I am a big believer in the power of stories to form and transform lives. As leaders, if we are unaware of the power and detail of our own story we may be shocked when a mine hidden in our past explodes when stepped upon by someone else. Although the parallels are not exact for…
I don’t know if you have ever lived on the edge of such bounty and comfort in your life but it is powerful stuff. I grew up in a relatively small place about 12-15 miles from the American border. And almost every year, our family would spend one of the two paid weeks of vacation…
One of the ways Emerging Spirit talked of the shift in the spiritual and generational foundations of our time was through a focus on the words believe, behave and belong. In times past, if one was curious about being a Christian the entry point was often a conversation about beliefs. Many very bright and gifted…
If an apocalyptic meltdown of the national umbrella of the United Church does occur – as some predict – what will be the last things standing? The Pension Fund (I hope); the Standard Salary Schedule; our penchant for meetings? A friend casually remarked that the roots of the system upon which ours is based actually…
One of the books of which I have long been fond is Susan Scott’s Fierce Conversations. Her company, Fierce, has put out a SHORT white paper on the role of good conversations/relationships viewed from the business sector. I think there is lots to learn here for the church. Turning Conversations in a Driving Force for Growth and…