Johns Creek, Ga., is situated on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, an area that once served as a meeting place between rival Cherokee and Creek people. Tom Blue Wolf, a Creek descendent, told an interviewer the tribes were inspired…
Key to church reinvention is tapping membership’s creativity, Brooklyn pastor says
Talk about missional. St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., and its pastor, David Brawley, have made headlines for their efforts to reach out to, and transform, the communities around them. The congregation lent its muscle to efforts to…
Tapping into vitality with congregational residencies
It’s a sociological axiom of congregational life that what we see indicated in North American megachurches functions as a “canary in the coal mine,” signaling what’s coming for the rest of U.S. congregations. With that in mind, here’s some of…
The ‘groaning’ and ‘growing’ of theological education in America
When Daniel Aleshire, whose organization accredits most U.S. seminaries, retires next year, he’ll have witnessed a quarter century of what may have been the most dramatic changes in clergy education in the country’s history. Informed ministry is superior to ignorant…
Letting go of the illusion of superhero pastor
It has been two months now since I made a spreadsheet for a cost analysis of commercial rolls of toilet paper and paper towels. Did you know that rolls of paper that tear off in neatly perforated, individual sheets cost…
At an ordination, a reminder that Jesus remains agonizingly relevant and radical
On June 20, 1971, I was ordained to the gospel ministry — so the ordination certificate reads to this day. I reread it from time to time, still wondering what in the world it means to be a gospel minister….
Rob Bell: Through hell and back
Five years ago, Rob Bell wrote a controversial book, left the huge church he started and moved to L.A. But he says what he’s doing now is more pastoring than ever.
Church planting may lead to marriage woes, food stamp eligibility, reports study
Financial stress is overtaking many church planters, leading some to even consider quitting the calling altogether, new research shows. An April study by The Barna Group found that only 41 percent of church planters feel personally secure in their finances,…
If it does, then it is
When I quit my job as a pastor eight months ago, I had very different expectations as to how my time as an unprofessionally religious grocery clerk would unfold.