[SPEAK] S is for Story
I was serving as a greeter at my church one Sunday. If you’ve ever done this, you know you’re probably going to say, “How are you?” dozens or hundreds of times as you welcome people. And you’ll often hear some version of “Good, how are you?” in response. This week, however, I found myself tuned into a common set of replies. “I’m hanging in there.” “I’m surviving.” A handful of people responded in this way, and I realized they were probably being honest. But was that the whole story? Dr. Leonard Sweet coined the term “narraphor” in his book Tablet to Table. It’s a combination of the words narrative…
What Story Will They Tell?
Original article published in Outcomes Magazine by the Christian Leadership Alliance. “Our board would like you to come fix our Millennials.” The administrator of a small nonprofit was on the phone explaining that her organization established a “Junior Board of Millennials” as part of their succession plan. The Board of Directors, composed of Baby Boomers and Traditionalists, wanted these Millennials – at the time a group of 20-somethings – “fixed” so they would embrace the organization’s mission and operational strategy Board’s way. The catch: Board members didn’t want to invest their own time or resources in the fix. You can guess what happened. Every invested Millennial volunteer left that organization –…
