Blog
- June 10, 2008
Think of the power of community in people's lives. Listen to John Gardner's description. John Gardner describes the power of…
- June 9, 2008
Loren Mead summarizes the break down of a sense of community in our culture. (Five Challenges, pp., 46-50; Alban Institute)…
- June 6, 2008
We have lost the sense of call in our society. At one time the sense of professional was one who…
- June 5, 2008
If I said to you, “Let’s go to church next Sunday,” what would you think that I was saying? I…
- June 4, 2008
As an aide to this form of Biblical interpretation, we are beginning to see a new type of biblical commentary.…
- June 3, 2008
The challenge for seminaries, as they serve the Body of Christ, is to enable pastors and educators to join the…
- June 2, 2008
There is a sense in which our understanding of the church as the Body of Christ revives the question of…
- May 30, 2008
What we are risking in seeking God's word in the body is acting on the faith that Christ, as a…
- May 29, 2008
I realize that such quick and simple correlation between life situations and biblical stories might also lead to erroneous decisions.…
- May 28, 2008
The members of many mainline churches often draw back from utilizing Scripture in their decision making because they feel inadequate…
- May 27, 2008
It is common for Christians to conclude their prayers with the phrase “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” What we have…
- May 26, 2008
Just as for clergy, so too people who are members of a church need to be made aware of the…
- May 23, 2008
A critical change in attitude occurs when we come to a full recognition of the fact that the church is…
- May 22, 2008
Perhaps this slow dissolution of the power of the church and of the clergy of the church can offer us…
- May 21, 2008
This change in the authority of the church can be very frustrating to those who have devoted their lives to…
- May 20, 2008
It may be that God permitted the institutionalization of the church and even used it to protect the church and…
Narcissism and Congregation Decision Making
May 16, 2012
If “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom…
Narcissism Both Ways
May 15, 2012
Narcissism is a term that is increasingly used to describe one’s excessive focus on one’s self. We speak of a…
Wimp Factor (6)
May 14, 2012
We have been discussing the development of a greater awareness of the stress of ministry and the way in which…
Wimp Factor (5)
May 11, 2012
At least once a year, the session should spend some time hearing the cumulative report of the elder/pastor meetings. In…
Wimp Factor (4)
May 10, 2012
Again, I want to emphasize that the better and more sensitive a pastor is, the more taxing is his or…
Wimp Factor (3)
May 9, 2012
Having filled out the estimation of time worked and discussed it, I want to now raise another factor that, in…
The Wimp Factor (2)
May 8, 2012
A first step is simply an honest recognition of the challenge inherent in ministry. Most good clergy accept that they…
The Wimp Factor (1)
May 7, 2012
Especially when we speak about congregations taking care of their pastors, both from the perspective of the pastor and that…
Addressing Staff Lay Offs (2)
May 4, 2012
OK, so in the wisdom of the council, given financial realities, a member of the presbytery staff has to be…
Addressing Staff Lay Offs
May 3, 2012
We are increasingly hearing that a number of presbyteries, synods, and positions at the General Assembly level are laying off…