Serving and Loving Children With Special Needs

Brett McMichael, a psychologist from New Jersey, USA and a member of the Executive Team of Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation, reflects on his life of service to children with special needs and young adults in Honduras, Romania and Croatia. Brett lived and served in Croatia for more than ten years, establishing camps for children fighting various kinds of illnesses, such as cancer, down syndrome, diabetes. Since 2004 Brett has also served as the core member of the leadership development and reconciliation initiative ROM – Renewing Our Minds that serves the entire Balkan region. Brett continues to serve with passion and compassion children with special needs and young adults despite having to face himself some health challenges in recent years. Brett shared his story at the end of ROM Gathering 2013 in Fuzine, Croatia. Time 9:23.

Transformational Leadership Seminar in Romania

Photo: Participants attending EDI Transylvania Seminar in Sigishoara, Romania



Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum (EDI) is expanding its work and influence under the leadership of Justin Kagin, EDI Director. Mihaela Kovacs, the Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation Representative for Romania is also the Project Director of a new EDI project, EDI Seminar Transylvania that took place last weekend (October 11-13, 2013) in Sigishoara, Romania. EDI Seminar in Romania focused on the themes of transformational leadership in business and politics rooted in the person of Jesus. In this interview Mihaela Kovacs highlights the reasons that made this first EDI seminar in Romania into a very successful project and a blessing to more than 60 participants attending the event. Time: 8.45 min.

ROM, A Life Changing Initiative

Renewing Our Minds (ROM) Gathering 2013 was the fourteenth annual ROM Gathering held in the picturesque township of Fuzine, Croatia. Since the first gathering in the summer of 1999, ROM has remained consistent with its vision -“Developing leaders transformed by the person of Jesus in a divided world”.

A two-week long ROM Gathering 2013, 13^th – 28^th July, attended close to 60 young leaders from 15 countries. They came from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Northern Ireland, as well as Australia, New Zealand and the US.

The 2013 ROM program, designed to be intentional, relational and transformational, majored on friendship development between young leaders of different faiths and ethnicities. Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Muslims, and agnostics were present. The program focused on leadership of service and on leading young leaders to their own personal transformation in regard to forgiveness, reconciliation and peace building.

ROM Gathering 2013 was uniquely impacting and transformative in the lives of all attending. The intensity of mutually encouraging communication that has flourished between all participants since the end of ROM Gathering 2013 two months ago, as well as the contents of journals and surveys, witness to the depth of the impact.

“Initially when others told me that ROM is a life changing experience, I did not believe them. But now I can say that ROM 2013 has been a life changing experience for me”, said a participant from Romania attending a ROM gathering for the first time. “I am excited to be in relationship with world changers who long to participate in creating a world that transcends history of brokenness, fatalism and despair”, wrote a ROM 2013 participant from New Zealand.

A participant from Albania said: “This is what inspires me! In our own society to create the same society of genuine, loving friends that we had there in Fuzine, by loving each other with the great love of God!” And a 2013 team member from Macedonia reflected on her first ROM experience four years earlier: “I felt the infinite and unconditional love of God, given to me through the organizers and speakers at ROM 2009. I decided then to follow Jesus, and this was the beginning of my spiritual journey that truly changed my life and healed my past.”

One of the successes of ROM Gathering 2013 is seen in the number and quality of presentations delivered by young speakers emerging from within the ROM community itself.

While ROM Gathering 2013 enjoyed the contribution of a number of academically proficient professionals in the fields of peace building and leadership development from the world and the region, the strength of this gathering was the quality and variety of themes covered by speakers who were ROM participants only a few years ago; most of them from the Balkans.

Their presentations included themes such as human trafficking in the Balkans, serving the least in our communities such as the poor and children with special needs, and fighting the evils of ethnic and minority discrimination. Moreover, the prevailing themes at ROM Gathering 2013 were – leadership with personal and corporate integrity, forgiveness and reconciliation, and following Jesus of Nazareth as the best example in leadership and peace building.

Another success of ROM Gathering 2013 was the official launching of the first five Forum (ROM and EDI) Southeast European Representatives; the project had been in formation for a few years but came to fruition in 2013. Their role will be to coordinate the follow-up of ROM and EDI activities, as well as to assist the vocational and spiritual growth of ROM and EDI alumni across the Balkan region. Another four Representatives will be added in the summer of 2014 to complete the process of adequately covering the needs of ROM and EDI communities across the entire Balkan region.

