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           CDI

Membership -- The Order of the Ascension requires that all members complete a CDI or a comparable program.

History -- The Order and General Seminary co-sponsored the CDI in New York City from 1985 - 1995; in 1995 the seminary took full responsibility for CDI; later that was shifted to the trainers conducting CDI and CDI Trainers was formed.

For complete information on CDI's go to the web-site of CDI Trainers 

  • CDI - National, open registration CDI in Seattle

 

A partner training program to CDI is the Leadership Training Institute --   LTI  offers training in human interaction skills, group development, educational design and consultation skills

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THE CHURCH DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (CDI)

The CDI Trainers Core Comprehensive Program in Congregational Development

This program is CDI Trainers' primary training program.

Purpose of the Program

The course is a leadership-training program focused on the ministry of developing the community and organizational life of congregations. We equip leaders to serve in the congregation, in the diocese, and as consultants.

Results

    More focus on the primary task of a parish church -- renewal in baptismal identity and sending people in an apostolate in workplace, family, and civic life

    Improved patterns of life in community -- "improved ability to listen with care, to gather input, to focus on what we do well, to more effectively channel feedback into the system, and move forward with a common sense of mission"

    Lay participants describe use of what they learn in their secular work -- carry-over between CDI learnings and the secular workplace

    Clergy report an increased clarity of their role

    Membership and financial giving growth

Areas of Focus within the Program

A CDI prepares leaders who facilitate congregations in a process of transformation, and understand and manage themselves in the leadership role.

This includes providing knowledge and skill training for:
   Assessing the congregation

        as a Christian community with unique dynamics and goals

        as an organization with many of the same dynamics, opportunities, and difficulties as any other organization

        in relationship to the external forces and trends of the larger society and Church
 

   Establishing a clear direction and vision

          which is grounded in the Church’s mission and identity

         that attends to a long-term, systemic development

         that fits the particular congregation

         that places immediate needs and crises within a broader approach to the parish’s development
 

   Navigating toward the congregation’s vision

          with self-directed and flexible leadership

         using skills to negotiate movement toward the vision
 

   Managing the dynamics of the transformation process

          dealing with conflict and resistance

         managing the polarity of change and stability

         putting in place the structures, processes, and climate needed for development

          developing leaders in the congregation
 

   Developing a leadership style

          with the flexibility to provide leadership that fits the congregation’s culture and life cycle

          that is self differentiated

          that empowers others, increasing the capacity of individuals and teams for self-management

          that attends to the spiritual life of the leader

 

Specific Topics Included in a CDI

   Shaping parish life to enable effective Christian formation, learning to develop an overall strategy for development in congregations; creating development projects; grounding strategy in the unique purpose, identity and dynamics of the church and sound organizational development. Using peers as a support and resource. Learning to use four core frameworks in congregational development.

   Issues of organizational culture (the congregation, Anglican, worship), values-centered organizations, Benedictine spirituality, defining and marketing the congregation, strategies for growth and evangelization, size issues and dynamics, organizational life cycle, understanding the congregation as a system.

   Pastoral oversight, self-differentiated leadership, type and leadership roles from which organization development efforts are initiated, strategic management, increasing participation and shared leadership, dynamics of change, organizational improvement process (a process of planned change), the relationship cycle in organizations.

   Contextual issues (values groupings, a fragmented world, assessing the impact on a congregation), responding to a changing context, trust development and conflict management, the role of the diocese in congregational development.

CDI's Approach

CDI's content and training methodology are shaped by an approach that is:

Practical -- Designed to provide skills and methods, grounded in successful congregational development efforts

Grounded in Anglican Spirituality and Identity -- Focuses on the spirituality of the community, its character and culture; on the spirituality of leaders and its effect on the church community; and on models for development rooted in Anglican tradition. Includes the Eucharist and Daily Office in its community life.

Innovative -- Draws on the emerging methods used in non-profit, corporate, and church organizations.

Competency Oriented -- Equips leaders of congregations of all sizes with the resources they need. Our desired outcome is competent leadership on the part of parish and diocesan staff and consultants that is rooted in the experience, research, and methods of congregational and organization development.

Community Centered -- We come together as a learning community. We share responsibility for our learning and community life. We strive for an open, non-defensive climate in which there is an ability to give and receive supportive and challenging feedback.

Orientation: Beliefs that Guide Our Efforts

1. We believe that congregations of all sizes can live a full Christian life. The task is to create a fit between their size, resources, and vision for ministry

2. We believe that the congregation is a local expression of the Body of Christ, the People of God. The task is to build the congregation’s life and future on a deep appreciation of its distinctive qualities and strengths.

