The appeal of the megachurch is undeniable: big building, large worship setting, youth and children’s programs, and a semi-celebrity pastor. Yet many smaller churches have not learned from their large counter parts. There are some things megachurches are doing well…
What if a generation of women in ministry planted new congregations?
It is hard to believe it has been more than 35 years since I was ready to leave seminary in Louisville, KY for what I thought would be my first full-time church pastorate. Although I had grown up in Baltimore…
Grandma’s never coming back
Each time I returned to my grandparents’ home, I felt like I needed an arsenal of anxiety medications to get me through the feelings of emptiness, sadness and yearning for what used to be. My grandmother’s home was exactly as…
Church planting: time for new terminology?
Susan Rogers serves as church planter and pastor of The Well at Springfield in Jacksonville, Florida. The Well at Springfield is self-described as “a community of faith seeking to practice the way of Jesus together by loving God, our neighbor,…
Am I Emergent-Baptist?
I minister on the periphery of Baptist life, trying to start a progressive Baptist church in the heart of the old empire. I’m old enough to remember well the Baptist wars of decades ago, and yet new enough to ministry…
CBF and the emergence Christianity movement
Last week I attended the Emergence Christianity event in Memphis featuring Phyllis Tickle, Brian McLaren, Nadia Bolz-Weber, and others. The emergent crowd is an interesting group, with lots of diversity: age, denomination, and plenty of piercings and tattoos if not…
Humility: A key to postmodern faith?
I never expected to land on humility as an emphasis of study in postgraduate work, but it makes sense. Ever since God called me to vocational ministry, I’ve been interested in the intersection of faith, academics and postmodern culture. Reflecting…
What do you get when you focus on conflict? More conflict!
I’m sure you have probably heard the old adage that says Baptists are like alley cats. You know what you get when cats fight an alley on Saturday night? More cats. Conflict is similar to this because the more you…
Are there good reasons to start new congregations?
A quarter of a century ago I moved to South Carolina in response to the call of the largest Baptist body in that state. Baptists of various tribes in South Carolina lacked a commitment to starting new congregations. I was…