In summary, every element built into a two-week long 2013 ROM program played a deliberate role in helping the process of education and transformation of all attending. Some of them were the Empathy Night, sharing evenings, lectures, workshops, various group activities, Café Dialogue, Trinity Forum, and purpose driven film nights and excursions.

In the heart of the 2013 ROM Gathering, however, were well-structured small groups. We had five small groups that met every day for two hours. It is within the privacy of a small group that the change of heart and transformation takes place in the lives of ROM participants.

In the past years ROM was governed by its founding organization, Life Center International (LCI) from Rijeka, Croatia. Since the end of 2011 ROM, as well as Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum, are governed from Seattle WA, USA by a new organization, Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (Forum), while LCI remains to be the key regional partner in the ministry of ROM and EDI in the Balkans.

ROM initiative in the Balkans and beyond is unique in that it brings Jesus and genuine demonstration of His love into the heart of its reconciliation, peace building and leadership development curriculum. Therein is the secret of the high transformational impact of ROM demonstrated in the lives of hundreds of young leaders who have encountered ROM .

Tihomir Kukolja, Renewing Our Minds, Director

Croatian National Television (HRT) Features ROM Gathering 2013

On July 20 and 21, 2013 HRT – Croatian Television featured ROM Gathering 2013. Watch the video. Produced by Duhovni Horizonti – Spiritual Challenges. Producer and Presenter: Petra Pajdakovic Sebek. Used with permission.

SC:  “Who or what influences your mind?“ is a guiding question of the 15th international ROM Gathering, which started one week ago in Fužine. Young people from all over the world will spend two weeks reflecting on their roll in a divided society. ROM project, which stands for Renewing Our Minds, started in 1999, with the idea of reconciliation of the youth in the region and development of the future leaders.

Tihomir Kukolja: The goal of ROM is to bring together young people already recognized as potential leaders in the society; young leaders in the political arena of tomorrow, or the leaders involved in social and humanitarian services, working with minorities or tackling the issues of division in society; for instance, class differences between the rich and the poor.

SC: Bonding, building friendships and reconciliation are the foundations of the project. Recently more current topics were added, like human trafficking and attitudes towards ethnic minorities. This is the reason why two years ago a partnership was formed with Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation from the USA.

Martha S. Weiss (USA): In some ways there is less peace and reconciliation today in the world than during the war years in the region. This is why it is important that we continue focusing on reconciliation.

SC: Some come to Fužine several times, first as participants, and then as assistants in the project realization. One of them is Mihaela from Romania, a Roma who was encouraged to help her own people through her experience of ROM:

Mihaela Kovacs (Romania): I had a problem accepting my Roma heritage. I did not communicate with my people due to the discrimination and negative image of Roma. ROM helped me to reconcile with my identity. Today I am working with Roma people, and am building relationships between Roma and Romanian people.

Margareta Mihalic (Croatia): I applied as a member of the ROM team because I really believe in the vision of ROM, which is reconciliation between the Balkan nations. We work with the young people who are recognized as prospective and emerging leaders, because they are the agents of change in their countries.

SC: Today, many of the former ROM participants are active in political parties, NGO`s, and church communities. Friendship with people from different cultures helped them to change themselves and their worldview. That is also a hope of Thomas and Iryna, who are here for the first time.

Iryna Rak (Ukraine): I would like to change a difficult political situation in Ukraine. I work as an assistant of the member of the Ukrainian Parliament and I would like to contribute to our society. I would like to experience a change myself while here and bring that change into my own county.

Thomas Kibble (Australia): I`m expecting to learn a lot about Balkans and the history of the region, but also how to lead and inspire people and how to connect with people of different cultures and beliefs.  In Australia, we don’t have that opportunity because we are all simply Australians.

SC: ROM was created as an original Croatian project. Over the years it gained international significance. Today the speakers at ROM are university professors, economic experts, theologians and peace activists from all over the world. Even though the idea of ROM is rooted in Christianity, people of different religious backgrounds, as well as atheists and agnostics, are invited.

