By Bill Wilson Two of the more important words for a congregation to ponder in the 21st century are resistant and resilient. Which of those two words better describe your congregation may well determine whether your congregation is viable in…
Resistant or resilient?
By Bill Wilson Two of the more important words for a congregation to ponder in the 21st century are resistant and resilient. Which of those two words better describe your congregation may well determine whether your congregation is viable in…
Preaching peace in a timid church
When ministers are afraid to speak prophetically about peace they fail to be a voice for the Prince of Peace. At the 2012 William Self Preaching Lectures at the McAfee School of Theology, “Preaching Peace in a Crumbling Empire,” Brian…
Flawed heroes
Flawed heroes are the only ones available. This should not surprise us. Take biblical heroes for example. A friend and I have been discussing the Noah story lately. My friend is not taken with Noah. As he notes, Noah tells…
If you can say it to Jesus, you can say it to anyone
One of my mentors in the area of conflict mediation was Bill Treadwell. I loved that guy. I miss him. He had so much wisdom about how to deal with people in congregations. He was as much right-brained as I…
The surrender principle
By Bill Wilson A striking phrase from Luke 9:51-53 describes Jesus as “turning his face toward Jerusalem.” This implies a resoluteness of intent and a high degree of commitment to a divine agenda. Nothing was going to dissuade Jesus from…
The future of CBF and the matter of legacy
By David Burroughs The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a movement started by the people who stepped away from oppression and made some bold decisions about our future 22 years ago at our founding. We were not going to be a…
‘Collective intelligence’ in ministry
By Mark Tidworth Management researchers and social scientists are confirming what many of us intuitively know (and chafe against it at times): people make better decisions together than they do apart. A new phrase describes this experience of “putting our…
Perspectives on immigration: safety and security concerns
The issue of immigration is a subject of discussion and debate within the Christian community. Followers of Jesus have diverse perspectives on how to address economic, security, and cultural concerns. Having shared in previous posts the primary points of diversity…