Archive for Resources for Learners
AlbanLearning Blog Combining with AlbanRoundtable Blog
We at Alban are constantly learning better ways to serve the needs of congregational leaders.
One of the most important things we have learned in the past year, is how important it is for us to move in our educational endeavors beyond being known only as a provider of quality information about Lifelong Learning.
As a result, [...]
NEW WEBINAR: Clergy Care in Uncertain Times
In these uncertain times, clergy stress, fatigue, and spiritual needs usually take a back seat to managerial and budgetary deliberations and decisions. Why not start the new year right by focusing on clergy wellness and self-care, your own or your pastor’s or priest’s?
Alban’s Response to The Economic Situation
Although we had been paying attention all year to worrying signs about the economy—especially the impact of high gas prices and the collapse of the housing market—we still weren’t sure what to expect when we began to construct our business plans this Fall. Enough uncertainty had been introduced to make us reluctant to continue to [...]
Who has time to be thoughtful?
I always look forward to autumn — the weather, the trees changing, a new “school” and program year getting underway. And then autumn arrives, and from now until next summer, I suddenly recall, will be one banana peel after another, navigated at breakneck speed. Ready or not, it’s already time to start [...]
Vital Congregations as Communities of Practice
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by Wayne Whitson Floyd
What is a vital congregation? Is it simply a community of fervent conviction and shared belief about who we are, where we came from, why we’re here, and the direction the world is going? Or is congregational vitality to be measured by the emotional intensity of worship and songas evidence of [...]
Faith & Everyday Leadership
Reinventing the 21st Century Church
September 9, 2008 – September 11, 2008
Roslyn Retreat Center , Richmond, Virginia
Facilitator: Wayne Floyd
Note: Seminar begins at 12 noon on day 1 and concludes with lunch on day 3.
This retreat introduces you to the exciting new curriculum developed by the Alban Institute, “Faith and Everyday Leadership.”
Are you someone [...]
Coaching news from the “other” AMA
AMA Study Finds More Use of High-Level Coaching
by Agatha Gilmore
Thu Jul 10, 2008
Today, many organizations aim to grow by accelerating talent development as much as possible. According to a new study by the American Management Association (AMA), coaching has become one increasingly popular way to do it.
The study, “Coaching: A Global Study of Successful [...]
Holy ground in cyberspace
One of the perennial concerns raised about online learning is that some sorts of education simply must occur face to face — that group process, for instance, or the forming of strong interpersonal bonds, or the intimacy of peer to peer mentoring, requires the physical proximiity of teacher to student, and students to one another, [...]
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 Problem Trap
Alban Weekly, 2008-06-16
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by Larry Peers
To effect deep change, leaders must be able to stand outside the dominant story of whatever it is we are trying to change—rather than being so immersed in it that we cannot truly observe how to lead a particular group in a particular situation. Ron Heifetz, author of [...]
Why We Are Losing Ground with Young Adults
By Marty J. Cauley
I have the amazing privilege of working with spiritually sensitive and passionate young adults from across the southeast. I am also charged with understanding why the church is losing ground with young adults. After hundreds of conversations with young adults, I have identified some common strands running through their decisions to leave [...]
Becoming a Praying Congregation
Becoming a Praying Congregation
Alban author and seminar leader Jane Vennard talks about her upcoming Alban seminar “Becoming a Praying Congregation: The Art of Teaching Spiritual Practice.” July 15–17, 2008 at the Inn on Broadway, Rochester, New York. (length: 8 minutes)
Ministry Together: Governing Boards & Clergy
June 17, 2008 – June 19, 2008
Techny Towers Conference and Retreat Center , Techny, Illinois
Facilitator: Dan Hotchkiss
Click here to view a movie clip of Dan Hotchkiss talking about his upcoming event.
Have you had it with board meetings?
While most board members of congregations hope to contribute to their community’s long-term success, the reality of board [...]
more thoughts on Web 2.0
With all the talk about Web 2.0 these days, web technology users in all walks of life are learning many of the same lesson. One of the most important of these is how important it is to let an organization’s mission drive its use of this technology rather than vice versa.
Corporate users simply are [...]
Technologies for Learning
Alban Weekly feature article, May 19, 2008
Wayne Whitson Floyd, Education Department Manager
At Alban we take seriously our educational mission to provide an independent center of learning that creates spaces where people from different denominations and faith traditions can work toward their goals and learn from one another in an atmosphere of respect and collegiality. Whatever [...]