The Power of Togetherness

Overview

What is the role of power in the new spiritual landscape emerging today? This season, we are exploring the themes we believe are glimpses of what will be critical guideposts for the future church.

This week, host Rev. Lisa Greenwood and co-host Rev. Kathi McShane speak with Vipin Thekk and Rabbi Elan Babchuck. Vipin Thekk, Founder of the Changemaker Communities initiative, is an experienced facilitator, coach, design consultant, public speaker, and serial entrepreneur. Rabbi Elan Babchuck is co-author of Picking Up the Pieces: Leadership After Empire and serves as the Founding Executive Director of Glean Network and Executive Vice President at Clal, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. Listen as Lisa, Kathi, Vipin, and Elan explore how relational power can emerge from trust-based collaboration, slowing down, and togetherness practices while transforming leadership and faith communities.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• Relational Power: Power is found and formed between individuals, manifesting through relationships, trust, and collaboration rather than hierarchical structures.

• Shared Leadership: Emerging spiritual landscapes are moving away from lone leadership towards collaborative and shared leadership models.

• Formation and Practice: Leadership in the future church involves deep personal and spiritual formation, often cultivated through practices like Vipin’s Togetherness Practice.

• Vulnerability and Trust: Effective leadership and power dynamics depend heavily on vulnerability, trust, and authenticity within relationships.

• Cultural Observations: Examples from popular culture, such as Taylor Swift’s fanbase, can provide insights into new forms of collective power and relational dynamics.