OVERVIEW
God has created us as whole, creative and resourceful beings. We will begin to ponder the stories that have become obstacles preventing us from living into that fullness. We will discover our top saboteurs and situations when we have been hijacked. By becoming aware of these narratives and questioning their accuracy, we can change how we feel and react to different situations. You will be asked to prayerfully name your first faithful step in letting go of those unhelpful stories.

Pay attention to your Sage
Your sage lives in an entirely different region of your brain, the middle prefrontal cortex, "empathy circuitry", and parts of the right brain. It generates positive emotions while handling life's challenges. These include:

• Empathy
• Compassion
• Gratitude
• Curiosity
• Joy of creativity, and
• Calm, clear-headed laser-focused action.
  

This region is wired for creativity and big-picture awareness of what is important and the best course of action. Activating this region results in release of endorphins that counter the negative impacts of stress-induced cortisol.

A sage perspective is a deliberate and intentional mental
pivot from being consumed, overwhelmed, and potentially
destroyed by adversity to genuinely embracing the
potential for joy, growth, connection, learning and purpose.

Cultivating a "sage" perspective in the brain's middle prefrontal cortex, which fosters positive emotions and resilience against stress. Consider ways you can shift from being overwhelmed by adversity to embracing joy, growth, and purpose. Recognize and challenge negative thoughts (saboteurs). Label emotions use sage powers like empathy, compassion, innovation, and decisive action. Reflect on personal stories that may dim their light and planning supportive actions.

Enter into a sage practice using sage powers:

• Empathize - show compassion and understanding
• Explore - assess the situation with an open mind
• Innovate - create new solution to problems
• Navigate -choose a path that aligns with your values
• Activate - move forward with decisive action

Saboteurs are negative emotions generated by overused strengths. The ten saboteurs listed in the assessment include:

• Judge
• Avoider
• Controller
• Hyper-achiever
• Hyper-rational
• Hyper-vigilant
• Pleaser
• Restless
• Stickler
• Victim

Notice and Intercept your saboteurs by catching your inner critic, and labeling your thoughts and emotions. Reflect on your own saboteurs and the stories they tell you. Identify scriptures or personal experiences where saboteurs were overcome. Develop a plan to cultivate the "sage" perspective to address your saboteurs. Write in your booklet about addressing your inner critic. Identify who can support you with addressing their saboteurs. Decide when you’ll begin working on your saboteurs. List what your takeaways from the session along with 2-3 applications. Note the stories you tell yourself that keeps your light from shining brightly.

QUESTIONS

• What emotions are you bringing into this space?
• What stories do these Saboteurs tell you?
• When do Saboteurs show up in your day or life?
• How can you identify what the saboteur is saying to you?
• How do Saboteurs keep you from being your best version of yourself?
• Which saboteurs hijack you most?
• What scripture stories might have saboteurs at work in them?
• When have saboteurs been quieted in your ministry, leading to better results?

LINK

• Positive Intelligence Assessment

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• Presentation slides

OVERVIEW
By default, most folks tend to think of the “Evangelism Committee” as being synonymous with the “go-get-new-members committee.” In this session, we’ll talk about the heart of evangelism as God’s activity in the world and in our lives, and simple practices that can help you re-ignite a spirit of true evangelism in your congregation. The session will help leaders reframe evangelism as a natural expression of faith and love, rather than a task to be feared or avoided.

Miguel shared a story about Norma Fauci and himself in Mexico City, highlighting how Norma's honesty about being a pastor led to a meaningful conversation with a man who shared his struggles after a divorce.

Matt recounted a conversation with a young man at a bar, who opened up about his struggles with organized religion and his family's brokenness. Matt stressed the importance of listening to build relationships and not just to fix issues. Additional themes that surfaced include:

• The church needs to be a bridge for people who may not touch religion with a ten-foot pole.
• We and our members need to feel more comfortable sharing our faith stories and engaging in evangelism.
• Identify and release the natural evangelists in your congregation. Support them in their efforts.
• The church should not shy away from addressing mental health issues and should offer companionship and support without judgment.
• The social divides in the country, emphasizing the need for the church to be a catalyst for love and unity.
• Evangelism is not proselytizing. The goal is to share the Good News of Jesus, not to convert others. Evangelism is part of discipleship and should not be seen as a task to add to one's "body count" or to prove one's faith.
• Incorporate storytelling and God-sighting exercises in your congregations.
• Listening is an essential element of evangelism.
• Help people become comfortable talking about God's activity and sharing their faith stories.
• Consider forming teams for outreach at sporting events and community gatherings.
• Plan de-escalation training for church members involved in public witnessing.
• Explore using the StoryCorps app for intergenerational interviews within congregations.

QUESTIONS

• Who are the evangelists in your congregation?
• When and where do you invite others to share their stories?

LINKS

• Greater Milwaukee Synod’s Renewal resources + videos
• Quotes for Mission & Guiding Principles for Mission
• StoryCorps (NPR)

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• Presentation Resources

OVERVIEW
Our bodies hold a wisdom and power we rarely tap into. Learn how to lean into the stories our bodies are trying to share with us. Leave with helpful tools to calibrate and regulate stress and anxiety while leading from a grounded place of sureness and authenticity.  A few experiments to consider include:

• Paying attention to what your body is telling you.
• Decluttering your calendar involves reviewing  your tasks , meetings , events , and other commitments that make us feel over-scheduled .
• Giving yourself space in worship to calibrate and breathe.
• Trying body work like massages, facials, and pedicures to care for your body.
• Avoid assessing your worth based on what your body produces.
• Practicing being present in the moment.
•  Scheduling a body work appointment (e.g. massage, facial, pedicure) in the next 2 weeks.
• Incorporating moments of pause and embodied practices into worship services.