Tihomir Kukolja: Our platform is defined very clearly by the person of Jesus Christ. We are not a church organization. However, we believe that there is a certain power and inspiration in the fact that our spiritual and philosophical foundation is the person of Jesus Christ.

SC: For another whole week Fužine will be the center of intensive conversations, laughter and friendship between the young people gathered here. The organizers are hoping that at the end they will return to their countries energized, and with the hope in changing the world.

Broadcast by HRT (Croatian Radio Television). Produced and presented by Petra Pajdakovic Sebek. 
Translation: Margareta Mihalic. 

MUCH MORE THAN A CONFERENCE

Renewing Our Minds 2013 Gathering in Fuzine, Croatia finished a couple of days ago with the 2013 Southeast European summit of regional representatives. We now begin with the season of reporting on the powerful month of July in Fuzine, with the focus on the two-week long 2013 ROM Gathering of young leaders from 15 countries. This first report was released yesterday by Brett McMichael:                                       

We just finished an intensive two-week peace, reconciliation and leadership conference with young adults from all over the Balkan region.  The conference is called ROM for short or Renewing Our Minds.  We learned about conflict resolution and questioned aspects of our identities.  Looking beyond just our ethnic and national identities, we considered our unique identities as creations of God.  Indeed the principles of Jesus were at the center of all we learned about and did.  So when we dealt with difficult issues such as wars in the region and forgiving those who have harmed us, we saw Jesus as our example to follow.

We also addressed such challenging issues as human trafficking, poverty, racial and gender discrimination, and organized crime. Realizing that we are all equipped with gifts from God to serve others, we were called to action to prevent or at least alleviate the suffering caused by the issues mentioned above.  I spoke to the participants about the Biblical mandate to serve the hungry, sick, orphaned, imprisoned and refugees for example.  Jesus teaches that when we help “the least of these” we are serving Jesus himself. We had plenty of fun too, such as trips to the beach, team building games, hikes in the mountains and songs around the camp fire.  

In addition to peace building the ROM conference also focused on leadership development.  We want these young adults attending ROM Gathering 2013 to assume leadership positions in various fields (political, economic, educational, social etc.) in their respective countries. However it is not just enough to learn leadership skills without having the proper character. Thus being a leader of integrity who is transparent and trustworthy is just as important as having great communication skills.  Again we looked at Jesus as a role model, but also looked at the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and William Willberforce. The key is to be a servant leader - one who is humble, but not self-degrading.

Renewing Our Minds is much more than a conference.  Strong, often life-long friendships are forged that transcend national, ethnic, religious, class and other boundaries that divide us.  I am blessed by many friends I have made from previous ROMs and am happy to have gained even more from this year's ROM conference. Now I am relaxing for a couple of days before I serve at another event: a camp for orphans from Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Blessings to all of you.

Brett McMichael, Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation, Executive member

OUR FOCUS AT THIS TIME

Renewing our Minds (ROM) initiative is an international movement of young leaders, with the roots in Southeast Europe (Balkans), that teaches young leaders how to embrace each other and develop lasting friendships despite their religious, national and ethnic differences. For the past fourteen years ROM has been encouraging young Balkan leaders to adopt a new paradigm – one of forgiveness, reconciliation, peacemaking, humanity created in the image of God, loving one’s neighbor as oneself, and leadership of integrity

There are four areas of a continuing strength and vibrancy of the Renewing Our Minds initiative. ROM is foremost a mission that challenges paradigms and assumptions, and refines the characters of young leaders. Then, it is a place where forgiveness and reconciliation are demonstrated realities. Moreover, ROM is a community in progress where loving one’s neighbor and leadership of serving are taught and practiced. Furthermore, it is the environment where all teaching ingredients are anchored in the teachings, example and following of the person of Jesus. All of those together form the life defining impact of the ROM mission.

Our focus at this time is on the 2013 Renewing Our Minds Gathering, a two-week leadership and reconciliation seminar in Fuzine, Croatia, 13^th – 28^th July, 2013. A selected group of fifty young leaders, from 15 countries, representing diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds will attend. Objective: To teach young leaders about forgiveness, reconciliation, understanding of the current issues, and leadership of integrity and service by exposing them to the teachings of Jesus.

Will you partner with us by helping our mission today? Please donate by clicking on the “Donate Now” button. Fill out the form completely. IMPORTANT: On the form under “Please direct my donation to:” select “Project Support”, and under “Select project of your choice” select “Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation”. Thank You!

