An Invitation to Thrive

Photo by: Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

We are called to be proactive and thrive. As people of faith, thriving involves growing and adapting to become our most authentic selves in order to engage in the world for God’s purposes.

Reimagining Leadership

We need to move towards something new. People of faith must endeavor to align their unique giftedness with the needs of the world in order to creatively and faithfully address the structures and systems that no longer work today. Many organizations—from business to educational to religious to civic—are not functioning like they used to and, in some cases, are no longer serving the ends to which they were originally established. Opportunities exist for us to reimagine and lead in new ways to move our people, communities, and world toward God’s intentions.

All People Can Thrive

Human thriving involves growing as a wholly integrated person, and thriving has ends beyond the self. Our vision of thriving is both aspirational – offering the concepts of purpose and transcendence – and practical – offering a path directing how we get there.

At the Thrive Center, our vision of human thriving is for all persons, no matter their race, gender, abilities, or disabilities. Thriving is not a one-size-fits-all model, but deeply embraces individual and cultural distinctions and values. Our approach is unique; our work is based on psychological science, Christian theology, and philosophical wisdom traditions, and devoted to the formation of engaged citizens. We consider how the psychological science of attachment theory, mindfulness, aesthetics, virtue, purpose, spiritual health, and culture inform the future of faith traditions and spiritual practices.

We offer resources for leaders, both professional and lay, to experience their own sense of becoming fully alive while supporting others by informing, inspiring, and equipping. Whatever community you serve, we believe that all people can thrive, and we are committed to articulating a broader vision of human thriving.

Change as an Opportunity to Thrive

In the Christian tradition, we believe that the gospel is an invitation to thrive—to find our purpose in God’s ongoing story of redemption and flourishing. Thriving involves a process of becoming ourselves fully alive in Christ for the world. We believe that God’s Spirit is working towards the fulfillment of all creation. Our resources will offer support and guidance towards:

1. Becoming more attuned and aware to who God is calling each one of us to uniquely become,
2. Developing capacities that support deep intimate and accountable relationships with others,
3. Becoming aligned to the love and desires of God so that we may become more like Christ, and
4. Growing in clarity of our purpose as an active role in God’s ongoing work in this world.

We view this current era of change and transition as an opportunity. At this time, God’s Spirit is working in radical ways to reorder and innovate—not necessarily on our terms, but in terms of God’s desires and vision. We hope the Thrive Center’s resources will enable you and your community to grow and discover God’s purposes for you.