Ministry Collaborative program staff (Jennifer Watley Maxell, Beth Daniel, and Amy Valdez Barker) round out their discussion of Elise Loehnen's book On Our Best Behavior as they talk about the double-standards of confidence, the importance of reconnecting with the Biblical models of confident women of...
Ministry Collaborative program staff (Amy Valdez Barker, Jennifer Watley Maxell, and Beth Daniel) continue their discussion of Elise Loehnen's book On Our Best Behavior as they talk about the difference between envy and desire; Jesus' unapologetic ministry; and how the myth of scarcity has particular...
Ministry Collaborative program staff (Beth Daniel, Amy Valdez Barker, and Jennifer Watley Maxell) discuss Elise Loehnen's book On Our Best Behavior as they talk about the pressures on women - especially Christian women - to be "good"; what it means to live into our God-given...
Blog Series: "Lost In Translation" Using Paul’s engagement with the Athenians in Acts 17 as a backdrop, we are reflecting on the many gaps, disconnections, and misalignments we see across the landscape of ministry, along with some hopeful and constructive suggestions for how to respond faithfully. For...
Ministry Collaborative program staff Adam Mixon, Beth Daniel, and Mark Ramsey talk about how hard ministry can be, the importance of putting call at the heart of this work, and the gratitude that visits us in the midst of it all....
Program Director Adam Borneman and Facilitator Curator Beth Daniel speak about the seeming urgency of church programming, the growing gap between the interest in institutional and spiritual investment, and how congregational leaders also need to hear the word they proclaim. You can read more from the...
Ministry Collaborative program staff (Jennifer Watley Maxell, Amy Valdez Barker, Adam Mixon, Beth Daniel, Adam Borneman, and Mark Ramsey) talk about the pressure on pastors to react, what it means to trust God fully, and the importance of tethering our stories to the hope of...
Ministry Collaborative program staff (Mark Ramsey, Jennifer Watley Maxell, Amy Valdez Barker, Beth Daniel, Adam Mixon, and Adam Borneman) talk about what drew them to this work, what they are seeing in ministry, and what it means to rediscover our love for Christ's missional purpose...
For those of us in vocational ministry, the summer holds the promise of slower days, lighter schedules, a time to catch up on some “to dos”, maybe even a little vacation time… But around this time of year, that promise quickly gives way to looking...
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I was the Facilitator for the first New York City cohort, and at the time, I was working in theological education on Christian leadership formation, so it seemed like a natural fit. What I discovered, though, was something quite different from my “day job.” While the content and topics of the curriculum was a crucial part of our gatherings, it was the community of mutual care and support that made the content relevant, not the other way around. And second, having three years of strong bonding created an extraordinarily resilient community that, in turn, was able to build up resilience in our leaders. I think every member of my cohort went through significant seasons of both joy and heartache, professionally and vocationally, during our time. And the cohort, in turn, lived out the exhortation of Romans 12:15, “rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep,” with a depth and integrity that I have rarely experienced, and often doing both in the same gathering. It was a privilege and a blessing to me and my own faith and ministry to be their facilitator, and I am eternally grateful to the Ministry Collaborative for calling me to that work!”
“It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was unique to my particular situation. It was needed, appreciated and healing. It was affirming. Most valuable was the unspoken understanding of what we all were facing in our ministry context. There was a sense that we could finish each other’s sentences. Solidarity and empathy.”
Graduation Date:
May 23, 2021
“It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was unique to my particular situation. It was needed, appreciated and healing. It was affirming. Most valuable was the unspoken understanding of what we all were facing in our ministry context. There was a sense that we could finish each other’s sentences. Solidarity and empathy.”
Graduation Date:
May 23, 2021
“I truly looked forward to this every week. The discussion topics, activities, and small group conversations were all very rich and meaningful. This experience gave me space to reflect on what’s happening right now in my congregation and community. It helped me to think about what might be next in my own ministry. It offered some very concrete ways I might work on equipping leaders in my congregation. I really enjoyed meeting colleagues from different places, denominations, and contexts–and learning from their experiences and reflections. I also appreciated hearing further conversation and reinforcement in the podcasts.”
Graduation Date:
July 14, 2021
“The experience was, in one word, enriching. It was timely as well. I was at a critical point in my own ministry and this literally breathed life back into me. The time went by so fast that I didn’t even realize two months had passed. To be able to share that type of camaraderie with other preachers, and realize that my struggles are not isolated, was liberating.”
Graduation Date:
March 18, 2021
“It was great to find confirmation and affirmation of my ministry through the voices of other pastors. I particularly enjoyed the focused time on talking about each of us as individuals and pastors, and not so much on what our churches look like.”
Graduation Date:
January 31st, 2020