Reviews from Athens Church of Christ, Athens, Tennessee, November 2-4, 2018

A 1

Comments:
Thanks for coming — our elders are greatly encouraged

Pros:
Comprehensive
Lots of illustrations
Biblical & practical

Cons:

Name:
Travis Irwin, Athens, Tennessee

A 2

Comments:
Excellent workshop!

Pros:
It was a packed weekend of very useful & practical information. It was time well spent!

Cons:
I don’t like to sit for long periods of time. It was out of your control, but seats with more padding would have helped.

Name:
Diane Cartwright

Previous Workshops

Comments:  Excellent.  Things were brought to light that were never thought of in the way they were presented.  Thanks for coming and helping

Pros:

Cons:

Name:  Elder, Name withheld by request

Comments:  Remember the rules!

Pros:  I will do my best to ALWAYS deliver the mail to the right person with reading, listening, etc.
We most definitely will have people from our congregation into our home to get to know them better and bond.

Cons:  It would be good to talk more to the elders’ wives at these workshops.  We may be innocently doing things inappropriately.

Name:  Elder’s Wife, Name withheld by request

Comments:  Great workshop!

Pros:  Lots of information.  Mrs. Barber was a delight to spend time with.  She is a positive to entertain the wives while you are working with the men.

Cons:  None.

Name:  Elder’s Wife, Name withheld by request

Comments:  Workshop was very helpful for me.  I agree that the elders need to know all we can about each other.  It is hard to shepherd the church if we can’t shepherd each other.

Pros:  The workshop was helpful to see what is needed to help shepherd the flock.  You kept my interest because you did not make it too long of a workshop.

Cons:  I can probably tell you when we meet again at the end of our next workshop.

Name:  Charles

Comments:  The workshop opened the door for deeper conversations among our church leaders about the leadership challenges that we all must manage.  Effective leaders learn how to listen to complaints and criticism and respond in ways that make the church healthier.

Pros:  I like the emphasis on personal development and strengthening the relationships among the leaders rather than offering a “bag of tricks” that only deals with surface issues.  The inclusion of the wives was a very important benefit for us.

Cons:  It seemed so short, but we probably couldn’t have taken more in at one time.

Name:  Tommy

Comments:  The sessions I attended were well planned, superbly delivered and left me desiring to hear more.  Thank you for the work you do!

Pros:
* Establishment of a trusting environment
* Presenter’s expertise and compassionate nature
* Positive expectations

Cons:  None

Name: Elders Wife, Name withheld by request

Comments:  I found the time spent with you very beneficial.  Although you are a very learned man, I was not intimidated as you imparted knowledge in a kindly manner, not as one throwing pearls to the swine.  The time spent w/the other couples at church was beneficial too, being able to see them in different social situations & getting to know them better.

Pros:

Cons:  The biggest angst I had was when you fell on the floor (on purpose) to dramatize your story.

Name:  Donna Tessmann, Manhattan, Kansas

Comments:  I want to thank you and your wife! Your wife for allowing us to spend the weekend together, and you for your passion and love for others and love for God’s family!

Pros:  Lots of great stuff, but my favorite part was hearing and seeing the excitement in the other shepherds.

Cons:  Wish we could have spent more time together.

Name:  Troy Bowman, Manhattan, Kansas

Comments:  As an elder’s wife I appreciated hearing your presentation.  Might be nice if you add an intro explaining why you think it’s important for the wives to participate.  It would give us something to focus on as we listen and filter all the information as someone supporting an elder.

Pros:  Having all elders, staff & wives together hearing the same thing at the same time was perfect.  Hope everyone got at least one mustard seed.  I got several.

Cons:  You have so much to offer — I wish we could have spent more time together.

Name:  Name withheld by request

Comments: Great weekend, all that I expected. When I began serving as an elder eleven years ago, myself and two others were brought on board with three existing elders. I and I think the other two felt like junior elders and part of a two class system. As time went on we began feeling more a part, but still not wholly part of a unified eldership. The other two have since left the church. Meeting with you 18 months ago and this past weekend has helped me realize that we are are starting fresh and this past weekend is helping with ideas of how to do this.
Thanks for coming, looking forward to our next session.

Pros:

Cons:

Name: Jerry Freeze, Manhattan, Kansas

Comments: Great work, Jerrie. Your experience, insights and wisdom are of great value.

Pros:

Cons:

Name: Brian Cobb, Manhattan, Kansas

Comments: On behalf of Cheryl and myself, it was some of the best leadership training we ever had. The training was especially good for me because I applied it to my everyday life at work.

Pros: The training has allowed the older elders to bond with the new. They welcome our input while we are still in the learning process. Taught us about communication with each other and the congregation.

Cons: I didn’t have any negatives. There was nothing negative about the training to me. I thought it was great.

Name: Ronnie Grice, Manhattan, Kansas

F1

Comments: A great workshop for not only new elders, but for experienced ones as well. I wish all elderships could know how good and beneficial this is. Jerrie Barber has extensive knowledge and experience on the study of elderships. We were all blessed and encouraged to have him come and sit at his feet.

Our eldership highly recommends this workshop to all others who have the opportunity to engage.

Pros:

Cons:

Name: Van Massey, elder, West Fayetteville Church of Christ

F2

Comments: class was outstanding

Pros: Biblical — was very wise in leading the class & not being “opinionated” and pushing personal agenda

Cons: not enough time — would like to submit questions for discussion anonymously

Name: elder’s wife, name withheld by request

Thank you both for your time & service to God and all of us. May God bless you for many years to come in your work for Him.

F3

Comments: all elders in the Lord’s church, new or seasoned, would benefit from this workshop. It is also very beneficial to preachers and their wives.

Pros:

Cons:

Name: Melanie Erwin, West Fayetteville Church of Christ

F4

Comments: Very informative as a new shepherd!

Pros: West Fayetteville’s new eldership is already close in friendship and brotherly love, but this workshop and hopefully many more will bring us even closer to each other & always God.

Cons:

Name: Marty Pepper, elder, West Fayetteville Church of Christ

P 1

Comments: Overall I thought the workshop was very good; would like to have shorter sessions over more days

Pros: Group problem solving is a good way to see how the group interacts with one another & how their process works

Cons: Reading verbatim from course materials; people in the workshop should be able to read it themselves; send material ahead to be read prior to workshop; more interactive problem solving; reference item by page # & discuss why it works or doesn’t work, what is unique to the group that allows it to work or prevents it from working

Name: Chris Bartlett

P 2

Comments:
Very grateful for the workshop…much needed encouragement!

Pros:
— Confirmed many things our elders are doing correctly
— Practical, experience-based information

Cons:

Name:
— Mark Jamieson

R 1

Comments:
Thank you, Jerrie and Gail, for making the sacrifice to travel to Raliegh to conduct the workshop.

Pros:
Sharing your experiences will be helpful when we have similar situations to deal with.

Cons:
The only “con” I have was from an illustration you used Sunday morning. You used the term “village idiot” when talking about our chemical makeup. In this day and time of political correctness this could be viewed as offensive.
For what it’s worth!

Name:
— Name withheld by request

1 Fairlane

Comments:
Excellent. This is what we needed for a while.
Pros:

Cons:

Name:
— Jerry E. Smith