by: Elizabeth Lynn and Mark Ramsey I April 30, 2020 Recently we invited you, our readers, to tell us what issues you would like us to address in the area of church board leadership. Among the responses we received, one theme predominated: the challenge of thinking together deeply about how...
Some things that seemed rock solid before the global crisis are suddenly not so reliable anymore, a reality humorously captured in this three-minute video from Julie Nolke. Think regular haircuts. In-person doctor visits. Annual conferences. The right to accompany your loved ones into surgery. Other things,...
We will return next week with a new post on Digging a Deeper Well. Now that every congregation has done the hard work to celebrate Holy Week in this challenging time, the question for many is becoming: now what? What questions do you have about leading...
Last Friday afternoon – Good Friday – I talked with three pastor colleagues, all of whom had “finished” their work for the weekend. They had concluded recordings of their Good Friday and Easter services. Now, they were contemplating what was usually the most stressful weekend...
We hope that every pastor – and every church board member – who has been working so diligently to lead through these challenging times will be able to find rest and restoration in this week where, biblically speaking, God performs the work of resurrection! There will...
So much bold, imaginative, and tiring work has gone into the last few weeks, for pastors and church boards alike. It’s been a time full of “how on earth do we …?” questions. Those questions will keep coming, but the urgency of answering them all...
In faith communities all over – large and small, rural and urban – church leaders are wrestling with the challenges of Easter Day. Many are trying to figure out how to do it online, in a way that captures the “specialness” that has usually accompanied...
Think back to where you were a month ago, and where you thought you were going to be this week and what you thought you were going to be doing. Now think about where you are and what you have been doing instead. The pace of...
On one of the Sunday morning news shows this week, Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health was talking about the COVID-19 crisis. “You know, we think we are over-reacting in our plans to deal with things like this,” he noted, “only to find...
”
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