We once met a woman, well into her 80’s and confined to a wheelchair, in a nursing home. On the wall opposite her was a print of Andrew’s Wyeth’s painting, “Christina’s World.” Asked how she was doing, the woman pointed at the frame and said...
The Ministry Collaborative program staff (Ryan Bonfiglio, Jennifer Watley Maxell, Mark Ramsey, Adam Borneman, and Adam Mixon) talk about developing the muscles for depth, the danger of familiarity, and why formation needs community....
When I think of the “where” of the formation that has taken place in my life, there are certainly some places and spaces where I can "drop a pin" and say, I was changed here. In reality, I was not changed in that place. The formation...
Change is a word often surrounded by flashing caution signs for church boards. Mention “change” and you just know someone will be upset. (Curiously, we often overlook the upset caused by our failure to consider change.) Change in the congregational context can be like atomic power....
Executive Director Mark Ramsey speaks with the Rev. Dr. William Watley (Saint Philip AME Church) and our own the Rev. Jennifer Watley Maxell (The Breakthrough Fellowship) about how the true sense of calling can fall prey to distractions, how vocation requires discovering what energizes, and...
The end of Luke’s Gospel can teach us a lot about where spiritual formation happens. It’s Easter afternoon. Two individuals, likely a man and a woman, are traveling the road to Emmaus after having been in Jerusalem for Passover. The recently resurrected Jesus appears to them....
Content Curator Adam Mixon speaks with the Rev. Dr. Jim Truesdell (Frontier Fellowship) about holy discontentment, transitioning out of institutional church ministry, and God's abiding presence in the midst of our hardships. ...
Over the next several weeks my colleagues and I will be reflecting on the “Where of Faith Formation.” The challenges of doing our work as pastors and clergy are already numerous. With so many of us displaced from our places of worship over the last...
Chances are, if you find yourself scrolling through cable channels late at night, you will come across a 1950s sitcom filmed in grainy black and white and called The Honeymooners. It starred Jackie Gleason, one of the biggest stars of stage and screen in those...