The Ministry Collaborative Podcast: Highlights from Our First Year
“Once people feel nourished and refreshed, they cannot help but be kind; just so, the world aches for the generosity of a well-rested people.” — Wayne Muller “That is because Sabbath represents a radical disengagement from the producer-consumer rat race of the empire. The community welcomes...
The gracious call of Christ is to salvation and discipleship, but it also a call to rest....
Our second MM Quarterly Newsletter features Gray Norsworthy, the Senior Pastor of Johns Creek Presbyterian Church north of Atlanta, Georgia. He was invited to be part of the Atlanta Cohort of Macedonian Ministry around the same time that he was called to serve in this...
From Guest Writer: Rev. Jan Tolbert Associate Pastor First Presbyterian Church, Lagrange, GA I John 4.18: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love." Let me begin by confessing that I have...
“If you don’t rise with people’s praise, you won’t fall with their criticism.” Those words from the pastor of the church in which I grew up came home to me when I became a pastor. Many times I left the church building SOARING because of...
Perhaps nothing is as demoralizing to a pastor as criticism. By criticism, I don’t mean critical feedback offered in good faith. Any pastor with a modicum of ego-strength welcomes that kind of criticism. No, the criticism I mean could better be termed “kvetching.” This is...
From Guest Writer: Rev. Courtney D. Arntzen, Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Missoula, MT. “Mine, mine, mine,” my two year old, Elias, yells as he battles his big brother, Ezra, for a toy. While I navigate the situation between the two, I hear my...
In this 4 minute video, I will share a simple idea that could change the focus of your ministry from your congregation to your local community. ...
A few years back I was a co-pastor at a church that prided itself in having the most uncomfortable pews in Christendom. Their pride was 100% warranted; the pews were barely sit-able. But why be glad in such a thing?...
”
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