The Ministry Collaborative Podcast: Highlights from Our First Year
Most of us learned a certain way of doing chores: we were told to get through with all the “compulsory things” and then we would be “rewarded “ with something fun or meaningful. First the mundane, then the meaningful. I think we’ve imported this approach into ministry. ...
As we conclude the year, we are appreciative of all the comments, ideas, and suggestions you have offered in response to these posts. We are always eager to hear from you with suggestions of topics to explore. Just let us know here if you have...
Ah, Advent! Well, certainly in church, you will hear congregational leaders saying, with at least a little exasperation, “Ah, December!” What a month! Crowded calendars, last minute financial asks, special programs and everything else. It is unlikely that the First Century gospel writers could have imagined one...
Isn’t it ironic that a season set aside for contemplation has become so crowded? During Advent, the world crowds in on us and our churches. At closer look, though, church itself – with very little help from culture – crowds in too. There’s the sign-up for the Christmas...
At a recent cohort gathering (thank you, Denver) a question arose: “It’s good to dig deeper in church board meetings, but what are the implications for what we do between meetings?” Practically, if monthly board meetings are going to provide enough time for prayer, Bible study,...
As we go about our church board business—building agendas, leading meetings, showing up for worship and programs, recruiting volunteers from a dwindling list, solving budget crises, and on and on—we need to be attuned to a voice crying, Stop! That voice may sound counterintuitive. In the...
In a recent post, Seth Godin retells what he terms a “magical story.” A Gurkha rifleman escaped from a Japanese prison in south Burma and walked six hundred miles alone through the jungles to freedom. The journey took him five months, but he never asked the...
Our mention last week of the recent Pew Forum report about the decline of American Christianity drew a lot of response, suggesting that many church boards and pastors are pondering their congregations in the harsh light of its findings. The Pew report is deeply researched, and...
Recent survey results from the Pew Forum on the decline of Christianity in America have brought forth responses from across the spectrum of faith communities. Reactions have ranged from panic and despair to renewed resolve about the power of the gospel. No matter where your...
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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