ChristianWeek

Though he has come only recently to full-time work in a Christian ministry, John Pellowe is fired up about leadership and Christian education. The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities (CCCC) who holds a bachelor and master of business administration from Wilfrid Laurier University jumped feet first into theological education after God nudged him toward a career change.

"When God called me out of secular work in 2001, I had no idea what He was calling me to, I just knew I had to prepare and that I would need theological education," says Pellowe. Registered at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto two weeks later, he earned an MDiv at Tyndale, followed by a graduate certificate in Pentecostal Studies from Master's Seminary in Toronto, and intends to graduate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina with a DMin in May 2008.

As CEO at the CCCC, his first major responsibility is "to trust in the Lord with all my heart and to lean not on my own understanding," says Pellowe. "This is not a platitude, I really mean it. I do my very best to think theo-logically about everything we do at CCCC." Which is part of what makes CCCC "more than just a service organization."

"When you think about it, many compassion ministries could be secular relief agencies," says Pellowe. "We at CCCC could be a for-profit company of legal and accounting professionals specializing in providing consulting services to Christian ministries."

The difference lies in the spiritual formation and theological education that undergirds Pellowe's worldview and collaborates (and, at times battles) with his secular education. "[With a theological education,] I am better equipped to think about God's purpose for CCCC." Personal and corporate disciplines learned in a course in spiritual formation, "helps me understand better God's purpose for CCCC."

Along with his responsibilities to work with staff and the board to cultivate and fulfil CCCC's mandate in a way that is "worthy of the public's respect and trust, regardless of whether or not the public accepts our faith," Pellowe also has key priorities for his season of leadership at CCCC.

Collaboration. In his job as CEO of CCCC, Pellowe travels across the country, hearing about what God is doing through many ministries. "While what they are doing individually is great, I see so much potential for ministries to accomplish more by working together-particularly churches and Christian agencies." Improving collaboration between ministries is so important to Pellowe it is the subject of his doctoral thesis.

Renewal. "My priority this year is renewal and revitalization," he says. "It is amazing how quickly an organization can fall into a routine and lose its edge. And it can happen to individual leaders, too." The CCCC annual conference in September will feature a heavy concentration of workshops about organizational and personal renewal, providing the tools to equip leadership teams to discern God's purpose and help them develop "cutting-edge ideas."

Many of the speakers are young leaders with fresh vision and dreams. As a judge for the 35 Under 35 National Recognition Program (www.35under35.ca), Pellowe is "very excited about the dynamic and innovative young Christian leaders across Canada and energized about what these young people are doing."

Modelling. Another priority for Pellowe is to model these principles in his own organization. "We want to model everything we talk about, so that ministries can see how these ideas might be applied. It is vital that ideas not remain just ideas, but be put into practice."

"Accumulating knowledge across generations is what allows a society to advance beyond its past," says Pellowe. Mentorship and intergenerational learning have great value but only pass on one individual's wisdom. "Formal education is the way we pass down the collective learn ing of an entire society; it is a rewarding and positive way to expand your knowledge while strengthening the foundations of your leadership."

Many ideas

Pellowe was reminded of the value of that learning in a course called Foundations of Christian Spirituality at Tyndale Seminary. "I considered myself a fairly mature believer going into this program and yet I'd never heard of many of the spiritual practices that Christians have used for generations," he says. Now, "I can't tell you how many ideas have come to me about what CCCC could be doing as a result of such disciplines as silence, solitude and meditation before God.

"This keeps me from relying on my own understanding and the techniques of strategy, planning and goal-setting I learned from my MBA," says Pellowe. "Those are useful at times, but they are subordinate to the discernment process I learned at Tyndale."

A theological education, whether a certificate, diploma or MDiv reminds us "we cannot be 'lone rangers' but should look for ways to partner with others and leverage our resources for the good of the whole Church." Again, the learner benefits from the wisdom of the Church through the ages.

One piece of advice Pellowe would give to Christian leaders seeking training is to "learn how to objectively assess your own performance as a leader from a biblical-theological perspective."

The most dangerous person on a team is the one who thinks he has it all together, she has no room to grow. "This type of training reminds you that, as far as God is concerned, the issues are always about you-not the other person, not circumstances," says Pellowe. "How does God want you to grow as a result of the everyday situations you find yourself in?"