Is part of our problem that we make things too hard? Maybe the key to congregational health, strength, and vitality is well within our grasp, but we keep looking for some grand answer because the truth seems much to simple and easy. Over the weekend I went through some files […]
I listened to a sermon on restorative justice — one of my passions. I am generally an easy audience for justice messages, but this particular one kept jarring me. The preacher hammered on the need for us to be in ministry to both victims and victimizers, to the incarcerated, to […]
With apologies, this is a “rerun” of the post I put up in March. A number of people have asked for it to be “made available” because they had trouble finding it. I’m just reposting it to make it easier to find. The topic is clergy self-care, but it applies […]
Times are tough. The economy is in the tank. People are losing jobs, and those who have them are growing ever more cautious with their money. It’s got to be hurting the church, right? Well, yes… and no. It all depends on where the congregational treasure is — there will […]
Two major research projects have essentially defined my ministry for the past ten years: congregational vitality and seeker spirituality. A recent job change offered me (forced) a unique opportunity to pore through a veritable mountain of surveys, interviews, and site visit notes to determine what to keep and what to […]
United Methodeviations 