Join us for Foundations of Christian Leadership in Washington, D.C., where we will draw on the rich resources of the surrounding community as we imagine and listen together to how God is stirring in our world, in our church and in our lives.
"What made this program excellent for me were the ways that the learning was a combination of input from different disciplines with the experience and expertise of my peers in the program."
- Participant in Foundations
We will hold our sessions in the chapel/multi-purpose room on the second floor of the historic Calvary Baptist Church in the heart of Washington, D.C. Calvary is located at 755 8th Street, NW, Washington, D.C., 20001. The Gallery Place-Chinatown metro station is nearby.
Our setting will help us explore key themes of the program, such as traditioned innovation.
As with other cohorts of Foundations, participants will have the opportunity to apply for a $3,500 Innovation Grant. Please see the “Grant Eligibility” section of this site to learn more.
Detailed information about applying for Foundations of Christian Leadership is available via the “How to Apply” section of this website.
Application deadline: March 4, 2019
Registration deadline (for accepted applicants): March 25, 2019
Washington, D.C., sessions:
Session 1: May 6-9, 2019
Session 2: September 16-19, 2019
A modest registration fee includes all program fees for both weeks at Calvary Baptist Church, readings, leadership assessments and select meals. The program is generously supported by a gift from Lilly Endowment Inc.
There is no cost to apply. Upon acceptance into the Foundations of Christian Leadership program, you will receive an invitation to register. We require the $150 registration fee to secure your spot in the cohort.
We will begin and end each day of the program with worship led by participants and set in the Book of Acts. Each day also will include guest lectures, plenary discussion, small group work and time for reflection. Peer groups form an important source of honest sharing, support and encouragement at Foundations.
Our work will be enhanced by speakers such as Reverend William Lamar IV, who will share his experience and perspective on faithfulness and facilitate the sharing of wisdom among colleagues. María Teresa Gastón, an organizational psychologist, will facilitate our process and will help participants understand the results of their self-assessments and draw implications for collaborative ministry. With wit and wisdom from his years of consulting and theological reflection, Dave Odom will guide reflection on some of our readings and experience and promote conversation on themes we grapple with in Christian leadership. Victoria White will introduce ways to think creatively about project options to extend your learning and will accompany participants in what she promises is a “grace-filled” grant process after the completion of the two in-person sessions.
| 8:30 am | Morning worship |
| 9:15 am | Session |
| 10:45 am | Break |
| 11:00 am | Session continued |
| 12:30 pm | Lunch |
| 1:30 pm | Group exploration or individual reflection time |
| 3:00 pm | Break |
| 3:15 pm | Session |
| 4:00 pm | Small group work |
| 5:30 pm | Worship |
| 6:00 pm | Adjourn |
Calvary Baptist Church, where we will hold our sessions, is located at 755 8th Street, NW, Washington D.C., 20001.
Participants are responsible for reserving their own accommodations in Washington, D.C. Below you will find links to several hotels located near Calvary Baptist Church.
InterContinental - The Willard
The Residence Inn Washington
The Courtyard Washington Convention Center
Fairfield Inn & Suites Washington, D.C./Downtown
Additional hotel options
Transportation is the responsibility of each participant.
Metro: The Gallery Place-Chinatown metro station is near Calvary Baptist Church.
Parking: Those who drive can park in the parking garage on 701 8th Street, NW, which is part of the Portrait Office Building. Rates and information can be found here. Additional parking garage information near Calvary Baptist Church can be found here. Please note that parking in the Calvary Baptist Church lot is reserved for church staff.
During both sessions, dinner on Monday is included, as are lunches and afternoon snacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. There also will be beverages available each day. Participants are encouraged to make dinner plans on Tuesday and Wednesday in nearby restaurants based on the group’s interests.
