Leading with life-changing stories
by Twila Glenn
Consulting Manager, The Alban Institute
Narrative Leadership: now what in the world does that mean? There are a lot of answers to that question, but basically, it is a way of leading organizations in which the story of who we have been, seen through the lens of who we are, forms the foundation for the story of who we are to become. Stories wind their way through individual lives, through family lives, through community lives, through congregational lives, and through the faith journey of each of us.
In about a month, folks will gather at Lake Junaluska Conference Center in North Carolina to hear stories, tell stories, and learn new ways to weave together God’s story, their congregation’s story, and their community’s story in powerful new faith journeys. You can be part of that gathering—part of that story.
If you come to Lake Junaluska in July, Dr. Judy Fentress-Williams, noted Old Testament scholar and vivid storyteller, will take you by the hand and walk you into the heart of that rich and teeming story of the Israelites—perched on the edge of promise—learning to remember their own story. You will emerge from the experience with new insight into how what a community remembers shapes its identity.
With Dr. Larry Peers, Senior Consultant for the Alban Institute, you will “wade in the waters of deep change. You will learn the healing power of reauthoring problem-saturated stories of your congregation and your leadership into powerful new stories of possibility.”
And then, Alban Senior Consultant Alice Mann will ask you to journey with her into the “soul of the place” and explore with her what it would mean to befriend the soul of the place in which you and your congregation live. Learn with her how to take this sense of place that is “in our bones”—this place where we live and work and worship—and nurture it, turn it into a powerful story of well-being and justice for our community and our world.
All of this—and beautiful Lake Junaluska (with a powerful story of its own)—can be yours at the Alban Institute at Lake Junaluska in July. Come share your story! (Click here for more information and registration.)
No comments yet.