ELDP eagles emerging leader development program
Class of 2011 - Retreat 3: Heart, Mind & Soul
JUNE 24-27, 2010, Haikou
"It is difficult to find a retreat that's both spiritual and practical; a retreat that's run by humility and celebrates weakness, a retreat that I can find both physical and spiritual rest."
The Class of 2011 seem to be making history with their recent ELDP retreat in Haikou, yet another country which no retreat has been done in before.
This group of participants had a very enjoyable stay at the Meritus Mandarin hotel which provided exceptional service. Although the food experience over the 4 days was a little.. too exotic for most of our westernized taste buds, it was altogether a very good experience.
With sessions that touched on Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Sex, Money, Failure & recovery, it was really quite an intensive three-and-a-half days for the participants. Thankfully, there was ample rest time provided so they had space to digest and reflect.
So this class had a wonderful time in Haikou this time; who knows where they'll be heading to next?
"Heart, Mind & Soul cover issues we need to know well to be equipped as a basic foundation for leadership. Thank you for strengthening these building blocks in my life."
Class of 2012 - Retreat 1: Person, Perspective, Performance & Partnership
APRIL 22-25, 2010, Kuala Lumpur
"The increased level of consciousness of my strengths and weaknesses, the friendships birthed and the spiritual awareness are priceless." - Alvin Foo
What do you get when you put a group of people from different countries, different walks of life, different personalities and different age together? Fun, fun, fun!!
This is how the Class of 2012 kicked off!
It was a truly fun-and-laughter-filled 4 days with this bunch of lively leaders. With participants from countries as Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Singapore spanning the ages of 25-45, there was much to talk about and learn.
The participants learned much about their MBTI personality types from Dr Lim Peng Soon; lessons which would come in handy in their work and ministry. The lessons of not just Doing and Knowing, but also Being, hit home with many of these leaders. They were also challenged to find out the question of Who am I, Whose am I, and Where am I?
It was with reluctance that the participants bid each other farewell, and they were already talking about when they would see each other next in October!
What an amazing class, and we are excited to see how God is going to do a new thing with them!
"ELDP has widened my view on leadership development. It has also challenged me spiritually as well as intellectually to think about how my ministry and the marketplace can grow in tandem." - Dawn Ng
Class of 2010 - Retreat 5: Values, Competencies & Decision-Making
MARCH 18-21, 2010, Singapore
"ELDP means much more than training to any emerging leader; it's a whole process of nurturing God-centered leaders who will go out and lead Christians or non-Christians, small or big, of this world." - Somsuda Boon-Itt
The "TomYam group", as this ELDP Class is called because of the number of Thais amongst them, were reluctant to part at their final retreat. Many asked if they could "re-sit" ELDP again, because they wanted more!
This lively group gleaned much wisdom and insights from Jason Wong, founder of the Yellow Ribbon project. They were also very inspired by the field trip to Northlight School, and in particular learnt that values need to be caught on by every single person, right down to the last man - even the security guards and toilet washers of the school believed and ran with the vision.
With plenty of good food, great conversation and a hearty dose of laughter, the 4 days went by all too quickly!
As farewells were said, plans were made for the Class to get together again. This will not be the last we hear from them, nor will it be the last they hear from us!
"Prepare to be truly transformed into Christ likeness if you allow God to work through them in you" - Ronald Yap
To the Class of 2010, you are a fantastic bunch. May you continue to shine brightly where it is darkest!
Class of 2011 – Retreat 2: Change, Conflict & Politics
FEBRUARY 4-7, 2010, Ho Chi Minh
"Surely God is in this program which has taught us things we don't learn at seminary. Thank you!" - James Nagulan
For the first time in the history of ELDP, the Class of 2011 had our second retreat in the city of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. If we were to give it another name, we would all agree that Ho Chi Minh could also be called "The City of Motorbikes"!
With the millions of motorbikes, crossing the streets without traffic lights was a new, exciting, and somewhat scary thing for some of us!
