The Ministry Collaborative program staff (Ryan Bonfiglio, Jennifer Maxell, Adam Borneman, Adam Mixon, and Mark Ramsey) discuss the importance of de-centering pastors, the increasing professionalization of faith, and the problem with wisdom gate keepers. Links mentioned in the podcast: Ryan Bonfiglio's Christian Century article AIJCast podcast ...
Executive Director Mark Ramsey speaks with the Rev. Pat Bacon (pastor, Calvary Presbyterian, Asheville, NC) on the changes she has seen in her thirty-one years of ministry, how COVID has made us more real, and what she - a Black Presbyterian - would say to...
In a conversation recorded back in December, Executive Director Mark Ramsey spoke with the Rev. Amy Miracle (Pastor of Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus, OH) about vitality, hope, and the pandemic's complicated decision matrix....
These days, whenever churches get mentioned in the company of banks, Congress, journalism, and big business, the news is probably not good. Case in point: Amanda Ripley’s recent piece in Comment Magazine on The Mystery of Trust. For decades, at least four different research organizations have been...
“No one around here trusts the other side at all.” - a U.S. Congressperson, January 2021 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” - Psalm 56:3 Former Secretary of State (and Secretary of Labor and Treasury at different times) George Shultz died this past...
The Ministry Collaborative program staff (Mark Ramsey, Jennifer Maxell, Adam Borneman, Adam Mixon, and Ryan Bonfiglio) discuss the importance of experimentation, failure, and taking up your cross....
Late last spring (mere months into the pandemic, although it already felt like a lifetime in lockdown), Lake Institute on Faith & Giving asked its extensive network of religious and philanthropic leaders to look ahead a year. What did they hope would be happening with...
Among the top three questions we are getting these days from pastors and congregational leaders: How can we plan for our ministry in the next year? Or, do you have strategic planning tools to recommend? In every office I have moved into upon starting a new...
Well, that didn’t take long. For all the talk of unity on January 20th (and the gifts to the new president from Republicans and Democrats alike, and Lady Gaga’s memorable national anthem, and Amanda Gorman’s gorgeous spoken word poem, The Hill We Climb), by January...
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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