Reimagining Leadership Amid Disruption

The Bible is full of stories about disruptions, and God is always on the ground inviting believers into practices that make discernment possible. Those biblical narratives tell us that the traditions we’ve inherited can either blind us or enlighten us. When leaders and their communities experience disruption, disorientation, and trauma, we tend toward tightening management and conformity, or toward desperate innovations and strategies. But the Bible stories emphasize a more grounded and holy awareness, a confidence that God is initiating, and an expectation that God invites us into uncomfortable yet promising practices that help us learn how we can participate in what God is doing. This webinar, based on Leadership, God’s Agency, and Disruptions (by Mark Lau Branson and Alan Roxburgh), will explore how the challenges we face can reshape our own leadership.

A part of our series Intersection: Where Theology and Practice Meet, this webinar took place on Tuesday, January 25, 2022.

We offer Intersection at no charge to you. If you find it impactful and would like to help us continue offering webinars like this, as well as other resources for churches and Christian leaders, we appreciate donations of any size. Thank you!

Recordings and resources

Special Guest: Mark Lau Branson

For over 20 years, Mark Lau Branson has taught master’s and doctoral students in the areas of congregational leadership, community engagement, urban studies, and education. Currently he teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary in California. He was ordained at San Francisco Christian Center, an African American Pentecostal church, and has served on the pastoral teams in United Methodist and Presbyterian (PCUSA) churches. Mark has worked with several Christian agencies active in education, community development, university ministry, and community organizing, and he continues to consult with churches, judicatories, and community organizations. He holds graduate degrees from Claremont School of Theology and the University of San Francisco. He has authored and edited several books, including Leadership, God’s Agency, and Disruptions: Confronting Modernity’s Wager (with Alan Roxburgh); Churches, Cultures & Leadership: A Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities (with Juan Martínez); and Memories, Hopes, and Conversations: Appreciative Inquiry, Missional Engagement, and Congregational Change. Mark and his wife Nina Lau-Branson are active at La Fuente Ministries, a bilingual Nazarene Church in Pasadena/Altadena, California.

Questions?

Contact Renee Paul with any questions about this webinar.