Last year our homeowner’s insurance company paid, minus our deductible, for the replacement of our roof. Significant hail damage over a year or two necessitated the replacement of the roof. This year we had a plumbing problem that resulted in…
CBF, a candle in search of darkness
Every good story needs an antagonist, a villain, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship story doesn’t have one. I was a graduate student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville when the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship was founded in 1991. I…
EI: The hidden ingredient in pastoral leadership
By Mark Tidsworth When I worked as a therapist, my caseload eventually became crowded with clergy and church staff. After we worked through their clinical issues, many continued in counseling, addressing concerns related to their ministry. I had the sense…
Embrace the darkness
It’s always a priceless moment on Daylight Savings Sunday. As the crowd that set their clocks ahead leave worship, those who didn’t enter the sanctuary a bit bewildered. Being a staff minister, it’s always a restless night, for fear that…
A new look at church planting
By Ircel Harrison On any given Sunday, there are more people outside the walls of the churches than within, and few of these will be in Christian worship at any other time during the week. Some leaders see starting new…
Yo Facebook, are you losing it?
Facebook started as a college student sharing site. It was new. It was edgy. It was young. It was better than MySpace. Now your mom, dad, and grandma are already your ‘friends’. That’s not cool according to some young people. Young…
Resistant or resilient?
By Bill Wilson Two of the more important words for a congregation to ponder in the 21st century are resistant and resilient. Which of those two words better describe your congregation may well determine whether your congregation is viable in…
Resistant or resilient?
By Bill Wilson Two of the more important words for a congregation to ponder in the 21st century are resistant and resilient. Which of those two words better describe your congregation may well determine whether your congregation is viable in…
Preaching peace in a timid church
When ministers are afraid to speak prophetically about peace they fail to be a voice for the Prince of Peace. At the 2012 William Self Preaching Lectures at the McAfee School of Theology, “Preaching Peace in a Crumbling Empire,” Brian…