Resources for “Expeditions into What Is Possible”
In “Expeditions into What Is Possible,” (from the October 5 issue of Alban Weekly), Larry Peers compares the biblical story of Moses with stories of congregational leaders. Moses preferred doing what was familiar until he recognized that God was calling him to lead change by “entering into a new way of being.” As Peers notes, “only when we take the plunge of leading do we discover new capacities of self and of faith that were otherwise dormant or underutilized.”
Peers notes that narrative leadership entails not only telling a compelling story, but also embodying one. “In embodying a story, we become that which we tell; we give a glimpse of what is possible.” But such embodiment often requires deep change, a “re-authoring” of our leadership.
What resources and tools might support congregational leaders in the tasks of deep change, of “re-authoring,” and of embodying life-giving stories?
Some excellent resources are listed at the end of the article. You might also consider the resources in the “Narrative Leadership” section of the Congregational Resource Guide. I would particularly call your attention to “The Problem Trap: Escaping Our Limiting Stories,” an article also by Larry Peers.
Another valuable resource is Robert Quinn’s Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within.
What resources have you discovered? And what are your experiences of those who have embodied compelling stories? We welcome these and other thoughts on this topic.
albanroundtable 
Good article – and the example you cite of a pastor micromanaging lay leaders and then stepping in to rescue those who fail to live up to their commitments is all too common. In my workshops and coaching sessions with pastors, I stress that allowing people and projects to fail is sometimes the healthiest course of action, and that while it may seem as if doing the work that someone else said they would do but did not is necessary and will be appreciated, in reality it is usually harmful, both to the pastor who is already overworked and doesn’t need to add one more thing to his or her list of responsibilities, and to the person who is then let off the hook and never held accountable for not following through.
The need to be the hero – the one that everyone can count on to always be there, and never complain about the unrealistic expectations or the cost to his or her own health and family life – is a powerful and often unconscious motivation for many pastors that needs to be acknowledged.
Wonderful article. Great reminder. Thank you.