Hesston College’s 13th annual Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series with the theme Top-down Servant Leadership: Redefining Leadership for Business and the Church, will feature Dr. John Stahl-Wert, a recognized expert in organizational leadership and international bestselling author on the topic. The conference, which will benefit both church leaders and business professionals, will be Oct. 26 to 28 on the Hesston College campus.
“Building relationships between leaders in business and leaders in ministry is John’s specialty and passion,” said Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, conference organizer and Hesston College vice president of Admissions.
Dr. Stahl-Wert is a founding partner of SHIP, LLC, which provides training and access to the insights, tools and resources found in “The Serving Leader,” an international bestseller on implementing servant leadership in the workplace and life co-authored by Stahl-Wert. He is also president and CEO of the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Leadership Foundation and Serving Leaders, is a senior fellow for the Center for Executive Leadership and serves as adjunct faculty at Bakke Graduate University in Hong Kong and Geneva College’s (Beaver Falls, Pa.) master of science in organizational leadership program.
A gifted story teller who also co-authored “Ten Thousand Horses” and authored “With: A True Story,” Stahl-Wert will speak to the challenges of successful leadership in business and in the church, and developing qualities of a leader for oneself and in others.
Conference participants will have the opportunity to glean Stahl-Wert’s professional knowledge and methods and meet in breakout sessions to discuss issues that arise around leadership in the church and in business.
Breakout session leaders include Lee Schmucker, one of the country’s leading training consultants with Schmucker Training and Consulting, professional speakers and college instructors, and Glen Guyton, associate executive director for Finance and Convention Planning with Mennonite Church USA. Other breakout session leaders will be added as confirmed.
The weekend will also include a celebration of 25 years of the Hesston College Pastoral Ministries program during the Saturday evening meal. Ervin Stutzman, director of Mennonite Church USA, will address the group during the program and during the Sunday morning session.
The Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series was started at Hesston College to help Christians from the Anabaptist tradition and others interested in Anabaptism more fully understand their faith. The conference is designed for any interested person, not just pastors and congregational leaders.
A complete schedule, registration information and speaker information are available at www.hesston.edu/events/avds. Cost for registration before Oct. 1 is $115 for individuals or $90 per person if registered in groups of three or more. After Oct. 1, individual registration is $135, and the group rate is $100 per person. For more information, contact Rosie Jantz at rosiej@hesston.edu or 620-327-8213.