LeadershipConneXtions

Thailand Conference Update, Thursday 28th

One more day to go. We had a good morning... things are all coming together... the sessions build toward Thursday and Friday where the different themes are all converging.

It has been great to work with the UWM community here. Lots of desire, lots of insight on their part, it is a privilege to be together with them as a part of their journey into spiritually formed leaders who are working in many challenging contexts.

On the downside... I went to sleep last night at 3:00 a.m. and woke up at 5:00 a.m.  On the good side, I am getting a lot of work done at night and God is always awake and ready for conversations.

Pray for a good day of wrapping up on Friday and for putting stepping stones in place that will be useful for each one when they return home this weekend.

Grace and peace,

Brian

Thailand Conference Update, Wednesday 27th

Just a quick update.  The first two days of the conference went well. It is great working together with UWM president John Bernard as we do the morning sessions. John is doing some teaching through the Gospel of Mark in a spiritually formative way and then I follow up with sessions that are more focused on themes, models and processes. It is a great tag-team.

I am impressed by a few things in these brief days that are flying by.

I am full of gratitude and very aware that I am with some precious, dedicated, awesome people here this week. I am motivated just from being with them.

The task we have for missional engagement with the world is enormous, the needs are staggering, it truly is beyond us and we need God's power and strength at every step of the way.

And even more, we need friendship with God, where we daily experience His presence, join in with His work and listen to His Word/voice.

Continue to pray for us... for good times together, for wisdom, insight and that the eyes of our heart would be enlightened.

Thanks,

Brian

Thailand Conference Update, Monday 25th

Everyone arrived on Saturday and Sunday. Nice to see familiar faces and to meet some new people. Had some meetings yesterday, but today the schedule starts in earnest.

I could use prayer for my jet lagging. Normally I don't jet lag when I go to a location. I have been here three nights, the first night I slept 4 hours, then 3 hours and then last night 3 hours again.  I have to do an afternoon nap to get me up to about 5 hours.  

It is great being here and looking forward to diving into the meetings today.

Grace,

Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com

Thailand Conference Update, Saturday 23rd

I arrived at the Chaing Mai airport at 12:30 a.m. after a long but uneventful flight. It was a 15 hours flight from Atlanta to Seoul, Korea. Then a five hour layover in Seoul and a four hour flight to Thailand.

This was my first time in the new airport in Incheon/Seoul. It is spacious, lots of expensive shops, and easy to navigate. Not too many westerners were on the flight and not too many in the airport in Incheon either.

Once I was in Chaing Mai, it took 30 minutes to go through customs, then another 30 minutes of travel to get to the conference center. I was in my room by about 2:00 a.m and asleep about 3:00 and had a wonderful five hours of sleep.

The conference location is beautiful. The mountains are all around. The sky is crystal clear, bright blue. The tropical foliage is stunning. It is not too hot and not humid either.

People are arriving today and tomorrow, the conference actually starts Monday morning. I spent most of the day doing prep work for the week.

The internet is slower than I am use to... last night it just crawled...

Thanks for your prayers.

Brian

Thailand Conference

I depart today for Thailand, to do a regional conference for United World Mission. It will be my second time to do a conference for them in that region and I look forward to seeing people there again.  Plus I'll be spending some time with some friends of LWCC who are working there.

The conference is in Chiang Mai (in the northern most part of the country).

I'll be speaking on the same theme I did when I was in Hungary for UWM this past summer. 

• The Four Mindsets of Leadership and the Way of V.I.M.
• Relational Spirituality
• Below the Water Line Transformation
• The Incarnational Way of Christ
• reJesus:  Following the Way of the Wild Messiah

My friend John Bernard, president of UWM is doing devotional messages out of the Book of Mark and we are working to weave our themes together. So it should be a great time.

I fly out on Thursday morning from Baltimore to Atlanta, to Seoul Korea, and then on to Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is a long flight with some layovers as well.

I'll spend a lot of time during the flight and in the airports reading. I get a lot of books read every year on airplanes and in airports. I am taking a half dozen books. with me on this trip.

Desiring God's Will by David Benner

Surrender to Love by David Benner

Ignatius of Loyola by John Donnelly

The Ignatian Way by Simon Decloux

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much  (no joke, and no point intended, it is a novel, based on a true story of a thief who steals rare literary works).

I will give some daily updates on what is going on while I am in Thailand... plus there will be posts on leadership and spirituality on a daily basis.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

ACCS Leadership Projects and Papers

I taught at ACCS in Hyderabad back in January. The course was a course on Building and Leading Teams. I recently received the reserach and/or project papers that were assigned during that time.

It was a lot of fun (and very satisfying) reading them and seeing the learning that had taken place on the part of the course participants.

