Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; God’s greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall extol your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. They will recount the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works I will meditate. They will proclaim the...
A quick perusal of church newsletters and bulletins over the holidays left us wondering why so many announcements look like this menu board. If you arrive hungry or thirsty, good luck finding your way quickly to the items that meet your need. (By the way, “pancake...
We are not suggesting that we bring “Joy to the World” back for one more rousing encore after the weeks just past. But we are thinking about the absolute joy of being Christ’s Church in this moment. It isn’t easy to talk about joy, as the...
The ten most popular Christmas carols include Silent Night, Away in the Manger, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, The First Noel, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear … but alas, Once in Royal David’s City only clocks in at #14. Here are a couple of...
There is a story told about the great country music guitarist, Chet Atkins (1924-2001). One day, Atkins was in a recording session with several inexperienced musicians who struggled to keep up with his genius and creativity. Exhausted and exasperated, one of them finally blurted out,...
The young man had done everything right. He kept the commandments, lived honorably, and when he encountered Jesus, he asked the best possible question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Yet when Jesus answered—"Sell what you have, give to the poor, and follow...
In her remarkable poem Obligations 2, Oglala Lakota poet Layli Long Soldier invites us to travel down a path of our choosing. It’s notable how each line of the poem draws us down the page, from reaction through action, into the rawness of grief, then finally...
That was the title of a recent column by Bret Stephens. He was talking about the political sphere and how protectionism, America First agendas, and antisemitism, among others, stalk like “moral and intellectual zombies” through our debates about government. But it also seems like an...
Forty years ago, one of us (we’ll leave it to you to identify her) taught juggling in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. From that experience comes the following counterintuitive lesson: juggling isn't a catching skill, it's a throwing skill. When beginners pick up juggling balls, they...
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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