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2009-2010 school year: |
LEADERS...
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LEAD Team Videos
LEAD Team is partially funded by our local church - Jacob's Well in Eau Claire, WI. As a church, we are focusing on impacting the generations. This includes the 20s generation. in preparation for a teaching series, we were interviewed regarding our passion for LEAD Team. Approximately 90 minutes of material was edited down to these three short videos. We are thankful to Paul Berthiaume and Jacob's Well for this amazing production. It was shown in church in the Spring of 2010 as part of a message series.
LEAD Team Story Part 1 - Stuck. Ken and Kristi Jibben tell their story of what life was like as emerging college leaders. They were stuck in the grind of life. They offer hope that you don't have to be there.
LEAD Team Story Part 2 - Finding your Sweet Spot. Ken and Kristi Jibben describe how they found their sweet spot in serving emerging college leaders through LEAD Team.
LEAD Team Story Part 3 - The Vision. Ken and Kristi Jibben hope to see other LEAD Teams form all over the nation. As a result of that hope, the book "emerge" is written.
LEAD Team Resources
LEAD Team Student Application - We recruit students based mostly on recommendations from LEAD Team graduates. We ask them to fill out this application so that we can make the difficult decision of who to invite on team. The application itself is rather long - it is the gate of entry. If someone doesn't want to fill out the application, or if they find the questions too difficult or not fitting, then probably LEAD Team is not the right fit for them.
LEAD Team Retreat Agendas - As mentioned in the book, we go on 4 overnight retreats a year. Also, we have two Saturday morning events. I've included the agenda documents here so that you can get an idea of what our retreats are like. You'll notice that we do not pack the agenda with activities and teaching. There is a LOT of free time each retreat. This is part of our personality. We allow this time to process material, and to keep the retreats fun.
LEAD Team Tips and Tricks
LEAD Team has been developed over the course of six years. And even now, there are new things we are learning. Click the linke for some of the pearls we have collected. Topics include short discussions on: LEAD Ministry Team, Food, Retreat Centers, Mentoring Strategy and Mirror Sharing. Lead Team Trips and Tricks
Things That Didn’t Fit in the Book
It was a battle to decide what to put in the book, and what would not fit. I wanted to stay around 200 pages. I wanted it to be an easy read. Of course I had to avoid copyrighted material that I could not get permission to use. And of course I wanted to finish the book some day. That said, there were several subjects that did not get into the book.
emerge ONE - Launching a LEAD Team with a bunch of students and a ministry team is a pretty big venture. I would highly recommend starting with ONE student. If you can help one transition better, you will find the many much easier. emerge ONE is a companion document to my book, emerge. It gives the suggestions on how to start small - with one student.
Attracting the 20s Generation - So, what might it look like to have a bunch of people in their 20's at your church? Wouldn't that be great? Here are some ideas of how to do that.
Jesus the Greatest Leader – Several years ago, I started looking at Biblical characters differently. I started asking myself, “How good of a leader was David here?” and “What leadership qualities did Paul demonstrate in this passage?” Of course this ultimately gets around to the person of Jesus Christ. He was a leader. He made tough decisions. He faced rejection. He developed leaders under him. Admittedly, one might come up with some wonky theology if one were to ONLY look at scripture this way. But that’s the beauty of God’s word – it is new all the time, and He can teach us something new in good old John 3:16.
That said, we started doing a teaching on Jesus as a leader. Now this is a big pie, with lots of ways to slice it. I’m sure you could find hundreds of principles in Jesus’ life. And I’m also sure that the teaching changes a little every year, depending on who teaches it and where God is speaking to them in their life at that time. At any rate, click the link above to get our notes.
Book Discussions – In my book, I mention three resources that we use. The agenda also notes when we teach on those subjects. Actually, we have sort of a group discussion on the book and how it has impacted us. Click on Book Discussions above for our notes. The three resources are listed below.
Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
The Dream Giver: Following Your God-Given Destiny by Bruce Wilkinson
The Awareness Wheel – This tool has been very useful for Kristi and I on a personal level. The rights to it are owned by a company out of Evergreen, Colorado, named Interpersonal Communication Programs, Inc. If you would like more information on it, click the link above.
