Fifty-one members of the College of Pastoral Leaders Cohorts are gathering on the Austin Seminary campus this week for the 2012 Meeting of CPL. This year the conference is entitled "The Power and Practice of Personal Storytelling" with lecturer Mark Yaconelli.
This conference will give participants the opportunity to learn more about engaging their own life experiences and developing their storytelling abilities. They will also learn practical ways to encourage others to "give testimony" to the work of the Spirit in their lives.
Mark Yaconelli is an author, speaker and retreat leader, as well as the Co-Director for the Center for Engaged Compassion at Claremont School of Theology and the founder of The Hearth: Real Stories by Regular Folks, a community storytelling project in Southern Oregon.
In addition to attending Mark's lectures, participants will engage in contemplative exercises, theological reflection, and narrative exercises. They will focus on the inclusion of storytelling within various forms of ministry (healing, spiritual formation, community building, outreach, social justice, and others).