"Toxic Leaders are nurtured by toxic followers." Michael Tan, Toxic Leadership
"If we don't reinvent, we become institutionalized. To become greater, every institution needs to constantly renew itself." Peter Chao, Leading In Uncharted Waters
"It's transition that people resist not the change." Lim Peng Soon, The Human Side of Change
"The church must be above politics and political structures. For it to be effective, the church needs reflection, discernment and action." Wong Kim Kong, Navigating the Political Landscape
"Smiling Tigers, Hidden Dragons - Leaders need to create a culture where the dragons can be exposed." John Ng, Conflict & Peacemaking.
"Leaders need value, vison and courage. We need to have all of these attirbutes to become great leaders." Tanri Abeng, Guest speaker and former Minister for State Enterprises during ex-President Suharto and Habibe era.
Besides feasting on great food at each meal, participants were also fed with these gems of wisdom from our faculty. We all certainly walked away with tummies, minds & hearts fully satisfied!
"Highly beneficial to equip church and market place leaders. The good food and fellowship is a great plus!" - Claire Au
Class of 2009 – Retreat 5: Values, Competencies & Decision-Making
APRIL 16-19, 2009, Singapore
"God used ELDP to change my perspective for serving His ministry."
"Very competent lecturers where knowledge & experience are extremely useful in the topics they've handled. Good mix of real-life experiences, case studies and sound biblical teaching on leadership."
"This retreat really hits critical & tough aspects of leadership and very practical with inspiring, real-life examples."
The ELDP Class of 2009 was welcomed with balloons and boxes of candy - a festive celebration of their Commissioning Retreat! It was a special time as each participant looked forward to the final Commissioning Ceremony on April 18, 2009, Saturday.
Excitement and anticipation was in the air. The image was that of a caterpillar emerging from its chrysalis, breaking forth into a magnificent butterfly that speaks of the glory of God with its beauty.
There was much talk about the next step after ELDP - where each would go from here, how they would miss their ELDP classmates, and ways too keep in touch. Plans were made for the alumni, with the possibility of organizing a once-a-year get-together retreat.
One of the definitive highlights of this retreat was a field trip to Northlight School, where the participants got to see first-hand an organization that has strong values, vision & programs.
The other highlight was a session with Jason Wong, founder of the Yellow Ribbon Project. His teaching was inspiring, to say the least, and it brought the curriculum to a whole new level. Many were galvanized into deeper reflection and action, and roused to pursue intimacy with God and catch His vision for their lives.
Teachings from the 3 directors of Eagles - Peter, John & Michael - further equipped these emerging leaders for the next step of their journey. They were also blessed with sessions with Sam Lam & Neo Boon Siong, learning more about strategies & leadership competencies.
What a way to end the first part of the ELDP journey; for the Class of 2009, the story's only just getting started!
Class of 2010 – Retreat 4: Coaching, Community and Succession Planning
MARCH 19 – 22, 2009, Phuket
The 20 participants of class 2010 gathered in Phuket for their fourth retreat which they found brimming with inspiration encouragement and fun as they learned about coaching, community and succession planning. The class bonded through their sharing of leadership challenges and struggles and through their prayers for one another over personal and ministry concerns.
Here is a sampling of participants' feedback on key lessons and perspectives gleaned from the retreat.
"The teaching and relationships forged at this retreat were invaluable to me. The sharpening of mind and heart by the leaders and participants will help me create something of significance with my team." - Amy Davison, Thailand
"This is really a great retreat. The balance between biblical perspectives and professional practices, the framework, theory and toolkit really helped us not only to know the 'what' and "why" deeply, but also the ‘how’ in practicing the concepts." - Budianto, Indonesia
Peter Chao's message on Kingdom Estuary reflected on the importance in synergizing the efforts of younger and older leaders. In his closing, Peter challenged all to offer themselves afresh to God and commit their lives as effective leaders in leaving a strong legacy.
