Last week, we examined the painful truth of most congregations large and small: no one is standing in line behind you to take your volunteer role when you are ready to lay it down. Going deeper still, a good follow-up question is: why do we...
Several years ago, when our kids were still pretty young and wiggly, we had a particularly bad Sunday in worship. They rattled papers, squirmed, and dropped more than one Matchbox car. We were still fairly new to the community, so we were especially uncomfortable to be...
If there was a time in church life when “Time and Talent Forms” and Sunday morning appeals for new program leaders actually worked, those days are surely over. No one is standing in line behind you to take your church role. Congregations today find themselves with plenty...
Macedonian Ministry welcomes pastors from throughout our program and broadening network to contribute to our weekly articles. This week, our thanks to Rev. Jim Truesdell, for his reflection. After nearly 20 years of pastoral ministry in Presbyterian churches, God issued a disruptive call. Away from the institution...
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...
A childhood friend of mine shared with me this past week, about an incident with her child and one of his friends. Her child told his good friend that he and his family was moving away. Welp, this good friend decided to post, his thoughts...
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...
Disruption comes in many forms. There is the disruption that we plan and manage. And then there is the disruption that comes unbidden and unwelcome but often brings unexpected gifts. I’m mostly talking about when things go wrong. There was the Sunday the toilets overflowed....
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...