3. We believe that congregational development involves striving as a community of faith toward God. It is not primarily something we do, create or make happen. It is more the way in which a congregation shares in the Divine Life; enters into and reflects the unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity of the Church. It is living the Christian life, not simply as individuals, but as a people. The task is for the congregation to discern and act on the Spirit’s movement in its life.

4. We believe that there is much to learn and use from the research and experimentation of secular organizations. The task is to appropriately adapt those resources to the Church’s nature and mission.

5. We believe that the relationship between congregations and the diocese is important in the work of congregational development. The task is to build a higher level of trust between congregations and dioceses and to help dioceses better organize themselves to enable congregational development.

6. We believe that it is through the diocese that most congregations can best be resourced for their congregational development efforts; not through national programs providing expert advice. The task is to build the capacity of dioceses for this ministry; to establish a significant number of skilled leaders, consultants and strategists in the diocese who are supported by a broader network of prayer, coaching, training, research and learning.

What Makes This Program Different from Other Programs

The program offers a comprehensive, core program in congregational development that stands out from other such programs in the following ways:

   Flexibility – a participant can take the core program, participate in certificate programs in leadership or consulting or take a variety of one-week workshops at one of the national centers.

   Experience and Size – The partnership is the largest program of its size with many years of training experience. In the various forms the comprehensive program has been offered, over 500 people have participated.

   Practical and Competency Oriented – Staff has significant experience in the parish and diocese

   Grounded in Anglican Spirituality and Identity – Issues of the corporate spirituality of a congregation and the spiritual formation of individuals are at the center of the course.

   Innovative –Draws on emerging methods used in non-profit, corporate and church organizations.

   Values and Addresses the Needs of All Parish Sizes and Various Contexts – Participants have come from all sizes of congregations and have expressed satisfaction with the help they received. The course assumes that congregations of any size can live a full Christian life. Participants have come from urban, suburban and town settings; from the South, West, Midwest, East and overseas. They have reported a high level of satisfaction with how the program has served them in their various communities.

   Values the Role of the Diocese - We believe that the relationship between congregations and the diocese is important in the work of congregational development. The task is to build a higher level of trust between congregations and dioceses and to help dioceses better organize themselves to enable congregational development. It is through the diocese that most congregations can best be resourced for their congregational development efforts; not through national programs providing expert advice. The task is to build the capacity of dioceses for this ministry; to establish a significant number of skilled leaders, consultants and strategists in the diocese who are supported by a broader network of prayer, coaching, training, research and learning.

History   CDI-NYC 1997

The work of the course is grounded in the disciplines of pastoral theology, ecclesiology, congregational studies, organizational behavior and development, and leadership studies. Bob Gallagher developed the program in 1978 for the Diocese of Pennsylvania as a two-year training program for parish development consultants. The program was expanded in 1981 as a two-year parish leadership-training program in the Diocese of Connecticut. In 1985 the New York City - Church Development Institute (at General Theological Seminary) was launched and the program was repackaged as a three-phase program --

-- Phase 1 - Two weeks of workshops (55 instructional hours), participation in building a learning community, worship and social time.

-- Phase 2 -- Reading in the field

-- Congregational development projects and reports

-- Work with a Learning-Application Team

-- Phase 3 - Two weeks of workshops (55 instructional hours), participation in building a learning community, worship and social time.

From 1985 - 1995 the Institute was cosponsored by General Seminary and the Order of the Ascension. In 1992, a variety of one-week workshops were added and offered in the weeks prior to the Institute. In 1995 Peggy and Dennis Campbell began a second CDI at the School of Theology, University of the South. A partnership was established between the centers that has consisted of meetings in which coordinators of the programs share collaborate on program design and advertising. The Sewanee CDI continued until 2001 when Peggy and Dennis returned to Arkansas to take on parish and diocesan positions. In 2001 the NYC program moved to Deer Isle, Maine. The Deer Isle program continues to be offered as national, open registration event.

CDI has moved in the direction of becoming a more diocesan based program. It is now offered in the dioceses of Western New York, Rochester, Washington, Newark, and Southwestern Virginia. Programs have been completed in Western Massachusetts, Virginia, Southwest Florida and Connecticut. Programs are in the process of development in several other dioceses. The format varies among dioceses – in some six long weekends over two years, in others a series of Saturdays. All offer the same amount of workshop hours and material.

CDI Washington, DC 2000