Professionals find Christian graduate education helps them become more well-rounded leaders
March 15, 2021
This paid piece is sponsored by Sioux Falls Seminary.
The most effective leaders never stop evolving.
Whether early, midcareer or even in semiretirement, they continue to hone their skills and expand their perspective.
In the case of these three professionals, seminary education proved the fit they needed to continue developing as leaders.
But not traditional seminary education.
Each of these professionals connected to Kairos, which allows them to access graduate-level education, customized for their unique learning and professional needs, where, when and how they opt to receive it.
While their approaches to earning their degrees vary, their experiences share a common theme: helping them further evolve as leaders in their organizations, professions and communities.
Tom Gage
Tom Gage is used to the questions people ask when they hear he’s enrolled in a graduate program at a seminary.
“I don’t plan to become a pastor or something like that,” he said. “Why would a businessperson feel this is a worthwhile endeavor?”
Gage built his career in his family business, serving in various roles at Gage Brothers Concrete Products before becoming CEO in 2001 and retiring from the board of directors in 2016.
When he left day-to-day business operations, he was able to spend more time in faith-based organizations. He served as chief operating officer of LifeLight and helped oversee an international faith-based organization that encompasses 1,400 churches nationwide. His board service has included being a trustee for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul and serving as an elder at Central Church.
Through board service, Gage met Nate Helling, CFO of Sioux Falls Seminary, who told him about Kairos.
“And I said I’m going to do it,” Gage said. “I just felt it was something I wanted to do, so in the future I could bring more of myself, more to the table when I’m sitting on different boards for various organizations. That was my motive behind it. And they’ve created a platform where you can engage from home, online, or if you wanted to take a class at the seminary, you can. So it’s really flexible and really economical.”
He has spent the past two-and-a-half years on a journey to receive his Master of Arts in Christian Leadership and hopes to graduate this spring.
“There are six outcomes for my degree program,” he explained. “For instance, we spent a semester looking at spiritual disciplines. They encourage retreats and connect you with a mentor during this time. It’s been a really fun journey for me.”
Looking back, he wishes he’d discovered the program earlier in life.
“When I was 40 and at Gage Brothers, I could have taken this, and I know I would have brought back a lot of cultural enhancement to the organization that I just didn’t know,” he said. “I would have been a better person. I encourage people to look at it. There’s a big smorgasbord of classes you can take, or you can do it on your own. I just encourage it.”
He’s especially enjoyed learning principles of conflict resolution and organizational change through strategic leadership.
“And then another outcome is mentor-based discipleship and looking at your life and how to mentor others,” Gage said. “I took a lot of theology and history, but those kind of classes help an individual realize why they believe what they believe.”
He plans to apply what he has learned in his leadership roles with various organizations, he said.
“It’s just a well-rounded curriculum that makes you a better person,” he said. “It keeps you current, and I’ve been really happy with the whole process.”
Wendy Zadeh
Wendy Zadeh spends her workdays as a neurologist, specializing in epilepsy.
But in her off time, she has been drawn to read about faith. A Jewish Christian for three decades, she sees her faith and her work intertwined.
“Once I started practicing medicine, I found myself more and more interested in the stories of people who entrust their health to me,” she said. “When a patient is trusting you with their health, they are in some ways trusting the best they have on this Earth.”
As she thought through it and read more, she began to consider a formal Christian education program. It led her to Kairos, which she can complete on her own time from her home in Des Moines.
“I loved being in school many years ago, listening and participating in class,” she said.
“Kairos can be that, but it is much more. Why would I presume I need to sit through a class to learn? What a progressive learning model! I love it. I was looking for something regional, and after talking with some people about Kairos, I thought, let’s give this a go! Several who spoke with me have been through it and have also been growing with it.”
She has been in the program about a year and finds what she’s learning is flowing out throughout her life.
“I’m engaging in new ways at church. I’m more present to my patients. I have a brilliant faculty mentor,” Zadeh said. “I’m still discerning what will change vocationally for me with this education. At this moment in time, what I will do with this degree as an ‘on paper’ exercise feels less important to rolling with the educational journey. That is probably the very thing I would tell other professionals who are in a similar boat.”
She’s also ready to put her new education to work in unexpected ways. While patients might come to her to focus on neurological issues, her conversations sometimes lead to new insight.
“Sometimes I get to hear stories,” she said. “And sometimes the stories have something to do with healing. I want to be a part of that in any way God might suggest.”
Her education is opening her perspective to what that might be.
“A few years ago, it occurred to me that I could imagine my future. And in this thought, it struck me that I’ve tidily lined things up so I can almost see it all to the end. And that’s when I decided, well then it must be time to mix things up!” she said. “I don’t want a future that is self-curated. I want to live as an ambassador for Christ. So I am staying open.”
Jim Duensing
Jim Duensing first connected with Sioux Falls Seminary during a summer course in 2013.
While he enjoyed the course in systematic theology and learned a lot, he found a different and even more satisfying experience when he came back five years later.
By that time, a lot had changed both for Duensing and the seminary. He had retired from his role as executive vice president and CFO for a large U.S.-based international finance company. And Sioux Falls Seminary had transitioned to Kairos, allowing him to adapt a curriculum and complete tailored assignments from his home in Nashville.
“I felt a continual tug or calling from God to pursue a degree at Sioux Falls Seminary,” Duensing said. “I felt I had been called or prompted by God to do something in the next phase of my life in service to the church.”
He began working on his Master of Arts in Christian leadership in mid-2018 with the goal of completing it in three years. He’s on track to be done this spring.
“My experience has been outstanding and one that I would recommend to anyone who is considering work toward a seminary degree and who would benefit from the flexibility Kairos offers,” he said.
“In addition to meeting and getting to know a number of wonderful students and faculty, I feel I’ve made some lifelong friendships that have helped me grow spiritually and in new dimensions as a Christian that have been very valuable to me.”
Duensing’s program became a combination of more traditional course structures involving lectures, assignments and exams, in addition to more tailored studies and activities he was able to complete in his community – all under the oversight and direction of a dedicated faculty mentor and mentor team.
“One recent example was the use of specific lectures and discussions available through Acton University, including both livestream events and lectures in addition to resources from their extensive online library of resources,” he said. “I then brought these learnings and completed assignments for discussion with my faculty mentor, Dr. Philip Thompson, and my mentor team.”
While he was retired when he began the program, he sees value in it for those still in the workforce.
“I think it would have brought a new and fresh perspective to my work and the ability to see both my work and personal interactions with others in a more holistic and meaningful way,” he said, encouraging others to consider the program.
“It may initially seem intimidating to prospective students when they consider their existing obligations to family and career. However, the flexibility provided within the Kairos structure should allow them to achieve the proper work-life balance and tailor their studies and assignments to the extent needed to achieve the requirements of their degree program.”
