The Ministry Collaborative Podcast: Highlights from Our First Year
Just to take a sampling of news headlines over the last ten days: Recent Rise in Robberies Leave Experts Scrambling for Answers What now? Steelers Scrambling for Answers After 1-2 Start China's Thirst for Oil Sends Beijing Scrambling for Answers Research Has Scientists Scrambling for Answers The End of Roe...
Well, the most direct answer is that, one year ago this month, Hertz ordered 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles for its rental sites around the globe. It seems like a smart move for Hertz. Teslas require less maintenance (no oil changes, no powertrain replacements in an EV)...
In times of stress and uncertainty, the way forward is seldom about more information. Yet it is not surprising that church boards are currently in search of any shred of information to help them make decisions in this stressful and uncertain time. In 2015, researchers from...
So many congregations right now are awash in uncertainty, haunted by loss, and longing for normalcy or a way back. It is imperative that church boards find ways to talk honestly, truthfully, with sensitivity and with tenderness, about where we are. We think that Tracy K....
Have your ambitions for your congregation changed over the past few years? If so, you are not alone. Among the many things that the pandemic has altered is our sense of ambition for ourselves and for our institutions. Signs of the change are everywhere, from last...
You may have noticed: we stay far away from sports metaphors in these pieces. Quotes about winning and training and teamwork have a limited shelf life, as well as being narrow in their appeal. So today we are making up for it by piling four...
Church boards have returned from a summer hiatus only to find that the more things change, the more things are the same. Plans are uncertain. Stewardship committees are uncertain. Pastors’ energy and resilience is uncertain. Everyone’s ability to navigate the divisions of our polarized society...
Digging a Deeper Well will go on hiatus starting next week for what we think is a terrific reason. Your co-authors are going to be married in nine days and then take a couple weeks to travel afterwards. When we met almost five years ago, initially...
It was a casual aside by Seth Godin, during a recent interview with Debbie Millman. Talking about leadership that is resilient and bold, Godin pointed to the actor Gene Kelly in his iconic performance in Singing in the Rain. He noted that Kelly closes the...
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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