The Prayer of Commissioning – This is very empowering, and something we do on our last retreat. I don’t know where this activity originated. So, I don’t know who to give credit to.
The plan is fairly simple. Each person, including the leaders will get a turn in the hot seat, which is just a chair in the middle of the living room at the retreat center. Then we all gather around him or her, put a hand on them, and offer a prayer of commissioning.
What is unique about it is that before the prayer, we all spontaneously speak out one or two word phases that describe that person – whatever comes to mind. Things like, courageous, colorful, imaginative, friendly, the heart of a lion, etc. Yes, we are all doing this with our eyes closed, and no, people do not usually say stuff at the same time. This usually goes on for several minutes. Then when it slows down, somebody, usually the person who mentored them, will offer a short prayer of commissioning. It might look something like this:
Father God, we are so thankful that we have gotten to know Matt this year. It has been such a blessing to enjoy his fun loving spirit and laugh with a brother who truly loves you. We appreciate his kind words. We know he loves us and we love him too. We affirm together that Matt is a leader! We send him out, and into your capable hands. And we rejoice together in the direction you have given him this year in taking an internship…
Obviously, these prayers are personal. The words from the team are very personal. I’m amazed at how few of them look the same. By the end of the school year, you should know each other well enough to see this happen. It does take energy to do this, however, and depending on the size of the group and how it is flowing, you might need to take a break mid way.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I attend a LEAD Team?
Are you a last year senior in college, or a recent graduate?
Are you a Christian, and would like to discover God’s calling on your life?
Do you have the time and open heart to make the commitments?
If you answered Yes to all these questions (or at least some), then you might be a good fit for LEAD Team. That’s the good news. Here’s the bad news – My hope and desire is that there would be hundreds of LEAD Teams going on all over the country. But, there aren’t yet. Writing the book, emerge, was the first step in seeing that dream come true. However, this is a cultural movement that will likely take some time.
At least I can end with some more good news. There are some things you can do to transition better.
- Ask your campus staff for a mentor. Perhaps they know of some alumni in your area that they could recommend. Ask the mentor if they will be willing to meet with you and discuss the topics in emerge. You could probably meet every other week during your last semester and make it through the material. Who knows, perhaps the mentor relationship would turn into a life long mentor. That would be awesome!
- Similar to option 1 above, perhaps the alumni person or people would be willing to lead a small group of you and some of your transitioning friends. Again, you could use emerge as material, and finish it in one semester.
- If no alumni are available, perhaps you could lead a small group with some of your transitioning friends. Although this is not as good as having someone from “the other side” direct you, at least the material will start you thinking about developing vision.
- Worst case, you could go through the book yourself. I hope you find it heart warming and encouraging.
- Contact me via contact page. Perhaps I will know of someone in your region that is directing a LEAD Team.
- In all cases, I encourage you to consider some of the other books we use in LEAD Team – Courageous Leadership, Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and The Dream Giver.
How do I serve on a LEAD Team?
Do you have a desire to help emerging college leaders transition well into the real world?
Are you alumni from a campus group?
Do you consider yourself fairly well balanced emotionally, and you have the time to invest in at least one student?
If you answered Yes to all these questions (or at least some), then you might be a good fit for directing a LEAD Team. That’s the good news. Here’s the bad news – My hope is that I can offer advice and coaching to LEAD Team directors across the nation. However, I don’t have the time to do that, except on a very selective basis. Writing the book, emerge, was the first step in creating a movement where emerging college leaders transition well and change the face of Christianity – to a younger face. People like yourself who have a pure desire to see emerging college leaders transition well are the greatest asset in seeing that happen. Here are my suggestions:
- Start small. Use my “Emerge One” pdf book and start with one student.
- Use emerge as a resource, but don’t be afraid to change the strategy to fit your needs.
- Contact me via my contact page. Perhaps we can collaborate in this effort. Keep in mind that this is a movement. I’m not into controlling what you do, or franchising anything.
Might Ken Jibben be willing to speak at my church or conference?
I guess the short answer is, “I might be very interested.” Contact me via the contact page. Perhaps we might be able to collaborate somehow. But I must advise that I am not a full time missionary. I am a software engineer with a regular job. I do this fun stuff "on the side."
