The interview with Robert Naylor was over. I was wrapping up cords and cables and stowing them in the tote bag, basking in the glow of the vision laid out by Naylor, then president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. By…
Don’t call it burn-out
Earlier this month, Alexander Lang’s blog post “Departure: Why I Left the Church” lit up clergy social media. To date, it has garnered north of 380,000 views. The day it hit, I saw it on the Facebook feeds of three…
In biblical truth-telling, we need to mind the gap between clergy and laity
It doesn’t surprise me that new research shows white mainline Protestant clergy are more supportive of LGBTQ rights, abortion rights and racial justice than their congregations. I’ve been there, done that and have the scars to prove it. From my…
Survey says: Churches could do more on identifying and using spiritual gifts
Churches must be more determined and creative in helping Christians identify and use their spiritual gifts, according to a new survey affirmed by the observations of congregational health experts. Many local congregations “have a gap to fill when it comes…