QUESTIONS

• How much do you feel in your body right now?
• What do you hear when you think of the word embodiment?
• Do you love your body?
• What gets in the way of listening to your body?
• How are you doing?
• What is your fear if you press pause?
• If your body could tell you one thing right now, what would it be?
• Do you feel safe? Do you feel security?

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• Presentation Slides

OVERVIEW
Pastor Jodi has helped lead an ELCA new start congregation that made powerful use of storytelling to build community. In this session, we will talk about some concrete ways that storytelling can be woven into congregational life to re- invigorate mission, connect us with each other and God (and even those who don’t go to our church!) in life-giving ways

• Make storytelling something that occurs in all facets of life, and in all ministry settings.
• Use scripts and questions to spark storytelling conversations.
• Explore the work of Mark Yaconelli and consider attending one of his storytelling workshops or trainings.
• Incorporate personal storytelling into church meetings, committees, or worship services.
• Consider using an "Affirmation of Baptism" liturgy as a way for people to share their faith stories.
• Attendees can email Jody with follow-up questions about storytelling techniques.
• Church leaders are advised to try implementing storytelling techniques in their communities.

QUESTIONS

• Have you ever had to say no to someone who wanted to share a story that would hijack the event?
• How many stories make for a good event?
• How did you get the storytellers?
• Did you tie that one together with part of the passion story? Or was it only storytelling from people's personal experiences?
• How do you transfer your stories to online experiences and social media?
• Is there a challenge theologically or in practice about using affirmation of baptism more for testimonies?

LINKS

• Mark Yaconelli (storytelling training)
• Story 2025 (storytelling conference)

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• Presentation Handouts

OVERVIEW
Stories make us who we are: the stories we tell about ourselves, our families, our place in the world. Join Andrea Roske-Metcalfe, an ELCA pastor and Moth GrandSlam champion, to think about storytelling as a craft that we can practice (tips & tricks provided!), and about the power of this craft in our homes, our families, and our worshipping communities. Andrea invited participants to:

• List where stories are already being shared in your congregational settings.
• Consider that just as people need to read good writing to become better writers, so do storytellers need to observe and learn from those who share engaging stories.

QUESTIONS

• How to reshape destructive gossip into healthier storytelling platforms?
• How to encourage storytelling from home to crossover into ministry and vice versa?
• Are there intersections between storytelling and biblical understanding or theological teaching?
• How to handle storytelling in public spheres like worship or livestreams?
• Where is storytelling already happening organically in your community of faith?
• Where is storytelling happening in families outside of the community of faith?

LINKS

• The Moth

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• Questions for Church Council

OVERVIEW
Learn how to ground your congregation’s generosity in stories of abundance and transformation. Learn when, where and how to tell stories that engage members and invite them into a journey of generosity using in person and online settings.

Key concepts and ideas from Mitzie's presentation include:

• Decluttering your calendar involves reviewing  your tasks, meetings, events, and other commitments that make us feel over-scheduled.
• Recognizing that withdrawal language in church communications can negatively impact engagement and giving.
• Many churches use 80% withdrawal language in their communications, which is counterproductive.
• Sharing personal stories without proper editing can lead to distracting content.
• Burying stories in newsletters or emails can result in low engagement rates.
• Using manipulative tactics or forced storytelling can damage trust and relationships.
• Security concerns may arise when sharing stories on social media for certain professions.
• Withdrawal language in church communications can negatively impact engagement and giving.
• Many churches use 80% withdrawal language in their communications, which is counterproductive.
• Sharing personal stories without proper editing can lead to distracting content.
• Burying stories in newsletters or emails can result in low engagement rates.
• Using manipulative tactics or forced storytelling can damage trust and relationships.
• Security concerns may arise when sharing stories on social media for certain professions.
• One story should be shared each month, requiring only 12 stories per year.
• Choose one consistent day each month for sharing stories.
• Share stories on the same day via email, social media, and website.
•  Identify a storytelling team in the congregation.
• Conduct interviews with congregation members to gather their personal stories.
• Write the stories using the "donor arc" model and incorporate them into the church's communication channels (email, website, social media).
• Ensure the church's overall communication strategy is 80% "deposit language" that inspires and creates a "join me" culture.
• Using a specific story structure (before change, agent of change, after change) for impactful storytelling.
• Sharing stories through email, social media, and websites to increase engagement and giving.
• Avoiding "potluck photos" and using portrait-mode photos for better visual storytelling.
• Choosing story titles carefully to increase email open rates and engagement.

QUESTIONS

• Ask, "Can you say more about that?" to encourage interviewees to elaborate on their stories.
• Ask, "Can you say that differently?" which helps interviewees summarize their story coherently.
• Ask, "Did you want to be there?" which is useful for understanding people's initial motivations for attending church.
• Ask, "How are things different for you now?" that helps identify the "after the change" part of stories.
• Ask, "What were you looking for?" which helps identify the "before the change" part of stories.

DOWNLOAD

• Presentation Slides