LEAD Team Testimonials
We asked the LEAD Team grads from the first 5 years to comment on what has LEAD Team meant to them. Of the 40 students, we have testimonials from 33 of them. Here are a few of them: (For a complete listing of all 33 testimonials, click here.)
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LEAD team was an amazing beginning of growth for me. To have a group that focused on the spiritual and emotional development of graduating college students was astounding to me. In my times with Kristi I learned to become more authentic with my feelings and connect more fully with my heart. I learned to discover what it meant to become unguarded with God and with community. LEAD team really prepared me for a life of ministry by equipping me with crucial skills. - Michelle (Grant) Jacobson (2005 LEAD Grad) |
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During a very delicate season in our life God graciously placed us on Lead Team. We were in our first year of marriage, seeking to complete our undergraduate degrees, and trying greatly to discern what our next steps would hold! The Lord would use Lead Team as beautiful means through which we established foundational roots for our marriage, developed a deeper understanding of our God-given giftings and strengths, and made the transforming life decision to become collegiate missionaries. Lead Team was not just a team to us, but our church family in action - helping us to grow in Christ-likeness but also helping us to make Christ glorifying choices for our future! - Quintin & Chelsey Baldwin (2005 LEAD Grads) |
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One concept that I learned through LEAD team and continue to use is struggling well. I have already undergone a few big transitions in my years after college, including moving overseas, getting married, and then coming back stateside. And though I've had times of struggle, I now realize that to struggle is not bad, but it is how we struggle that matters. This is an important concept that I hope to keep with me and my family through all the transitions of life as a missionary. Also, I loved the one on one times with Kristi because it gave me a chance to process through some of my life stuff everything from boys to being a math teacher. I cherished those one on one times and I continue to search for a mentor wherever I am at. Thanks, Kristi!! - Julie (Theobold) Puckett (2006 LEAD Grad) |
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Lead team was pivotal in helping me see myself as a leader and embracing what God designed me to do. It showed me how to mark a straight path for my life and how to handle unexpected detours along the way. It has provided me with invaluable tools for dealing with conflict and working in teams. Overall, it has given me the confidence to pursue my calling with vigor and joy. - Jason Price (2008 LEAD Grad) |
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LEAD Team was great! Ken and Kristi put all they have into this ministry, and God is using them to further prepare and equip many emerging college leaders. I discovered a lot about myself, more about leadership, how to work well with a team, what to expect in transition, what to do when things you don't expect happen in transition, and how to pursue my big God given dreams. Ken and Kristi play a crucial role in filling the gap between the church and college ministries. They have figured out and understand how to better connect the two, and teach the things that we've been missing. - Grant Buenger (2009 LEAD Grad) |
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Lead Team helped to equip me with tools that I use every day at work in order to work alongside other leaders/teachers. Through the community that I found in LEAD Team, I have walked through a lot of healing and clarifying in order to be able to dream without limits. LEAD Team taught me how to be the best me in order to live out a God-given vision to put back together what is broken in our world. - Abby Dombeck (2009 LEAD Grad, 2009-10 LEAD Ministry Team) |
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I love LEAD team. It is a powerful testimony of God working through the right people, for the right people, at the right time. For any emerging college leader who loves Jesus, LEAD team is essential for not only your spiritual growth, but your emotional well-being. In my mind, emotional wellness is LEAD team's greatest gift to young college leaders. We need it, and if we don't get it, somewhere down the road it will come back to haunt us. For a leader to lead well their heart has to be right, it has to be healthy. In so many ways LEAD team helps young leaders become grounded in who they are through God's eyes and what they are made for. On that note I'd like to say that I love Ken and Kristi Jibben. My one on one's with Ken really helped me process through my personal struggles as well as my shifting theological beliefs. He's a great listener and loves buying people lunch! Don't let him order any french fries off the menu though, because he's on a diet! Both Ken and Kristi do a tremendous service to emerging college leaders. They care about us, listen to us, worship with us, play with us, love us, and just do life with us. Next generation leaders desperately need people like Ken and Kristi to fulfill this important role as spiritual mentors, guides, and mommy's and daddies. :) The spiritual power of an adult couple pouring their lives out into young people to is nothing short of supernatural. - Bryan Willkom (2009 LEAD Grad) |
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