For the past month, I have been asking myself, "Why blog?"  I am sure that on some level I have been looking to justify not writing every "Monday Morning" as the title of this column suggests.

And justify I did.  Now I am wondering, "Did anybody notice?"  Maybe you did and were just being polite.  If so, thank you!

One of the advantages of this particular application is that when one subscribes to this blog, he or she is notified by e-mail when something posts.  Meaning: You go to the blog when prompted by e-mail.  Then you, like me, do not realize how much time passes between postings.

Remember the function of this blog in the beginning was to give Presbyterians---and University Presbyterian Church Presbyterians in particular---a place to talk shop, and talk shop we have, especially in the wake of last summer's General Assembly meeting in San Jose.

It has been an eventful year in the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley with much excitement ahead as we look to the Main Event at South Highland Presbyterian Church in Birmingham this August and the coming of presbytery's Institute for Spiritual Leadership Formation.

Leaders in the church, how often do you think about spiritual leadership formation?  And when you do, what do you think?  What is spiritual leadership?  How is it formed?

If asking then reflecting on such questions appeals to you, you are probably a candidate for the Institute of Spiritual Leadership Formation's first cohort, which is set to begin this fall.

Subjects being taught in the curriculum should be thought of as means not ends.  Participants in the classes will not be studying theology and polity, ethics, Scripture or congregational dynamics for the sake of knowledge but in the name of spiritual formation: spiritual leadership formation.

One of the strengths of UPC, as I look out on the congregation, is the number of members who actually take responsibility and are willing to lead.  Sometimes leaders doubt themselves, not because of they think that they lack leadership ability, but because the demands of the Gospel feel intimidating.  And to this, I say, "Thanks be to God!"

If you think that you may be interested in a class that will be offered once per month from September through May, please let me know.  Tuition is $300 per course.  Some classes will be offered online.  Others will meet face-to-face, probably in Birmingham.  Scholarships are available.  

What if you are not ordained?  Spiritual formation is available to all, and when the church sets apart particular individuals to serve in particular ways, it often---and, in my experience---is usually because a Nominating Committee recognizes the Spirit's work in that person, and the congregation notices, too.

Please look for more information on the Institute for Spiritual Leadership Formation in the months ahead, and if you have any ideas on how to better use this blog, please let me know.  To do so would be very Presbyterian, and I am grateful to serve a congregation in which this truth is so widely known!

Grace and peace,

Ron