By Bob Allen The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has announced a reward up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who set a predominantly Africa-American church in Charlotte, N.C.,…
Musical Chairs and the leaders of dying organizations
By Mark Wingfield “I don’t want the ship to go down on my watch.” These words have been uttered, or perhaps muttered under the breath, by many a pastor and organizational leader who has found themselves at the helm of…
Interim pastoring has evolved into skilled calling, Baptists say
By Jeff Brumley The modern interim pastor is radically different from his or her predecessors, ministers and congregational coaches say. It’s increasingly rare for an interim to be a mere placeholder between full-time pastors in a church. And relatively few…
Baptist churches learn that serving schools yields big rewards
By Vicki Brown and Jeff Brumley Serving Clark Elementary School helps the roughly 40 members of Woodlawn Avenue Baptist Church in Wichita, Kan., realize they have a purpose, a contribution to make to their community. For members at First Baptist…
Black church fires evoke both fear and faith in Baptist communities
By Jeff Brumley Baptist and other Christians are reaching out to the victims of the many African-American church fires reported during the past couple of weeks, ministers say. And it doesn’t matter whether or not arson has been identified as…
On their own: The challenges, blessings of being sole pastors of small churches
By Jeff Brumley Being the sole pastor of small church isn’t for the faint of heart, Baptist ministers say. Sermon preparation, visiting the sick and balancing the budget can be even more nerve-racking when being performed by a minister serving…
Finding an antidote to toxic churches and toxic leadership
By Brian Kaylor In Greek mythology, the mighty warrior Hercules created poisonous arrows after slaying the many-headed Hydra. The word for these deadly arrows — toxikon — eventually gave life to the modern English word “toxic.” Author and leadership coach Bob Dale…
Confronted with shocking violence, pastors struggle for the right words
By Robert Dilday In Baptist pulpits across the country last Sunday, pastors recast previously written sermons to grapple with the killing just days before of nine black members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., by a white…
In grappling with autism, from surviving to thriving
We feel alienated. We’re scared to tell you about our son’s ASD. We don’t want you to treat our daughter any differently than other kids. Sometimes we don’t understand our child’s behavior any more than you do. We feel judged….