Teaching Our Story: Narrative Leadership and Pastoral Formation (Book)
Larry A. Golemon, Editor.  Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2010.

Teaching Our Story explores narrative practices that can help educators and pastors integrate theological learning with the day-to-day practices of ministry.

The book opens with several principles that will help both teachers and congregational leaders more effectively use narrative approaches in their work. It then examines specific narrative approaches and points of focus. For instance, one author explores the scriptural intersections of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam and how they can be used in preaching. Another recommends an approach to reading scripture that considers all the voices and perspectives in a story—including those from diverse cultures.

Later chapters examine how studying the local narratives of a faith community can help to form more effective pastoral leaders and, at the same time, open congregations to greater creativity in the conception of their futures. One author offers a case study of a course requiring students to enter neighborhood settings, listen to people's stories, and weave them together with biblical narratives.

Yet another chapter focuses on narrative practices that would be particularly useful in transitional situations, and a final chapter urges leaders to cultivate stories of redemption and renewal rather than loss or nostalgia in times of sudden change.

While all of the essays in this volume are written from an educational perspective, their content also relates to the challenges of ministry, so this book would be of interest to pastors and lay leaders as well as religious educators.

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Living Our Story: Narrative Leadership and Congregational Culture (Book)
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