Our Vision

Courageous Leadership

We want to empower leaders with good courage who are spiritually grounded, know their calling, are willing to step out and sacrifice for the sake of others.

Missional Engagement

We want to see our world look more like the Kingdom of God. Together, we seek to alleviate human suffering, pursue justice and empower flourishing in our communities.

Spirit-Led Innovation

We want to invest in an environment where change that adds value is championed. Contextual innovation assesses the context and finds ways to innovate toward a better future.

FLUMC Mindsets

Take a moment to reflect on how well you embody the 5 mindsets.

WE ARE:

Future Focused - We prepare for God's future...now.

Leaders who embrace this mindset are creative, visionary and committed to building a flourishing future. They draw upon the treasure and faithfulness of the past, while recognizing the danger of nostalgia, living sentimentally in the past. They have confidence and hope in the future precisely because they know God has been with them.

• Isaiah 49:19: I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
• Luke 17:21 For The Kingdom of God is already among you.

• Resources: Appreciative Inquiry, Design Thinking, Bishop Carters Podcast, Book: Canoeing the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger

• Anti-Mindset: Nostalgia

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” -Corrie ten Boom

"The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create.” -Leonard Sweet

Wesleyan Rooted - We embody a legacy of faith, grounded in grace and committed to action.

Leaders who embrace this mindset are grounded in scripture, connectional in relationship, and missional in their approach to life. Their fundamental identity is in the grace of God. They are on a journey towards holiness, which is loving God in response to God’s gifts, and loving our neighbor through acts of compassion and justice.

• Ephesians 2:8-10: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

• Resources: Quadrilateral, Book of Discipline, Recapturing the Wesleys Vision by Paul Chilcote

• Anti-Mindset: Un-grounded

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” - John Wesley

"I look upon all the world as my parish” - John Wesley

"The Wesleys tended to see matters of faith from a both/and point of view.” - Paul Chilcote

Passionate About People - We desire to see every human being realize their fullest potential in Christ.

Leaders who embrace this mindset see people as created in the image of God and affirm the dignity of all people, listening, loving, and joining them on their journey toward Jesus. They have the instinct to see beyond positions, challenges, and flaws to the deeper needs, desires and values that motivate each of us to find purpose, to feel valued and to be included.

• John 13:34: And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
• John 3:17: Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
• 1 Peter 3:8: Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble

• Resources: See All The People, Book: Love Does by Bob Goff

• Anti-Mindset: Self-Centered

“Though we cannot think alike may we not love alike?” - John Wesley

“Every work of love done with a full heart brings people closer to God.”- Mother Teresa

“Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor; act as if you did.” - C.S. Lewis.

Strengthened By Diversity - We celebrate the uniqueness of God’s creation by cultivating, not merely tolerating diversity.

Leaders who embrace this mindset deeply value the perspectives of others, believing that when our communities have people of different backgrounds, cultures and ways of thinking, we have a stronger and more inclusive witness. We recognize racism, sexism and any form of discrimination as sin. Unity is not dependent on uniformity, but honors the unique gifts of each person created in God’s image.

• Galatians 3:28: There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
• Revelation 7:9-10: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!

• Resources: Beloved Community, Book: Holding Up Your Corner by F Willis Johnson, Book: Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute

• Anti-Mindset: Exclusivity

“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.”- Maya Angelou

“It is never too late to give up your prejudices” - Henry David Thoreau

“Isn't it amazing that we are all made in God's image, and yet there is so much diversity among his [God’s] people?”— Desmond Tutu

Adaptive - We respond to change by identifying and seizing opportunities to thrive in a new or challenging environment.

Leaders who embrace this mindset know that a changing context matters and adjust accordingly. They develop healthy personal lives and seek to lead with resilience. They recognize changing patterns of work, family and leisure. Adaptation, while retaining the core of the gospel, allows the church to survive and even flourish.

• Joshua 1:9: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
• Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
• 1 Corinthians 9:19-20 “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.

• Resources: Book: The Practice of Adaptive Leadership - Ronald Heifetz

• Anti-Mindset: Stuck/Rigid

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” - Albert Einstein

“Life requires of man [sic] spiritual elasticity, so that he [sic] may temper his efforts to the chances that are offered.” - Viktor E. Frankl

"The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings." -Kakuzo Rokakaura