This past Sunday of Pentecost, one of the texts was the vision of the valley of dry bones brought to life in Ezekiel 37. Before the fall of the nation of Israel to Babylon — the nation conquered, Jerusalem and…
Regathering for worship, processing our pain and remembering our baptism
As a pastor who is trained in both social work and ministry, I have been thinking about how to offer collective pastoral care to my congregation as we process the pandemic together. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult season…
New book brings together lessons learned in study of pastoral imagination
Ongoing social and political upheavals intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic have presented clergy with challenges that will require more than rational brain power to solve, said Baptist minister and author Eileen Campbell-Reed. In her new book, Pastoral Imagination: Bringing the…
Evangelical leaders explain why skeptical evangelicals should get vaccinated
Evangelical Christians can overcome their suspicion of COVID-19 vaccines through a renewed focus on missions and a form of patriotism that engenders unity instead of division, Russell Moore said during a recent webinar hosted by the Facebook for Faith learning…
In a COVID world, seminaries prepare pastors for new digital realities of ministry
While churches have adapted to new digital realities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, seminaries also have adapted to train ministers how to lead in new ways, both online and in-person. “I think it behooves us in terms of faculty…
I can’t make sense of how we treat the working poor
She sat across from me at the table, a pretty young woman with a baby in her arms and a toddler at her feet, nervously clutching the paperwork that would prove her eligibility for assistance at the church food pantry…
Free webinars address five hot-button issues for churches in a post-pandemic world
A new webinar series aims to provide ministers with tools to nurture resilience in the face of congregational challenges such as political toxicity, declining attendance and financial pressures, said Matt Cook, assistant director of the Center for Healthy Churches. “The…
What will become of Sunday school?
A decade ago, while on a sabbatical research project, I visited 15 churches of various denominations across the United States that bore only one common trait — they were in some way “traditional” churches. Even among that group, one of…
More churches plan reopenings cautiously, joyfully and with flexibility
New CDC guidelines and a growing number of church members being vaccinated are suddenly opening new possibilities for churches that have been closed to in-person gatherings for 14 months. “The arrival and availability of the vaccine has been a welcomed…