Alban members receive a subscription to Congregations, our award-winning magazine. Our mission is to provide clergy and lay leaders with practical, research-based information and ideas for effective ministry as they grapple with an ever-changing environment. Congregations is sent quarterly to all members of the Alban Institute. It is the successor to Action Information, published since 1975.
“I cannot recommend this magazine and this institute to you highly enough!” — The Rev. Jan Smith Wood, Dean of Students, Church Divinity School of the Pacific.
CONTENTS
Never Let Money (or the lack of it) Stop You From One of God’s Good Ideas!
Mary Louise Gifford tells the story of the Pastoral Residency for Turnaround Ministry, Wollaston Congregational Church’s next steps in turning from dying to thriving.
What Do I Owe You?
Jeff Kunkel explains the difference between gift exchange and market exchange in and among the roles of clergy and lay persons in congregations and other small communities.
Adrift in a Sea of Resources
G. Jeffrey MacDonald shares insights from Alban’s Consultations on Clergy Continuing Education, a series of roundtable discussions and reports that gathered observations from the field and analyses of what’s working and what’s not.
Leadership in Scarcity
Mark Miller-McLemore describes what leadership looks like when faced with scarcity, and how such a time leads to faithful and creative ministry.
Mission and the Challenge of Difference
William L. Sachs encourages congregations to see mission as more than just service beyond their doors but as a meeting ground where reconciliation and service can emerge.
COLUMNS
The Leading Edge
James P. Wind reflects on the impact past leaders, both political and congregational, have had on President Obama and how they can affect our country as a whole.
CENTERview
Tim Shapiro, President of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, explains that a congregation’s ability to learn is the primary indicator of its health.
Ask Alban
Alban Institute senior consultant Larry Peers offers advice to those who believe congregations are becoming irrelevant.
DEPARTMENTS