Bishop Bruce Ough Innovation Center - United Theological Seminary

Registration is now open for the M.S.D. Program (Ministry of Spiritual Direction)!

Learning the practice of spiritual direction opens a whole new door of ministry and spiritual discernment companionship—whether you are a layperson or clergy. Take the next steps to becoming a Spiritual Director with the outstanding two-year online Ministry of Spiritual Direction program.

Registration is now open for the 2023 Ministry of Spiritual Direction 2-Year Program

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The Bishop Bruce Ough Innovation Center honors the legacy of Bishop Bruce Ough, who guided and supported creative ministries through his ministry as a bishop of The United Methodist Church. Launched in honor of his retirement, the Innovation Center also continues United Theological Seminary’s commitment to providing innovative theological education. Bishop Ough continues to serve the Church as Executive Secretary of the Council of Bishops.

The Bishop Bruce Ough Innovation Center provides learning opportunities to resource church leaders and congregations with creative, practical, effective tools for unleashing God’s Church as the spiritual movement of Jesus Christ. One of the core initiatives is an 18-month congregational renewal cohorts for pastors and lay teams centered on breakthrough prayer and equipping possibilities. Pastors will also have the opportunity to pursue a Doctor of Ministry degree at United with a project tied to the work their church is doing in their Innovation Center cohort. The Innovation Center also offers webinars, events, and online resources throughout the year to go beyond the trends and share what innovative church leaders are actually doing about them. The goal of the center is to become a hub of innovation.

Rev. Sue Nilson Kibbey – Director

[email protected] | 937.529.2321

Rev. Sue Nilson Kibbey is the Center’s inaugural director. An ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, Rev. Kibbey shares her passions for breakthrough prayer, missional movements and spiritual renewal as a speaker, coach and congregational consultant. For the past 10 years, she has served as Director of the Office of Missional Church Development for the West Ohio Conference of The UMC.

Connect

To learn more about the Bishop Bruce Ough Innovation Center or to become an Innovation Center Partner, please contact:

Sue Nilson Kibbey – Director
[email protected]
937.529.2321

Follow the Innovation Center online:

Upcoming Events

John Wesley for Lunch:
John Wesley and the Great Tradition

Thursday, June 22 | 12 – 1 p.m. ET

What was John Wesley’s relationship to early Christianity? How was his work shaped by his study of historic Christianity? This session will discuss how it was that Wesley renewed the church of his day by retrieving the wisdom of the Christian past.

Grab your lunch and join Justus H. Hunter, PhD, Associate Professor of Church History at United Theological Seminary, for this 1-hour interactive webinar, filled with learning and discussion time. Learning and conversation over your mid-day break with an outstanding Wesley Scholar!

Four-Course Laity Leadership Institute
Provided by Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR) Advocacy Committee

Four live online courses: April 29, July 29, September 30, December 9 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET

Laity Leadership Institution is an opportunity to provide guidance, direction, and motivation in leading Laity in a new and exciting way. Move Laity outside the walls of the Church and into the community. One way to accomplish this is a transformative mindset and framework, which includes these four 3-hour live online courses—embracing efforts to help people grow spiritually through such workshops. As a Servant Lay Leader, these four courses have been created for personal vision and new ways to help your grow in your faith journey and unique skill sets in order to improve and strengthen your church’s ministries and beyond.

Course One: Discover Your Spiritual Gifts

This course will help you understand your own spiritual gifts and how you can utilize them in the context of the Church to fulfill your own unique mission and ministry. You will also learn what it means to be a spiritual leader and will be equipped to lead others in exploring and using their spiritual gifts.

Course Two: Soul Reset

July 29 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET

How can leaders nurture their own souls during seasons of chaos, anxiety, and distress? The course, Soul Reset: Relearning the Rhythms of Grace Through Daily Life with God, based on the book by Junius B. Dotson, will help you discover and lead others into the spiritual power of self-care through the means of grace.

Course Three: Charter for Racial Justice

September 30 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET

We commit ourselves as individuals and as a community to follow Jesus Christ in word and in deed and to struggle for the rights and the self-determination of every person and group of persons. Therefore, as United Methodists in every place across the land, we will unite our efforts within the Church and learn to take action against racism.

Course Four: John Maxwell 101 Leadership

December 9 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET

Drawing from John Maxwell’s bestselling books Developing the Leader Within You, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, and Becoming a Person of Influence, Leadership 101 explores the timeless principles that have become Dr. Maxwell’s trademark style. In a concise, straightforward style, Maxwell focuses on essential and time-tested qualities necessary for true leadership — influence, integrity, attitude, vision, problem-solving, and self-discipline — and guides readers through practical steps to develop true leadership in their lives and the lives of others. Learn and apply his most important insights in order to become the best leader you can be!