This Washington Post article, describes a program called New Story Leadership. The program targets emerging Israeli and Palestinian leaders looking for experience and inspiration. NSL, an offshoot of the group that united Catholics & Protestants during the Northern Ireland conflict, is decidedly non-partisan. Their only leaning is towards the side of the young people within the Israel-Palestine region.
NSL brings together young Israeli and Palestinian interns in Washington D.C. Israeli interns work for a Palestinian advocacy group. Palestinians work for an Israeli advocacy group. The interns do research, meet with foreign policy experts and, perhaps most importantly, they share living space. The idea behind the title of “New Story Leadership” and the intern-exchange is fourfold: 1) stories matter, 2) new stories come from new voices, 3) a safe space for new stories must be created, and 4) new stories require time to take shape and work their influence.
Instead of looking to current Israeli and Palestinian leaders to change the narrative of conflict in the Middle East, NSL seeks to empower new leaders by allowing them to hear and advocate for the stories of the “other side.”
Noam Rabinovich, an Israeli intern working for a Palestinian advocacy group in D.C. with NSL, recounts asking herself, “Is this what I really think, or is this what I was taught to think?” A wise leader in training, Rabinovich acknowledges that claiming passivism does not peace make. A new story must be created by people who have taken the time to learn from and understand one another.
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ReplyDeleteFascinating article Lindsay. As we think about our own contexts of ministry, I can’t help but wonder why so many churches stray away from what I’ll call the concept of “transformational story.” Most churches understand (or at least should) that Jesus’ story is the great meta-narrative (point 1 of NSL), but often fail at the other three points. But the question is why?
ReplyDeleteIs it because we have become preoccupied in our systems (“Going through the motions church”)? Are we too engrained in our traditions to allow new fresh voices, especially those of the next generation, to take their place? Or are we just too busy to care about people’s stories? Even worse, is it just shear negligence and sinful behavior that has stopped us from being the safest venue for people to share their story—and enter into the great meta-narrative of God? Obviously, there are more questions then answers. Nevertheless, the Church must seek to embrace, proclaim, and embody the meta-narrative of which we are stewards. For it is what Jesus did in HisStory that should be at the center of vision/purpose for any ministry. But it cannot stop there, it must pervade into the stories of all who have an ear to hear it.