Sam Lam offered practical insights on coaching high performers and underperformers. He stressed that good leaders were expected to produce great results, make good judgments that lead to effective decisions, and have the ability to learn from experiences to improve their performance.
Lawrence Leong, shared his experience in building a crisis team equipped with problem solving skills. His topic, Leading in Crisis, greatly encouraged those who were navigating through the current downturn.
Others like Dr John Ng highlighted issues in measuring performance as well as the biblical mandate and perspectives in succession planning. Michael Tan focused on the need for leadership and accountability to co-exist.
Everyone came away deeply enriched by the multi-faceted insights, wisdom and knowledge that the ELDP faculty and participants had imparted through the lectures, dialogues and discussions. Many could not wait for the fifth retreat in 2010 at which they will gather to learn as well as graduate together.
Class of 2011 – Retreat 1: Person, Perspective, Performance & Partnership
JANUARY 8-11, 2009, Bangkok
"The Eagles Emerging Leaders Development Program is a unique opportunity to share your leadership journey with seasoned leaders who have a heart to lift up young leaders & see them reach their potential." - Peter Geizer
The new ELDP Class of 2011 got off to an awesome start at their first retreat in Bangkok, Thailand. How apt that the retreat was held in the "Land of Smiles", for there certainly was a lot to smile about!
It was an interesting mix of cultures in this group of 20 men and women of God. With participants from Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Malaysia and Australia, there was never a dull moment with this group! They warmed up to each other quickly despite cultural and language differences, and it was heartwarming to see them in action, sharing their lives and praying for each other.
Much food for thought was inspired for each participant’s leadership journey as they learnt that their role as leaders was, first and foremost, to glorify God’s name. Looking at the examples of leaders in the Bible, it’s undeniably true that a God-centered leader is a leader best equipped for the challenges of leading and living.
These leaders also learnt to manage expectations, sustain energy by recognizing what drains them, team leadership and what breaks and builds their team. They even got a hand at the MBTI - discovering their personality types, and how that relates to leading a team of different personalities.
The last night ended on a high note with a Leadership Dialogue, and we were joined by 15 specially-invited guests from Thailand. This was followed by a midnight trip down to the night market, where some of the delegates got to experience the authentic Thai experience of bargaining and... eating Mango Sticky Rice!
"The ELDP is a great learning experience where you put all your responsibilities behind, take a step back, and re-look, relearn and refocus what you have been doing." - Kieran Chew
What a fantabulous beginning to a 3 year journey; we're loving it already!
Class of 2008 – Retreat 5: Values, Competencies, and Decision-Making
OCTOBER 14-16, 2008, Singapore
"ELDP should be a lifelong program for every leader."
"The ELDP program is extraordinary. Not only have I benefited from the wealth of management experience from the faculty members, but I was also ministered to by the sharing of other transformative leaders who were guest speakers at the different retreats."
It was a great closing retreat, a fitting finale for the first ever ELDP class to complete the three year leadership program.
During their final time together as the Class of 2008, the twenty-six participants were very much inspired by the sharing from Jason Wong, former Deputy Director of Singapore Prison, and Chua Yen Ching, Principal of Northlight School, who both brought home the message that ordinary Christians can do extraordinary work! Certainly clear evidence of God’s faithfulness for all leaders.
It was an intensive three days where classmates learned what it means to create, implement and sustain values, and to develop and execute strategies in their organizations. A full day was allotted to Decision Making, taught by Sam Lam and Michael Tan. Animated discussions and differing viewpoints proved it was a session that few will forget.
As was repeated so often throughout the retreat, this is not the end but only the beginning of a new chapter, and as aptly remarked by one participant, "I feel that my leadership journey has just begun since I attended the ELDP."
The retreat closed with a big bang – the commissioning banquet! Graduation certificates were presented, awards and speeches delivered, and delicious food and conversation were enjoyed by all. Please enjoy the photos below.
