By Garry Sanossian
What kind of shadow does an elder’s influence cast in church?
This was one of the questions elders from churches of Christ across NSW & ACT were invited to consider at the 2026 Elders Retreat, held from 7–9 August at The Tops Conference Centre and attended by 54 people.
Under the theme Freedom to Flourish, lead facilitator Lloyd Irwin used metronomes to show how churches can gradually reflect the behaviour of their leaders.
“Whether we like it or not, our people are kind of picking up culture from us, picking up what’s good, what’s not so good,” Lloyd said.
Lloyd Irwin explored how the behaviour and culture of leaders can shape the churches they lead.
Elders were encouraged to reflect on how their habits, priorities and relationships can shape church culture, from how congregations respond to adversity and welcome newcomers to whether people encounter judgement or “love and grace”.
Guest speaker Keith Farmer, ACOM’s Principal Emeritus, who has spent decades mentoring leaders across the churches of Christ network and wider church, explored what makes servant leadership possible.
“You’ve got to be spiritually and emotionally secure, because it means that as a servant you are at least putting the other person as valuable and important as yourself,” Keith said.
“If we are fighting for our place in life, we will find it very difficult to genuinely serve someone else.”
Keith Farmer explored how spiritual and emotional security enables leaders to genuinely serve others.
Anne Klose, Spiritual Director and lecturer at Morling College and ACOM, also led a Sunday morning session exploring spiritual formation and how it can be nurtured within local churches.
The retreat was designed to give elders space to reflect on the teaching in conversation and community. Friday evening began with a relaxed dinner, while short teaching sessions were followed by extended reflection periods. Elders could spend time alone, walk with another leader, pray or join small-group conversations.
Michael from Northgate Church appreciated how closely the weekend spoke to the realities of eldership.
“We had very elder specific topics this time,” he said.
“There was plenty of room for private retreating and having a bit of a bushwalk and having a conversation with others.”
Elders connecting, reflecting and learning together at the 2026 Elders Retreat.
That space also gave leadership teams time to connect. Nicole from NewDay Church valued meeting leaders from other churches while spending time with her own board.
“This weekend has been really wonderful connecting with lots of other leaders and hearing their stories of their churches,” she said.
Elders shared time in conversation and reflection throughout the retreat.
Nicole also valued having dedicated time with members of her church board to pray through some of the issues they were facing. The experience left them wanting the rest of their board to be part of the retreat next year.
“We’re gonna go back and insist that all of our board come next year,” she said. “If you’re not here, you’re missing out.”
Now in its fourth year, the Elders Retreat is part of the wider Empowering Elders initiative led by Nathan Marshall, Meredith Harmer and Lloyd Irwin. The initiative seeks to connect, support and equip elders across the network through shared learning, relationships and spiritual formation.
Through teaching, prayer, conversation and time to slow down, Freedom to Flourish gave elders space to consider not only how they lead, but the kind of church culture their leadership is helping to form.
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