The Ministry Collaborative Podcast: Highlights from Our First Year
Word Matters Part 5: And the Word Became Flesh As I mentioned in my first article on the general theme of Word Matters, I worked on this series on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. Later that evening, we heard again the magisterial words from the opening chapter...
Pastoral leaders are in the communication business. Whether preaching or listening, communication is at the heart of pastoral ministry because it had to do with people – knowing them, caring for and about them, organizing them, influencing them, blessing them. And that requires words. Most...
Words matter in preaching. But words matter even more when you’re not the one speaking them. Listening is the other side of the communication and it is essential to pastoral leadership. The late Peter Drucker, whose work in leadership and management continues to ring relevant,...
TheoEd Talks brings together leading thinkers in the church and the academy to give the talk of their lives in 20 minutes or less. By packaging powerful ideas in bite sized talks, this series helps Christians from across denominations explore the power of faith to...
Perhaps nowhere is the use of words more publicly on display nor more consequential that in the preaching moment. Preaching is really a remarkable event and almost unparalleled in human society. Think about it. Week after week preachers open an ancient text and, through it,...
Word Matters Part 1: Words Matter “Toxic” was the Oxford English Dictionary’s “Word of the Year” for 2018. Toxic. Imbued with poison. Given the climate of our national discourse, this is no surprise. Meanwhile, on the other hand, The Christian Science Monitor reported recently that words like...
A Message From the Facilitator: "Hi to all you readers as one in Christ. It is especially rewarding to be involved in Macedonian Ministry. We here in Scotland have been energized, warmed and upheld by the generosity of this wonderful organization. Our Cohort is now in year...
In this webinar, Adam and our gifted panelists provide a brief overview of what Macedonian Ministry is currently seeing in the church across the many denominations, traditions, and contexts MM is engaged with. They also consider how various metrics, categories, and priorities are rapidly shifting,...
Not Pictured: Antonio Alexander, Dave Barnhart, Sherrad Hayes "In fall of 2017 the Birmingham 2.0 began to form. Considerable periods of prayer and thought went into the 'asks' that were made to the women and men that would eventually become this new group. We were particularly...
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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