
5. Support him publicly. Someone once said, “public support leads to private influence.” I think that is exactly right. When I have been in these situations, I have refused to publicly debate my boss or to gossip about him behind his back. I looked for positive attributes (everyone has them) and publicly affirmed them. I was loyal when he wasn’t present. This gave me credibility when I needed it later.

I once had a boss chew out one of my direct reports in public. I was embarrassed and angry. I did my best to end the conversation civilly and move the agenda along. Immediately, after the meeting, I met with my boss privately and recounted what had transpired. I didn’t raise my voice; I was very matter-of-fact.
I told him that his behavior was unacceptable, unproductive, and would ultimately keep him from getting the results he wanted. I then said, “Look, in order for me to be effective in serving you, I need you to go to Ron and personally apologize. If you don’t, it will undermine your leadership and mine. If you do, it will restore your credibility and win the respect of your team. I’m counting on you to do the right thing.”
This was a very difficult conversation. I knew I was betting my job by being assertive. But he knew in his heart that I was loyal and that what I was asking was reasonable and right. He walked out of his office and did exactly what I asked. Thankfully, this kind of situation never came up again.

The Warrambui Conference has bolstered our photos of Lay Workers significantly BUT...we are always looking to have on hand a photo of all of our Lay Workers...that means we still have about 110 to collect!...We would like to use the photos to:

+ Show current ministries in action in stories or articles produced on Lay Ministry

+ Display photos and positions of all Lay Workers in our National Office

+ Use images in this enews publication

We need your help to do this. I know having photos taken and sending them to us is understandably not a priority for you but we we would love you to do just that...photos of you, or photos of you in action in ministry....would be fantastic. Would it help to offer a mars bar for the first 30 people to send photos...or would that just be seen as a bribe?

We know Lay Ministry can be extremely rewarding and we also know it can be demanding and lonely at times.

Do you need help in your ministry with any of the following areas....?

• working as a team
• developing an effective ministry plan
• gaining a support team, pray team, mentor
• understanding study options
• clarifying working conditions
• connecting with others in similar ministries
• someone to be a listening ear

as well as finishing a position well and review options......

We can and do help....contact the Lay Ministry Office