Julie Schaaf said she immediately identified with the term “pastor separation syndrome” when she first heard it recently. The concept refers to the loneliness, frustration and grief some clergy have endured after months of pandemic-induced physical separation from their congregations….
We need to talk about dying
We were riding in a limousine to the graveside. Most of the people in the car were family so — except for the masks — the conversation was comfortable and familiar. Then the funeral director said: “See those smokestacks. That’s…
New book explores pain of preaching after a suicide in the congregation
In January 2009, I sat down at my desk to think about the upcoming season of Lent. I was the pastor at Wilton Baptist Church in Wilton, Conn. I had been there for just over two years but was the…
‘You can’t get a Ph.D. in caring’: COVID-19 calls for believer-priests | #intimeslikethese
With all this grief, on a societal level perhaps not seen since 9/11 or the stock market crash of 1929, we pastors and other church staff sure could use more ministers. For Baptists, this shouldn’t be a novel idea.
Why neither seminary nor pastoral experience prepares ministers for (their own) grief
“I was equipped to function in the midst of crisis and to be a non-anxious presence, but nothing prepares you or equips you for the grief over someone who is dear to you.”
Hear our prayer, O Congress: A neo-establishmentarianism?
Events surrounding the dismissal and rehiring of “Father Pat” are more than a mere legislative kerfuffle. They provide important contemporary lessons in the enduring dynamics of church-state relations — old tensions, new twists.
Critics say seminary professor’s departure reveals faculty rift between faith and science
Supporters of a Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor quietly stepping down after 17 years in the classroom are blaming his departure on a faculty colleague who harshly criticized his scholarship in a public setting a year and a half ago….
Mad the pastor didn’t make a hospital visit? Question: did you call?
The words sting all these years later. They came earlier in Alan Rudnick’s pastorate when a congregant called to chastise him for not visiting another member in the hospital. “You’re not doing your job,” the caller said. “You’re not being…
CBF reaches 1,000th endorsee as chaplain, counselor ranks grow
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship passed a milestone recently when it named its 1000th endorsee — those ministers called to be chaplains or pastoral counselors. And Erin Lysse, the woman selected for the honor, said she felt encouraged by the honor. “There have…