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2009 CLA National Conference focuses on Leadership Integrity

More than 1,500 Christian leaders from churches and para-church ministries across the United States attended the Christian Leadership Alliance national conference in Atlanta, GA, April 20-22, 2009.

CDs, DVDs and MP3s of all the general sessions and workshops from this knowledge-rich conference are now available for order on the CLA Website. Build a knowledge resource library for your ministry by purchasing sessions that directly address critical management, leadership, governance and resource development needs for Christian nonprofits. You can access those sessions by clicking here.

The theme of the CLA conference was "Path of Integrity" and a dynamic line-up of speakers provided insights into what it means to follow that path during challenging times like the ones Christian ministries face today.

CLA president and CEO Frank Lofaro set the tone for this gathering in his opening remarks "It's great to see more than 1,500 of you here this year. We all know we're coming together in the midst of very challenging economic times," said Lofaro. "Yet, I believe that there is no better place to be than here at the CLA national conference. I know that you are called upon to make wise and tough decisions as you lead your ministries, and it is our prayer that this conference will help you to do so." And based upon feedback from attendees, the CLA conference did just that.

Keynote general session speakers such as Patrick Lencioni, an author whose bestselling business books have sold more than 2 million copies nationwide, provided insights into best practices for Christian leaders during a challenging economy. Pastor Alistair Begg, Parkside Church, Cleveland, Ohio, whose daily broadcast Truth for Life, is heard nationwide encouraged attendees to hold firmly to their commitment to integrity in spite of the pressures ministries face today.

Other keynote speakers such as Gordon MacDonald, author, pastor and interim president of Denver Seminary, and Paul Earl Sheppard, pastor of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Mountain View, California echoed those sentiments. Cynthia Cooper, a committed believer who was named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2002 after detecting and reporting corporate fraud at WorldCom, received a standing ovation from attendees after sharing her experiences and what it means to stand with character despite the costs. During the closing night dinner, Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission, shared insights on what it means to pursue justice as a believer.

Chip Ingram, author, and president of Living on the Edge Ministries, led morning devotions for attendees that focused on examining one's inner life to ensure that he or she is walking closely with Christ and following that path of integrity, and Admiral Vern Clark, who retired from a 37-year-career in the US Navy, that included service on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, drew upon his extensive leadership experience to talk about what it means to lead with integrity and build character.

At the heart of the CLA National Conference is a commitment to education and training, and the conference featured more than 100 information-packed Intensive Training Institute sessions, workshops and peer groups.

More than 120 expert faculty were on hand to lead those sessions which covered areas such as board governance, tax and legal issues, mission and strategy, human resources, communications and marketing, revenue and stewardship, financial management, executive leadership, spiritual life, systems and capacity building, information technology and more. CLA also hosted special summits on fundraising, information technology and church leadership.

CLA salutes its conference sponsors, and the more than 135 exhibitors who were on site to provide access to critical ministry products and services.

During the conference CLA also hosted the Annual Engstrom Institute CEO Forum. In that interactive forum, some 75 CEOs of Christian ministries met with Tom Tierney of the Bridgespan Group, Pat Lencioni of The Table Group, Luis Lugo of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Pam Pugh of The National Christian Foundation and Chip Ingram of Living on the Edge Ministries to discuss critical trends affecting nonprofit Christian ministries today.

At the conference CLA also shared some of the key new products and services available through the Engstrom Institute, which is designed to equip Christ-centered nonprofits with best practices in organizational effectiveness. EI serves as CLA's knowledge resource center, and honors the late evangelical leader Ted Engstrom, former president of World Vision and Youth for Christ International, who modeled a lifelong pursuit of management excellence for Christ-centered nonprofits.

The distinctive mark of EI is that it filters excellent knowledge resources through the prism of God's Word, making EI a powerful partner to your ministry.

The Engstrom Institute is organized into three distinct categories:

• EI Summits and Forums
  
• The EI Academy
  
• and the EI Online Community and Fellows Program
  

One such summit is the Engstrom Institute Steward Leadership Summit, a program which teaches core principles of Biblical stewardship. It offers America's premier faculty and the best training in Biblically-based resource development.

This year's summit will be held in Denver, Colorado from September 22-25. Click here for more information.

Conference attendees also learned about the 25 EI Electronic Downloads featured on the CLA website cover the range of issues impacting ministries today. They're created by CLA and Christianity Today and feature assessments, articles, devotionals, charts, practical tips and more. To learn more click here.

The EI Online Resource Center, found on the EI section of the CLA website, features hundreds of in-depth, biblically-based articles, in a dozen key categories that are designed to strengthen ministries. This online database also includes dozens of book and website recommendations by knowledgeable EI fellows.

And all CLA members are invited to participate in best-practices Webinars which are offered each month to help busy professionals strengthen their ministries. EI Webinars are free to CLA members and average around 200 participants each month. Each Webinar features a one-hour presentation from a leading practitioner, accompanied by an online PowerPoint demonstration and Q&A period. 2009 Webinars will be led by Ken Blanchard, Randy Alcorn, ECFA's Dan Busby and others. Click here to learn more.

To access all of the Engstrom Institute resources, visit the Christian Leadership Alliance website, ChristianLeadershipAlliance.org

The CLA National Conference proved to be a real celebration of what God is doing in Christ-centered ministries nationwide during these challenging times. It provided an opportunity for learning, reflection, connections and planning for Christian ministry leaders.

Next year's CLA National Conference will be built around the theme: "Courageous Leadership in Challenging Times" and will be held in San Diego, California from April 19-21, 2010. Keynote speakers already lined up include Ken Blanchard, Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil, Pastor John Ortberg and Army Chaplain (Captain) Jeff Struecker, formerly an Army Ranger prominently featured in the movie "Black Hawk Down."

Click here to learn more or sign up for CLA 2010!

W. Scott Brown is Vice President of Communications for Christian Leadership Alliance.

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