By Jeff Brumley Growing up Baptist, Jennifer Harris Dault says her calling into the ministry was clouded by comments and assumptions along the way that the pulpit was no place for women. “I had this feeling as a kid that…
Amanda died the other day, but her singing continues
Almost four decades ago while I was serving as pastor of an inner city congregation near a Baptist seminary, I would often have seminary students visit to see if they could obtain some ministry experience as a volunteer with our…
How to Kill a Church
A prefatory note: This brief story was written based on conversations I’ve had with ministers, laypeople and leaders, young and old, rich and poor, and those no longer visiting church. It was a cold, December day and though the Nativity scene was brightly…
CBF helps church reopen for holidays
By Jeff Brumley The television news stories present a stark before-and-after image of Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church in Morgan, Ark. First there is the pain Pastor James Hayes and his congregation felt when their century-old church building was flattened by…
Staff your congregation with 22-44 ministry mobilizers
During uncertain economic times how do congregations provide staff leadership that is essential for forward progress? How do congregations add a staff person? How do congregations replace a staff person? How do congregations lower staff costs in response to what…
Woman pastor marks milestone
By Jack Brymer The youngest of four children — three girls — born to a successful Baptist pastor and a wife who was equally dedicated to the congregation and denomination, Sarah Jackson Shelton suspects that being a pastor is part…
They lost me when they said this was not a letter about AIDS
Back in the 1980s when the world was still trying to figure out how to get a handle on the pandemic of AIDS, I came home from work one day and had a letter from the American Red Cross. I…
Churches respond to Palestinian plight
By Leah Grundset Davis Two churches in the Washington, D.C., area are working closely with the Alliance of Baptists to develop a Christian response to the plight of Palestinians — a task they said has taken on greater urgency as…
Tables and barns
By Bill Wilson In an excellent sermon, New York City pastor Alan Sherouse suggested that a most appropriate stewardship metaphor for a New Testament church is that of a table. He specifically referred to the round tables that his church…