The Ministry Collaborative Podcast: Highlights from Our First Year
Church Boards have a significant challenge—actually a series of significant challenges—when it comes to inviting volunteers to help with all aspects of a congregation’s ministry. Keep in mind that this should never be a “let’s fill this hole in our org chart” kind of endeavor. It...
One of the summer’s notable news events was the death of American author and Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. Reflecting on Morrison’s legacy for the New York Times, American poet and recent U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K Smith observed: It’s hard, waking up so often to news...
Note: Throughout the summer we are revisiting posts of the past year, grouped around common themes. We will return with new posts starting next week. You can arrange a meeting room in just the right way. Everyone can come to the church board meeting having read everything...
Note: Throughout the summer we are revisiting posts of the past year, grouped around common themes. We will return with new entries right after Labor Day. In less than 100 days we will be back in the end-of-year rush. For church boards, that means pressured discussions...
Note: Throughout the summer we are revisiting posts of the past year, grouped around common themes. We will return with new entries right after Labor Day. There is so much in congregational life that pulls us – pastors, staff, and church boards – to look down...
Disruption has gotten a bad rap. It’s almost like “the name that shall not be spoken.” We spend a great deal of time and energy trying to avoid disruption and reinforce status quo. This is remarkable, because disruption is our friend. Disruption is the friend...
Note: Throughout the summer we are revisiting posts of the past year, grouped around common themes. We will return with new entries right after Labor Day. Can you hear it? Can you feel the rumble of your church’s program train pulling out of the station and...
Note: Throughout the summer we are revisiting posts of the past year, grouped around common themes. We will return with new entries right after Labor Day. How many more Sundays where pastors lead prayers in the face of unspeakable tragedy? How many more church gatherings where heart-wrenching...
Note: Throughout the summer we are revisiting posts of the past year, grouped around common themes. We will return with new entries right after Labor Day. There has never been a single church board meeting that was convened in a sound-proof booth. We may think we...
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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