Through speaking and workshops I introduce clergy and lay leaders to a new approach to leadership, through engaging and interactive presentations that give leaders a greater sense of their own resources and the possibilities of leadership.
My presentations include:
Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry
Is church leadership a recipe for burnout? How can leaders last? There’s a way to approach ministry that’s sustainable: leaders can learn to focus on themselves and the resources they bring to their leadership rather than trying harder to help, fix or change others. This presentation will show how leaders can make a difference while sustaining themselves through the ups and downs of church life.
Money and Your Ministry
Is your church facing a budget crisis? Is your salary stagnant? Does your church fight about money—or keep secrets about it? This presentation will help you learn a way to understand what’s really going on (in us and in others) when money becomes an issue in congregational life, and how to lead around money with lowered anxiety and more clarity. What you will take away with you: a new way to approach the money challenges we all face at church.
Better Boundaries in Ministry
Managing boundaries in ministry is an ongoing challenge for clergy. This fully-interactive boundary training looks at the many places where issues can arise: time, money, sex, and relationships with members and colleagues (including predecessors/successors). Using a family systems perspective, we will talk about how to address these challenges in ways that can be life-giving for clergy and for their congregations. The program will include ways to develop a healthy self (one who has an appropriate sense of where I end and someone else begins) and will look at the many ways to be healthier and more joyful in ministry.
Why Helping May Be Overrated
All the good things we do for others may not actually help them. In this presentation you’ll learn what to do instead. You will get clear about what kind of “helping” causes dependency in others, and how to truly help others without wearing yourself out.
Leading in Anxious Times
You can glance at the headlines online or in the newspaper (or listen to the gossip in your own church) and know: we’re leading in anxious times. How can clergy lead at this time in ways that are life-giving for yourself and for others? This presentation offers practical ways to approach leadership in these days.
Margaret’s approach to boundary awareness through the lens of Family Systems Theory was fresh, insightful, and really quite helpful. Reviews and evaluations were universally appreciative and positive, along the lines of, “Best boundary training ever!” As one committee member observed, “I think we hit a home run with Margaret!
Rev. Frank Baldwin, Central Pacific Conference, United Church of Christ
Margaret is a much sought-after presenter on the challenges and joys of ministry. Her presentations are highlights at our Leadership in Ministry program. Margaret always delivers when it comes to delivering an engaging, relevant, often inspiring presentation. I always come away with one or two take-aways that I put to use right away.
Israel Galindo, Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning
Center for Lifelong Learning, Columbia Theological Seminary
Interested? Call me at 503-701-7621, or e-mail me at Margaret@margaretmarcuson.com to find out more or to schedule a free introductory session.