Leaders face many challenges in today’s world: burnout, tribalism, division, and the unrelenting pace of change
This practical and pastoral intensive program of six Saturday workshops builds a supportive community and develops leaders using a transformative, theologically-informed and psychologically-evidence-based framework. This program is now available for credit (PC082 & PC083 via MST).
Who is this program for?
The THRIVE Leadership program is targeted at Christians who are already in an established leadership role as well as those who see themselves in a leadership position in the future.
Participants may be serving as a pastor, youth worker, chaplain, counsellor and cross-cultural worker. Or they might be a leader in the non-Christian sphere; in business, education, medicine, politics or social entrepreneurship. The diversity of participants in this program only enhances the learning.
What is this page?
Here you can register your interest for THRIVE 2025. Provide us with your details and we’ll contact you as soon as enrolments are open for THRIVE 2025.
Our Program
The program consists of six Saturday workshops, which are designed to be undertaken in one year, and in chronological order. We pursue a cross-disciplinary approach, facilitating interactions that may not otherwise naturally occur within traditional vocational settings.
Thrive Groups
Thrive Groups are crucial to the program. In these groups, participants share what they’ve learned and support one another as they seek to apply the work in their own context.
Thrive Groups meet with a Thrive Group Facilitator for an hour following each workshop to discuss how they’re applying the work, and to troubleshoot any challenges that have arisen. This reflective learning process supports and enhances the whole program.
The Workshops
The workshops run from 9am to 3pm at MST/Online.
Unit One: Personal Leadership Formation (PC082 - 706/806/906)
UNIT CO-ORDINATORS: Dr Michael Bräutigam and Dr Judith Wilkie
The first set of workshops will address your personal leadership formation, including biblical and psychological perspectives on leadership styles, and self and identity formation. These workshops will help you develop healthy spiritual identity formation and self-care skills to prevent burnout and build resilience to become a thriving leader. There will be a strong focus on building your union with Christ and learning how to integrate your faith into your work as a leader effectively.
Christian Leadership - 2nd March 2024
Rev Dr Michael Bräutigam with guest presenters Dr Kirk Franklin and Ms Kara Martin
This workshop includes:
- Introduction to a biblical and psychological understanding of thriving and flourishing as it pertains to Christian leadership
- In-depth examination of cross-cultural leadership styles adopted by prominent leaders and how these align with our Christian faith.
- Exploration of the different levels of faith and work integration
- Learning various ways of integrating your faith and work and the practical application of these in your own leadership
Self and Identity Formation for Leaders - 23rd March 2024
Dr Thomas Kimber with guest presenter Dr Lidia Lae
This workshop includes:
- Comparison of the biblical and psychological perspectives to understanding ‘self’ and ‘identity’
- Exploration of how we construct culturally-informed selves and identities to inform our own understanding of our self as well as the team we lead.
- Identification of healthy and destructive self-identity-patterns and steps to developing a healthier self-identity for leadership.
- Understanding more fully who you are through exploring your identity in Christ
- How to nurture your identity in Christ through adopting various spiritual disciples that will produce healthy spiritual identity formation.
Maintaining a Healthy Self for Leadership - 4th May 2024
Dr Judith Wilkie with guest presenter Dr Sunny Philip
This workshop includes:
- Understanding relationality, resilience and self-care to mature as a thriving leader
- Learning the importance of adopting a spiritually healthy perspective on your union and partnership with Christ and apply this to your team-leadership
- Maintain and grow a healthy self for leadership through proper self-care by learning to recognise and establish healthy boundaries and adopting rest and sabbath-keeping.
- Integrating biblical and psychological perspectives on burn-out, compassion fatigue and resilience
- Learning prevention and care skills for how to be a resilient leader
Unit Two: Community Leadership Formation (PC083 - 706/806/906)
UNIT CO-ORDINATORS: Dr Michael Bräutigam and Dr Judith Wilkie
The second set of workshops will address leading a team in your community, including how to lead when conflict and crises arise. These workshops will explore culture, diversity and the various challenges faced when leading a team. There will be a focus on developing skills to lead diverse, multicultural communities, particularly when mental health issues, conflict and crises arise.
Leading a Healthy Community - 3rd August 2024
Dr Michael Bräutigam with guest presenters Chris Cipollone, and Greg Chaine
This workshop includes:
- Learning what a healthy community look like, and the challenges to growing and leading a healthy community, including developing healthy communication styles
- Introduction to object relations theory and how this informs conflict resolution.
- Exploration of various barriers to conflict resolution and the way your past relationships may be affecting your relationship with the team you lead.
- Learning how to resolve conflict well within your team through lessons learnt in the gospels.
Managing a Diverse Cultural Team - 7th September 2024
Dr Judith Wilkie with guest presenter Dr Lidia Lae
This workshop includes:
- An in-depth understanding of ‘culture’ and how culture forms.
- Learning how to identify hidden diversity in your team and intersecting perspectives and how this impacts on group membership.
- Developing skills in how to develop and maintain a kingdom-centered team that seeks interpathy.
- Learning how to develop cultural competence to deal with the complexities of intercultural relationships.
- Understanding the challenges to cross-cultural leadership and how to overcome these through practical wisdom for leaders.
Serving a Community in Distress - 12th October 2024
Dr Michael Bräutigam with guest presenter Lisa Miller
This workshop includes:
- Exploration of a biblical and psychological understanding of mental health, illness and trauma.
- Understanding how mental health issues may impact your team and what your role is as a leader in nurturing and supporting team members with mental health challenges.
- Learning to implement and maintain a trauma-responsive environment.
- Learning skills in how to prevent and respond to a crisis impacting your team.
Cost
THRIVE Certificate – $1,195*
THRIVE Accredited PC082 & PC083 (706/806/906): starting from $2,784 ($1,392 per unit)
*CTP Payment plans are available for the THRIVE Certificate if required.
In order to make this program more accessible, we offer scholarships for the THRIVE Certificate for up to three people with financial hardship who long to grow as disciples and develop integrative faith-work skills so they may be better equipped to provide transformative leadership in God’s kingdom. The scholarship will cover 25% of the standard registration fee of the THRIVE Certificate.
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST FOR 2025
Register Your Interest for THRIVE 2025