FORUM 2013 SPRING APPEAL

Dear Friends, 

One and a half years ago Renewing Our Minds (ROM) and Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum (EDI) formed a new organization, Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (Forum). Formed in November 2011 in Seattle WA, Forum is now taking the Renewing Our Minds and Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum to a new level. 

Forum builds on the fourteen years of ROM experience, as well as on the experience of Life Center International (LCI), the umbrella organization based in Fuzine, Croatia that supervised the work of ROM since 1999. The vision of Forum is, “Developing Leaders Transformed by the Person of Jesus in a Divided World”. Its mission is about advancing the Kingdom of God by nurturing international leaders of noble, forgiving, reconciled and serving hearts, and in harmony with the character of Jesus Christ. Forum pursues its mission through transformative, holistic and relational education, training and mentorship; as well as the advancement of caring and serving communities. 

Over the years the transformative impact of ROM, the heart of the Forum mission, has reached far beyond Southeast Europe (Balkans), where everything started in 1999 in response to the Balkan conflicts engulfing all former Yugoslavian countries at the time; and has since reached the Middle East, the African continent, the former Soviet Union countries, the EU, USA. For 600 young lives, from 50 countries have been directly impacted by ROM programs over the years, the experience was life defining and directing. Many ROM alumni have since emerged as leaders of substance, and are today making a difference in the political, social, humanitarian and religious arenas of their countries. 

In 2013 the Forum Board of Directors is focused on setting a firm and sustainable foundation for future growth of ROM and EDI by finalizing its organizational and serving structure and by setting realistic objectives that will lead us forward in our service. These are our primary program objectives for the current year: 

1. ROM Leadership and Reconciliation Gathering 2013: A two-week reconciliation and leadership seminar, known as ROM Gathering, in Fuzine, Croatia, July 13 – 29, 2013. A selected group of fifty young leaders, from 15 countries, representing diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds will attend. Objective: To teach young leaders about forgiveness, reconciliation and leadership of integrity and service by exposing them to the teachings of Jesus. 

2. FLR Regional Leadership Summit: A two-day Southeast European Leadership Summit,      July 30 – 31, 2013, in Fuzine, Croatia. A selected group of mature and trusted leaders from the Balkans will meet for a two day planning session leading to the establishment of a team of coordinators who will throughout a year coordinate the spiritual and vocational growth of ROM alumni through coaching and mentoring. 

3. EDI Forum in Romania: Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum is planned for September in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.  A group of 30 young leaders form Romania will learn about Jesus principles applied to business, economics, and politics.  

4. ROM Middle-East Project: A start-up ROM Middle-East weekend seminar is planned for December 2013. With a group of ROM alumni from the Middle East, and in partnership with a local organization that focuses on reconciliation, Forum is planning to set a ground work for future ROM projects in the countries of the Middle East. 

All our programs focus on building a new generation of leaders, reconciled and transformed by the person of Jesus. Forum is a new organization, with almost 15 years of experience, and proven programs and projects (ROM, EDI). At this time when the potential for international conflicts escalates by day, and when the leadership informed by the character of Jesus is very much a lacking ingredient in today’s society, we consider our work to be of primary importance. 

The work of Forum depends on the support of churches, foundations, organizations and friends like you who appreciate the value of investing the values of Jesus’ life into the lives of the young leaders of today.  Your generous donation will help meet our objectives for 2013. 

Please, direct your donation to our partners: The Antioch Partners. 

If you are sending your donation by check write ROM or Forum on the memo line and send to:            

The Antioch Partners

7132 Portland Avenue, Suite 138

Richfield, MN   55423.

If you would like to donate online, click on DONATE NOW and fill out the form completely. IMPORTANT: On the form under "Please direct your donation to:" select "Project Support", and under "Select project of your choice" select "Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation".

We will gladly answer all your questions. Thank you for your generous donation.  You are making a difference in the world we live in. For more info write to forumforleadership@gmail.com  

We are looking forward to hearing from you soon. 

Love and blessings. 

