Tomorrow’s Synagogue Today Hayim Herring | AL426 $17.00 In the past decade many intelligent people who care deeply about synagogues have written about them. So how is this book different from all other books? Many books take the overall mission…
Read MoreReviews: Congregations 2012 Issue 1
The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins New York: NY, Scholastic Press, 2008 Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Rue, Prim … if these names are not familiar to you now, they will be soon. Now also a major motion picture, The Hunger Games introduces Katniss…
Read MoreUnconventional Wisdom: Is Conflict a Bad Thing?
Conflict is not bad” has been a consistent teaching of the Alban Institute and many others in the conflict field for years. It’s a natural, inevitable consequence of having more than one idea in the room at the same time….
Read MoreCenterView: The Congregation of Theological Coherence
At lunch, the pastor tells me he has finished reading almost all of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s works. He hasn’t read Sanctorum Communioyet, but he just turned the last page of the Christmas Sermons. Beginning in Lent, the council is going to…
Read MoreThe Leading Edge: Where Least Expected
First Reformed Church of New Brunswick, New Jersey has had a long run. Founded in 1717, the congregation occupies a sanctuary that once seated 600 people. Seventy members show up regularly, leaving many empty pews in a building that is…
Read MoreRethinking Transitional Ministry
The irony is that some speacialists in transitional ministry are having a hard time making a transition,” says Dr. Ken McFayden, Professor of Ministry and Leadership Development at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond. He is not alone in saying that…
Read MoreIs Conflict a Good Thing?
“Conflict is not bad” has been a consistent teaching of Alban and many others in the conflict field for years. It’s a natural, inevitable consequence of having more than one idea in the room at the same time. The goal…
Read MoreThe Case for Becoming a Type Watcher
Extending the Reach of an Alban Classic. We are well aware that the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is not a new idea and that people have been gaining insights into how type and ministry interact for many years. One of the…
Read MoreRestructuring the Rabbinate
For much of Jewish history, the rabbinate was not a full-time profession. In fact, until the Middle Ages, it was against Jewish law for rabbis to receive payment for their services. The earliest reference we have to the rabbinate being…
Read MoreA Spirit of Hospitality
Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability, and Inclusion is a remarkable collection of 64 stories about the way faith communities welcome and affirm people with disabilities in worship, ministry, fellowship, and leadership. Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, and other congregations do…
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