A Brief History of the LEAD Project
An account of the project from July to December 2006. If the story below stirs any memories, please feel free to post a comment and share them.

The project's implementation team (Abby Bannwart, Alicia May, Stevie Shale, Joel Schwamburger, Michael Thom, Alex Robinson, and Mark Pike) traveled to the Geneva Center (a year round camp and conference center in Rochester, Indiana) in mid-July for the purpose of project planning and evaluation, and spiritual and relational development. We spent time getting to know one another better, evaluated, edited, and updated the grant project calendar, prayed together, and studied and reflected on key biblical passages related to worship. In addition, the implementation team was introduced to the overarching concepts in Harold Best’s Unceasing Worship (InterVarsity Press, 2003) through an article entitled, “When is Worship Worship?” (this article is available at http://www.leaderu.com/offices/haroldbest/worship.html).

BSU's fall semester began in late August. It was at this time that the implementation team went to work and began identifying students who showed leadership potential among incoming freshmen. During this time, the implementation team added two members (Abby Wells and Melissa Boyer) and one member stepped off the team due to other commitments (Alicia May). We also began meeting monthly, praying for the project together, discussing plans for contacting identified potential leaders and planning for our fall retreat.

This fall retreat, officially known as the “L.E.A.D. Retreat” (“Leaders Empowering Authentic Disciples”), was the most exciting accomplishment of the L.E.A.D. Project to date. After securing the keynote speaker in September (Dr. Norm Brunelle, director of outreach and associate professor at Kentucky Christian University, Grayson, Kentucky) the L.E.A.D. Team discussed the structure and schedule of the retreat, keeping in mind its most general purpose: to create a common vision of worship and leadership for our current and upcoming student leaders.

The L.E.A.D. Retreat was held at Mahoning Valley Christian Service Camp on Nov. 10 and 11. The retreat consisted of four teaching and discussion sessions (one introductory session and three main sessions), time for individual and group prayer and reflection, time to sing praises to God together, and a time of commitment during which students were challenged to follow through on what they learned during the retreat, challenged to live the life of worship that was described and discussed during the teaching sessions.

The first main teaching session was about what worship isn’t and what worship is. Dr. Brunelle went on to make connections between Gen. 22:1-19 and Romans 12:1-3, that is, between the story of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah and offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God. Discussion was woven in throughout this session.

The second main teaching session was about practicing the presence of God, responding to His presence and work in our lives, and living as the Servant, living a life of sacrificial love. This session also included discussion throughout and, significantly, we were led in reflecting on how we could wash the feet or lay down our lives for campus friends so that they might see Jesus. This was significant because it helped to work toward accomplishing one of the main purposes of the retreat, “...inspiring college-age peers to be emulators of Jesus Christ.”

The third main session continued themes from the previous two, further exploring Genesis 22, Romans 12, the meaning of sacrifice and outpouring, their relation to worship as a way of life and servant leadership.

This retreat accomplished its purpose. Not only do our students share a common vision for worship and leadership, but students can begin to make better connections between worship and leadership (i.e. responding to God and influencing others) by following Jesus’ humble example.

Currently, the implementation team is following up with students who participated in the fall retreat. At the end of the retreat, students were challenged to respond in one of four ways (though responses are not limited to these four):

1. joining or leading a small group for the purpose of Bible study or accountability
   
2. reading one of the key books which the teaching at the retreat was based on and journaling about it (e.g. Unceasing Worship, Worship: A Way of Life by Patrick Kavanaugh, etc.)
   
3. blogging on their experiences at the retreat
   
4. responding in a different way than those mentioned already (perhaps there is something else that God might be calling them to do or to begin).