[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…
The Power of Story: How a Radio Drama Brought Freedom and Change
Just a few decades ago, the issue of child brides in Ethiopia was rampant. The term “child bride” itself is deceiving; it fails to capture the horror young girls endured. These girls were often abducted on their way to school and forced into marriages that turned them into slaves, stripping them of their childhood and freedom. Shockingly, this still happens today in many parts of the world. As awful as the acts of abduction and sexual slavery were in and of themselves, there were deep challenges that kept the cycle going. Girls, fearing abduction, stopped going to school, which made them even more vulnerable. The lack of education not only…
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 –…
Advent: A Story of Hope
I thought and prayed a long time before deciding to write an Advent series again this Christmas season. You may know my husband David passed from this world to his eternal home on September 21st – just weeks ago. As I write, the grief is still fresh. It’s surreal. I keep thinking he’s going to call asking what’s for dinner…or if we could go to dinner. (We talked a lot about dinner!) At the same time, I’ve been thinking a lot about hope these past several weeks. “And now, dear brothers, I want you to know what happens to a Christian when he dies so that when it happens, you…
This is My Story
Originally posted on April 4, 2018 on teresamoon.org This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Hymn Sings were a regular part of my church experience growing up. This hymn was a staple. The song leaders – Bert Rydquist, Doug and Lois Larsen, and Pastor Notehelfer, good Swedes in the Swedish Covenant church – led the congregation in a way that engaged even the youngest song-sters. We enthusiastically followed our musical directors along with the entire congregation, belting out the lyrics and holding the vowels as we watched for their arms to cue us to breathe and sing the next word. My young…
