Resources for “The Power of Story in Local Congregations”
In the February 8 issue of Alban Weekly (“The Power of Story in Local Congregations“) Larry Golemon explains how the capacity to narrate life experiences in coherent and meaningful ways helps people—and congregations—to grow in faithfulness, spiritual maturity, and a sense of responsibility.
Golemon, editor of Alban’s recently published Narrative Leadership Collection, notes that individuals cannot form rich personal narratives without a “sense of spatial location in the world from which direction and agency can spring.” This location can perhaps best happen through participation in the religious life of a local congregation. For it is here that individuals can place the stories of their lives within a larger framework that enhances their understanding of themselves as moral agents called to make a difference in their communities.
At the same time, as Golemon states, “good narrative leadership has the potential to transform congregational traditions, practices, and mission for the current age.”
How have narrative and story transformed the individuals and communities that make up your congregation? What are your thoughts on this topic? And what resources do you suggest? We look forward to hearing from you!
(Be sure to check out the resources listed in the end of the article, as well as additional resources featured in the “Narrative Leadership” section of the Congregational Resource Guide—particularly Mighty Stories, Dangerous Rituals: Weaving Together the Human and the Divine.)
I am very happy to read about your focus on the power of narrative and its potential to shape leadership and a congregation. I studied the power of narrative as an undergraduate student. I believe the potential of the narrative is its “lifeline” effect that can carry the fractured individual through the maze of postmodernity (or post-postmodernity, depending on your take on our current situation). It’s interesting to realize that, in some ways, the narrative is simply coming full circle in Christian thought. It’s the idea that’s always been there. The Biblical account began as a narrative. The witness of Jesus began as a narrative…and a church was formed as a result of a narrative!
My question is how do I as a pastor convert this concept into practice? How do we as a congregation make narrative a priority in leadership and thus participate in the process of transformation?
The potentials of narrative leadership for local congregations I knew and loved were first stirred in my at an Alban seminar led by Susan Nienaber on congregations that had survived and become stronger after periods of significant conflict. I had never come across the term, “narrative leadership” before, but it struck me in the gut as true!
In my present congregation, we are evolving toward more storytelling in worship by congregants, most notably in mission teams, classes, and lay-led services (which we tend to do instead of inviting someone to “supply the pulpit”).
In addition, we use Appreciative Inquiry and other narrative tools in boards, committees, and ministry teams, as well as in the most-popular first session of our quarterly Inquiry Classes for prospective new members, where we eat first and then go around the table, telling our stories. It’s always powerful, and builds community in a very durable way, one which I could never engineer or script!
I’m excited that Alban is pursuing narrative leadership and the power of story! Thanks for a great Alban Weekly!
The telling of one’s story is both and eastern and western concept. Australia’s aborigines believe telling one’s “story” is the meaning in life. Their “story” as a people is one of suffering and pain.
What if a church’s “story” or person’s “story” is only one of tragedy?
Fantastic approach! We live in an age that is increasingly dependent on story telling to communicate via visual and auditory media. Narrative has been a powerful part of my own life and I see it working in the life of congregations I serve.
Since I have a sabbatical coming up, when will there be a training program for this approach to ministry? Thanks for being in touch and visionary. Blessings. Patrick
Thank you for this thoughtful article. It helped me to put some language around what I’m doing in my blog and in my community.
Very thoughtful and insightful commentary on the possibilities of integrating the personal and communal stories. I have found over the past 40 years in my work with sacred storytelling that the key is the individual in a community who fires up the whole community with his or her authentic storytelling. Their stories tend to draw on three sources: personal life stories, sacred stories of their religious tradition, and cultural/sub-cultural stories from their engagement in the world around themselves. The key integrating these three wellsprings is finding a way to contextualize them in a single narrative in a specific time and place with an organic community. This is hard work, but deeply satisfying, effective, and yes — even fun.
For the past several years we have been using the Jewish calendar as a opportunity for congregants to tell stories. The month before our New Year (Elul) is a month of spiritual preparation; to call people’s attention to this we invited congregants to tell a very short story of a time the HIgh Holy Days were particularly meaningful to them. Then each day of the month of Elul we sent one of the stories by e-mail to the congregation. While some of the stories were moving and some less moving, the experience was transformative because when people in our large congregation came together for the HIgh HOly Days, even if they didn’t know the particular congregants sitting next to them they knew that everyone had a story–including themselves! We did the same thing for the period between PAssover and Shavuot–49 days..another period of counting and spiritual preparation..by inviting stories about a moment when Jewish learning was particularly meaningful. The next Elul the question was: tell a story about a moment when community really mattered in your life. While many of the stories come from the same people, over time others have joined the conversation. This kind of sharing, along with the congregationally based community organizing we are doing which also begins with the sharing of one on one stories, has begun to create a cultural change within the congregation.
Can you talk more about community individualism? A very enlightening article for me, one I agree has potential for “getting the message out”. However, are we creating, again, an entertainment style worship to please the people? Honoring God through story can be powerful and direct for the listener, so I support your efforts and hope to see some examples of this in area churches.