By Bill Wilson As part of our work with congregations which are engaging in the process of imagining their future, the Center for Congregational Health invites them to first look back and connect with their past. An effective tool for…
Pioneer church celebrates 30 years
By Bob Allen The last church led by a woman pastor to receive salary assistance from the Southern Baptist Convention celebrates its 30th anniversary this month with community-service projects including neighborhood landscaping with Habitat for Humanity. Broadneck Baptist Mission in Annapolis,…
Deacons in a Baptist church are a waste if . . .
Sarah looks at the ballot for deacons for the coming year in her congregation. Today in the Sunday worship services is the annual election of a new set of deacons. As she looks at the ballot, she wonders to herself,…
Intergenerational mission
Randy Shepley What is your favorite church or denominational buzz word or phrase? There are so many: missional, free and faithful, purpose driven, emergent, traditional, contemporary. When overused, buzz words can begin to lose their meaning. Take, for example, one…
Fear and congregations that give in to it
How many times have you heard there are three kinds of people in this world? One memorable version of this is from the 1960s “spaghetti” western starring Clint Eastwood that referred to the good, the bad and the ugly. When…
Church reverses policy on gays
By Bob Allen An American Baptist church in Evansville, Ind., drew local media attention with reports it has reversed its previous policy of acceptance and inclusion of members who are openly gay. NBC television affiliate WFIE reported Aug. 21 that…
The outward-oriented church
By Bill Wilson Tom Ehrich, one of my favorite thinkers about church in the 21st century, recently told me he is down to one pivotal question for the congregations he works with: “Is your primary orientation inward or outward?” He…
The outward-oriented church
By Bill Wilson Tom Ehrich, one of my favorite thinkers about church in the 21st century, recently told me he is down to one pivotal question for the congregations he works with: “Is your primary orientation inward or outward?” He…
Pastors foresee raceless church
By Jeff Brumley Park Avenue Baptist Church in Atlanta is considered by some a hopeful sign that Sunday may soon no longer be the most segregated time in America. A dwindling, all-white congregation eight years ago, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship…