The Ministry Collaborative program staff (Jennifer Watley Maxell, Ryan Bonfiglio, Mark Ramsey, Adam Borneman, and Adam Mixon) talk about remaining curious, the recurring nature of call, and the false dichotomy of "stay or go"....
What is the goal of vocational discernment? For many, it’s arriving at a clearer sense of what job they should pursue. Should I be a pastor, lawyer, accountant, teacher, electrician, coach, or counselor? Should I go for a solo pastor position at a small church or...
Writing in this space in 2018, we took a remarkably calm and measured tone: A congregation of any size has within it those who do not agree with one another socially, politically, theologically. What does belonging to one another in a church mean when the headlines...
Program Curator Jennifer Watley Maxell talks with the Rev. Dr. Nicole Massie Martin (Soulfire Ministries, American Bible Society) about the commodification of the pastor, the added scrutiny of online ministry, and what we can learn from the global church....
A multitude of wise counselors. There are so many fascinating trends in our culture that have been accelerated by the pandemic. The one that most concerns me is the growing epidemic of isolation and loneliness. Pew, Gallup, Barna, Cigna, Harvard, and everyone else who has been...
This week, a story from The New York Times reports: The United States is enduring its most severe increase in traffic deaths since the 1940s. By 2019, the annual death rate from crashes was near its lowest level since cars became a mass item in the...
Executive Director Mark Ramsey speaks with the Rev. Paul Roberts, Sr. (Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary) about the seminary's transformation from an institution that was slowly withering to one that is nimble and flourishing....
Over the next several weeks, I and my colleagues will be thinking through the Complexity of Navigating Vocational Discernment during these strange and wonderful times. If you’re like me and have a poor sense of direction, it’s very easy to get lost. But finding one’s...
Another week, another article about the dramatic shifts in work-life balance. Ginia Bellafante’s article in the New York Times carries the subtitle, “Even huge bonuses can’t offset plunging morale at investment banks and the rush to escape a ‘toxic’ work culture.” Many of the points in...