God's story, our story : a narrative approach for discovery of congregational identity and purpose

Steven E Slagel

Etd

God's story, our story : a narrative approach for discovery of congregational identity and purpose

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Steven E Slagel. God's Story, Our Story : a Narrative Approach for Discovery of Congregational Identity and Purpose. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/84df6a38-81f5-4f95-aabd-4da3ae99f054.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

S. E. Slagel. God's story, our story : a narrative approach for discovery of congregational identity and purpose. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/84df6a38-81f5-4f95-aabd-4da3ae99f054

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Steven E Slagel. God's Story, Our Story : a Narrative Approach for Discovery of Congregational Identity and Purpose. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/84df6a38-81f5-4f95-aabd-4da3ae99f054.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Steven E Slagel

Rights Statement

In Copyright

License

Creative Commons BY-NC-ND Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 4.0 International

Abstract

Many North American Mennonite churches live in a climate of confusion and anxiety struggling to understand who they are and why they exist. This project explores how a congregation’s self-understanding is shaped by stories they tell and live. The context for this project was my ministry leadership in three Mennonite congregations during pastor transitions. I started the project by researching ecclesiological themes of importance to these congregations: sixteenth-century Anabaptism, missional ecclesiology, and narrative theology. I crafted and implemented a process of engagement utilizing these themes allowing congregations to take steps toward discovering identity, purpose, and a hopeful future. I conducted ethnographic research and facilitated congregational interaction with their stories, ecclesiological themes, and the defining narrative of scripture. This resulted in a narrative summary, written identity, and purpose statement for each congregation. The outcome of this narrative approach for ecclesiological understanding is seen in the clear, hope-filled identity and purpose statements developed by these three Mennonite congregations.

Year