Today is a big day.
Today my colleagues and I at Denver Institute for Faith & Work, in partnership with Gordon College, announce the launch of the 5280 Fellowship, a 9 month experience for emerging leaders beginning in the fall of 2016.
After years of planning, design and forging partnerships, each element of the program has fallen into place. And now what we are now offering is, I believe, one of the best faith-based fellowship programs in the US, and perhaps Denver’s premiere leadership experience for young professionals.
I know those are big claims. But I believe the 5280 Fellowship has the potential to deeply impact Denver for generations to come. And I’m not alone.
Some of Denver’s finest pastors – like Robert Gelinas (Colorado Community Church), Brad Strait (Cherry Creek Presbyterian), Rob Brendle (Denver United), Brian Brown (Park Church) and Hunter Beaumont (Fellowship Denver) – believe the Fellowship can be a life-changing experience for young professionals who want to deeply engage themes of calling, work, and culture.
Young professionals like Steven Strott (Cool Planet Energy Systems) and Amy Wofford (The Commons at Champa) see the value of connecting to a community of faithful leaders in Denver and articulate how important work is to the flourishing of a city.
And Dr. Michael Lindsay, the president of Gordon College who has deeply studied the world’s most effective leadership program, the White House Fellowship, believes this program, which has been modeled largely on his research, will give young professionals:
- “deep relationships that span the city,”
- a vision for how “the gospel provides a kind of connective tissue, helping us to see how does science and technology relate to the arts and entertainment,”
- and a “catalyst in your career for the prospering not only of the wider culture, but also your life.”
Needless to say, if you’re asking big questions about the role of Christians in culture; if you’re interested in the relevance of the gospel to all of life; if you’re wondering about your own calling; and if you’re up for a challenge that could catalyze your career — then I encourage you to learn more at an upcoming info session.
Some of you may also be interested why we built the program as we did. On this blog, over the next several weeks, I’d like to peel back the veil on the principles underlying the Fellowship and why we built the program as we did. Blog posts will cover topics like:
- Why Some Doctors Read the History of Opera: Leadership and Liberal Arts Thinking
- EQ: Why Being a Good Conversationalist Might Be More Important Than an MBA
- Why Nothing Before Age 20 Matters (And Why Your 20s-40s are the Most Critical to Career Success)
- Calling: Learning to Listen to the Caller
- Spelunking, Cave Formations and Culture Change
- Our Common Longing: Meaningful Work
- The Church in the World: Reformation, not Revolution
- The Future of Higher Education: Friendships and the Information Deluge
- The Golden Web: Mentors, Networks, and the Hidden Leadership Curriculum
- Mission: Larger Than A Two Week Trip Overseas
- Scattered: Being the Church Monday-Saturday
- Significant Work: Developing a Taste for Tackling Big Problems
The launch of any new educational experience is really just the beginning of a conversation. This is a conversation on what it means to be fully human in this time and this place. I’d like to take the chance to invite you into this community.
I’d love to hear any and all feedback as the conversation grows. I hope you’ll consider joining me on this adventure into our own souls, the life of our city, and the heart of God.