Martha S. Weiss, Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation, Chairwoman

Tihomir Kukolja, Renewing Our Minds, Director

Forum – Transforming Leaders in a Divided World

One and a half years ago Renewing Our Minds (ROM) and Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum (EDI) formed a new organization, Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (Forum).  Forum is now taking the Renewing Our Minds and Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum to a new level. It builds on the fourteen years of ROM experience. Martha S. Weiss, Chairwoman of Forum talks about her experience with ROM and some of the reasons Forum came into existence to support the future growth of ROM and EDI. Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation is about developing leaders transformed by the person of Jesus in a divided world. 

Meet the FLR Team – Neil and Linda Quist

Neil and Linda Quist from Seattle WA have over the years developed a sincere and profound friendship with the Balkan countries. Neil Quist, who is a board member of the Board of Directors for Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (FLR), and Linda Quist, Balkan Task Force and Executive Team member of Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation, Seattle WA, explain the reasons for their ongoing and lasting involvement with and commitment to the vision and mission of the Renewing Our Minds (ROM) initiative and the new organization Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (FLR). Listen also to the webcast Dare to Be the Difference featuring Neil and Linda Quist, Ambassadors of Peace in a Divide World. 

Meet the Team – Justin Kagin

Justin Kagin, a young American Jew, believes that Jesus Christ does not belong to Christians alone, but that Jesus is for the Jews, Muslims and others too. Justin believes that Jesus is above any organization, institution, movement, concept, ideology and religion. Justin Kagin is an executive member of Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (FLR) and the executive and program director of Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum (EDI). In this video Justin shares his story of how he became a follower of Jesus. Audio version.

Introducing the ROM Team – Minela Pervanovic

Minela Pervanovic is a senior student of International Law and Diplomacy at the American University in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Her desire is to stay in her country, Bosnia-Herzegovina and to be involved in the political and social processes that would improve economic and social life of the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Minela attended Renewing Our Minds Gathering (ROM) for the first time when she was 20 years old. She was recommended by Asja Powys-Smith (ROM generation 2001), a young lady from Bosnia-Herzegovina who now lives, studies and works in Oxford, UK.

Experiencing ROM for the first time in the summer of 2009 was a deep and precious experience for Minela. She says: “ROM represented Jesus to me in a new way. God used ROM to reopen my eyes to see that He desires to use me to serve my people in Bosnia. I was reassured that I can be a good example of Jesus’ character to my nation; as well as to be His instrument for reconciliation and peace building between the peoples of Bosnia-Herzegovina.”

It was while at ROM that I had a vision of a conference aimed at the political and business leaders of my country based on the character of Jesus and His values. The conference “Moral Values in Business and Politics”, which took place not long ago at a prestigious venue in Sarajevo, targeted political leaders, businessmen and other people of influence in the Bosnian capital. Our message was that Bosnia-Herzegovina needed the kind of leaders who are foremost the people of integrity and strong values. The two key speakers were Drazen Glavas, Trainer and Consultant with ETIK in Croatia; and Leo van Doesburg, External Affairs Manager with European Christian Movement from The Netherlands. The conference was a great success.

Minela Pervanovic currently serves as the ROM Core Team Member for Southeast Europe, and ROM Coordinator for Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Ambassadors of Peace in a Divided World

Become a part of an amazing story of Renewing Our Minds (ROM) and Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (FLR) ministry born in the Balkans and on a mission to develop leaders transformed by the person of Jesus in a divided world.

Hear the stories of transformed lives and life of service of hundreds of young leaders across the Balkan Region and the world. See what happens when young leaders, divided by ethnic and religious nationalism, are invited to meet together around the person of Jesus.

The story of ROM and FLR will be shared by Jeremiah Collins, MDPC High School Outreach Director; Matthew Rejmaniak, MDPC and ROM team member from Houston; and Tihomir Kukolja, MDPC and The Antioch Partners missionary partner, and Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation Executive Director. Special music will be provided by Matt and Cameron Hammon, music and worship directors at Olivette Music and Missions ministry and Ecclesia Church, Houston TX.

The program will start at 6.30 pm on Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013; Parlor, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, 11612 Memorial Drive, TX 77024.

Welcome. Invite your friends. Your timely RSVP will help us plan better. Let us know ASAP if you are planning to attend. Looking forward to seeing you at the evening of sharing “Ambassadors of Peace in a Divided World”.

Tihomir Kukolja

Renewing Our Minds, Director

Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation, Executive Director