UPCOMING EVENT
DATE
TIME
With an optional extra hour for CEOs and Board members starting at 9.15
EVENT TYPE
WHO
LOCATION
111 Spring Street Melbourne VIC
REGULAR COST
CMA MEMBER
STANDARDS COUNCIL MEMBERS
Table OF 8 MEMBERS
Table OF 8 NON-MEMBERS
Member means paid members of CMA and accredited partners of the CMA Standards Council.
REGISTER OVER THE PHONE
EVENT SPONSORS
SUMMARY
Is your leader being cared for well? Does your board know? Does your leader agree? What about other personnel?
These are questions every church and Christian organisation needs to wrestle with, because when leaders aren’t cared for well, the consequences ripple far beyond the leader. Culture suffers. Ministry effectiveness diminishes. People leave. And ultimately, God’s reputation is at stake. Yet it’s a conversation many Christian organisations have never properly had.
CMA is changing that. To kick off CMA’s 25th year we are hosting breakfasts in five cities in late March, to bring this critical conversation to the surface.
The morning is in two parts. Part one is a networking breakfast with panel discussions, presentation of initial research results and other brief presentations. Everyone is welcome for some great food, fellowship, inspiration and input. Part two is a one-hour round-table discussion open to CEOs (including Senior Pastors and Principals), and Board members only.
One registration fee covers both components. Join us in Melbourne for a morning that matters.
DETAIL
History, and sometimes the media, reminds us what happens when a CEO / Senior Pastor / Principal succumbs to moral failures, burnout, or a more subtle descent into “zombie leadership”: turning up, but without energy or motivation. The consequences can be tragic on many fronts.
Our friends at ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) in the USA have been doing significant work in this space, arguing that many of the public failures that have made headlines in recent years might have been averted had boards more intentionally monitored and cared for their CEO’s wellbeing. They make the case that Leader Care isn’t just disaster prevention — it’s simply good practice for any organisation that espouses Christian values.
In 2026, CMA celebrates 25 years of God’s faithfulness to us since our formation in 2001. To kick off this milestone year, CMA and the CMA Standards Council (CMASC) are holding breakfasts around Australia in late March, with Leader Care as the focal point. These will be two-part events. During the breakfast component, from 7.15 to 8.45, we will share some brief reflections and remarks relating to our 25th year, then spend time exploring this Leader Care Initiative which will run throughout 2026. A mix of short presentations, panel discussions and table activities will take place (varying by location). We will also report on an initial Leader Care survey that is being sent to the CEOs and Chairs of the 32 accredited partners of CMASC. A wider and more comprehensive Leader Care research project will follow, and the discussions at these events will help inform that process. Everyone who is interested in the topic of Leader Care is welcome to attend the breakfast.
Once the breakfast concludes, we’ll take a short break, and then host part two: a one-hour round-table discussion limited to CEOs and Board members. We’ll drill deeper into the Leader Care topic, looking at actual policies and strategies that might support the intention of Leader Care. We’ll be looking for feedback from CEOs and Board members, sensitive to the fact that in some cases these may not seem perfectly aligned! We welcome the involvement of the CMA CEO Network, CMA Board Chair Network, and CMA Governance Network (those currently serving on boards) as well as other CEOs, Principals, Senior Pastors, Board Chairs and Board members.
The one registration fee covers both components, but the second component is only available to those roles mentioned above.
