nurturing servant leaders in religious education - Scholarly ...

what I did not expect to find was the balancing effect that the CES seemed to
represent for participants. By balancing I mean the recognition that study participants
gave to the CES as a force for giving back in meaningful ways. As the garden
metaphor demonstrates, the balance of multitudinous elements must be at work for
optimal growth to occur.
Having served in numerous positions in the Church, and having taught classes on
Church doctrine, the time pressures for preparation and study might seem to be taking
away from the life’s balance being addressed here. Yet, there seemed to be a great
energy drawn by participants in assembling as a class, as a group of teachers or
administrators with a purpose. The fundamental connection of people coming together
for a space of time to share intellect and spirit served as a strong foundation for
balance in the lives of participants, and appeared to be key in participants’ continued
commitment to the organisation.
I addressed the theme of time in the findings. Several participants indicated they did
not care how much time they devoted to their assignments, as long as they felt they
were doing a good job. Yet not every participant addressed the theme of time. It
would be naive to believe that every, or even any participant, especially volunteer
teachers, gave their time out of an abundance of surplus hours in a day. All volunteer
teachers referred to working at other full or part-time jobs, to being parents, students,
to having days full of other work. Why would participants then feel a desire to devote
in varying degrees portions of their lives to being in CES settings?
We have only to look at the abundance of community groups, church organisations,
volunteer committees, and corporations that participate in or offer similar endeavours
on some level, to see that the CES is far from an isolated example. Addressing the
posed question, there appear to be multitudes of people who desire to serve in
particular ways. There is “strength in numbers” when it comes to effecting change,
and organisations such as those listed above and many others give opportunities to
express that desire. Findings showed that all participants were eager to uplift the lives
of others through their efforts.
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