There were several that were just OUTSTANDING projects and assessments. Fortunately, none were even close to the cartoon below.  :-)

Brian Rice

A Few Pictures of the ACCS Class

I just wanted to drop a few pictures on the site of the classroom which was my home for about six hours each day while I was at ACCS. I was really remiss in not getting more pictures while I was there. it just seems a bit awkward to ask someone to take photos of the American doing ministry! Still, here are a few to look at.

Brian Rice

A "Chance" Meeting With R. Jeyaraj

One of the great joys of my recent trip to India to teach at the Asian College of Cultural Studies (ACCS) was being able to spend time with my friend R. Jeyaraj. I have known Jeyaraj for many years, having met him when he was a part of the faculty at Bethel Bible Institute in South India.

Once I moved to Cortland, NY to be senior pastor at FBD (Now GRACE Community Church), I lost touch with Jeyaraj for a long time. During that time he took a position as director of the M.Div. program at ACCS and has been there for about ten years.

Last year, through a "chance" and very brief meeting when I stopped in Bangalore, India to visit a university, there was Jeyaraj who had come down to visit the school. We connected, I gave him a business card and we talked about Leadership ConneXtions International. The next contact I had was when he emailed me to ask if I could be a replacement professor for a course at their school. I was delighted to do that.

This is just one of our many examples of networking and partnering. God is creating all kinds of relationships and networks and we want to join in with that work for the purpose of promoting leadership development around the world.

Thanks for all you are doing to develop leaders in your places of work and ministry and for your friendship and partnership with LCI.

Brian Rice

Finished in Hyderabad

Today was the last day of class. It has been a great six days. I'll have pictures of the students posted in a Photo Album in a few days.

I feel sad saying goodbye. Most of the students were either pastors or missionaries working in some very challenging situations. They were very appreciative of the class and I was deeply challenged by their insights, their faith and their commitment. There are some very good leaders and emerging leaders in the group.

Now I am heading to Delhi early tomorrow morning.

Brian Rice

Quick Update From Brian Rice

Hi Everyone:

The week is drawing to an end. It has been an intense week of working with about 20 pastors and missionaries. They have been an awesome group to do leadership development with and walk them through the topic of team building. It has been a real learning experience for me to cross cultures and speak of these things in meaningful ways. The feedback has been quite good and I am grateful that I have been able to be helpful for them. (Pictured to the left are some of the participants working on a small group exercise, talking about how leaders can introduce change in change resistant organizations!)

I have one more day in Hyderabad and then I go to visit a friend who lives and works in Delhi.

Brian Rice

Sunday Sightseeing in Hyderabad

It was a long trip to India. I got a ton of reading done on the plane, but I was glad to touch down in Delhi. I had a 6 hour overnight in a hotel near the airport and on Sunday morning flew down to Hyderabad early in the morning.

My friend Jeyraj was there to meet me and take me to ACCS (Asian College of Cultural Studies) which is the main Operation Mobilization training center in India. They have a very nice college and seminary here along with a retreat and conference center. January is the month of intensive courses for the M.A. and M.Div. students. Since it is located in the city of Hyderabad, it has a very cosmopolitan feel about it.

I've met a lot of good leaders and interesting people. This place is VERY BUSY with all kinds of activity and lots of "foreigners" passing through. I'll have some pictures and stories to tell you soon.

I had about five hours on Sunday when I was able to do a little sightseeing. Here is a picture of a very impressive "fort - fortress - castle - city" or whatever you want to call it. it is simply huge and goes on forever. What you see in the background is only a small portion of the structure.

Monday and Tuesday were non-stop teaching and mentoring sessions with missionaries and pastors (the students in the course I am teaching). I am having a great time. I am teaching people who are working in Tajikistan, Bangladesh, various parts of India and the Philippines.

Wish you were all here!

Brian Rice

Leaving for India

I leave for India today (Friday). I am taking the train from Lancaster to Newark Airport. I fly into Delhi, have an overnight layover and then take an early morning (Sunday) flight to Hyderabad.

On Monday I begin teaching at the Asian School of Cultural Studies located in Hyderabad (see map). There will be about 30 pastors and church leaders on the theme of Building and Leading Teams.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to provide updates on this blog about India while in India, but if not, I will as soon as I return to the States.

Pray that I would be able teach culturally useful leadership ideas and practices to those in attendance.

Also pray that I would be able to connect with several individuals who have a real passion for doing leadership development in India. One of the MAIN STRATEGIES of Leadership ConneXtions is that we find the right international partners to train, mentor and then partner with for ongoing leadership development.

To see the Course Syllabus click here for a copy Download syllabus.pdf

Brian Rice