The Rev. William H. Lamar IV is pastor of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. Ordained as an itinerant elder in 2000 at the Florida Annual Conference of the AME Church, Lamar has also served congregations in Florida and Maryland. Prior to his two most recent appointments, Lamar was the managing director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School. Through his association with Duke, he convened and resourced executive pastors of larges churches, denominational finance executives, young denominational leaders, Methodist bishops and the constituency of Lilly Endowment’s Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Program. For nearly 15 years, Lamar has being actively involved with organizations like Direct Action Research Training (DART), Industrial Areas Foundations (IAF) and Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) for faith-based community organizing for justice. Most recently, he has collaborated with Repairers of the Breach, the Center for Community Change (CCC) and People Improving Communities through Organization (PICO) to enact a social justice ministry in surrounding communities and to exhibit a real embrace the beloved community. Under his leadership, Metropolitan remains committed to worship, liberation and service.
Lamar holds a B.S. in public management with a minor in philosophy and religion from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School and is currently a doctoral student in African-American preaching and sacred rhetoric at the Christian Theological Seminary. Lamar is a past director of Foundations of Christian Leadership.
The Rev. Laura Everett is happiest exploring somewhere new, preferably by bike. Everett is the author of “Holy Spokes: The Search for Urban Spirituality on Two Wheels.” Ordained by the United Church of Christ, Everett is formed by many parts of the church. By day, she serves as the executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, scouting for signs of Christian unity. By night, she’s an unabashed urbanist and a bicycle evangelist. She’s also the co-host of the Faith & Leadership podcast “Can These Bones” with Bill Lamar. Everett aims for attraction not persuasion. A moderately competent seamstress, she loves working with her hands. She believes the work of this moment is to notice and dismantle the racism that has divided this nation and the church. She’s convinced that if we’re all not free, it isn’t the gospel truth. Everett lives in Boston with her wife Abbi, who has a far more interesting vocation as a middle school Latin teacher. Everett is a graduate of Brown University and the Harvard Divinity School. She is an alum of Foundations of Christian Leadership.
María Teresa Gastón is the director of Foundations of Christian Leadership. Originally from Havana, Cuba, Gastón is an organizational psychologist and a certified ICA-ToP facilitator with experience in training and coaching innovative leaders in educational, faith, corporate and community settings. She enjoys researching, designing, and facilitating group processes for collaborative discernment and decision-making. Other research and practice interests include career development, motivation, organizational justice, organizational creativity, teambuilding, program evaluation and immigrant integration. Her ministry experience includes 13 years with agricultural workers in Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Immokalee, Florida, and 13 years directing the Schlegel Center for Service and Justice at Creighton University. Gastón earned a bachelor’s in theology from Marquette University, a master’s in Hispanic/Latino theology and ministry from Barry University, and a master’s and Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
David L. Odom joined Duke Divinity School in August 2007 to launch Leadership Education at Duke Divinity and now oversees all of its programs and publications, including Faith & Leadership. He regularly teaches and facilitates events and both writes and solicits content for Faith & Leadership. In addition, Odom develops and supervises select initiatives at Duke Divinity School, where he serves as an associate dean. Before coming to Duke, Odom was the founder and president of the Center for Congregational Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., which supported healthy communities of faith through consultation, leadership development, interim ministry training and vocational discernment. Odom, who was an adjunct professor at Wake Forest Divinity School, has extensive experience in program development and evaluation, staff and adjunct faculty development and strategic organizational management. He also plays a leadership role in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. He is a graduate of Furman University, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary.
Victoria Atkinson White is the managing director of grants at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. In this role, she encourages traditioned innovation among Christian institutions and their leaders. For eight years, Victoria was a chaplain at the 900-resident Westminster Canterbury Community in Richmond, Virginia. Before that, she worked as minister to alumni at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. Victoria is a graduate of Duke Divinity School, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond and Rhodes College. She is an ordained minister affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
For more information, please email leadership@div.duke.edu or call 919.613.5323.
Foundations of Christian Leadership is offered multiple times a year in varying locations.
We know that you grapple with many difficult questions as a Christian leader. We want to help. Complex concerns about ministry can’t be fully addressed here, of course, but we provide a starting point for engaging the deep issues.
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