PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, January 9, 2014 Contacts: Jed Lyons, jlyons@rowman.com, 301-731-9538 Kathleen Cox, kcox@alban.org ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PURCHASES BOOK PROGRAM OF ALBAN INSTITUTE Rowman & Littlefield of Lanham, MD and the Alban Institute of Herndon, VA announced…
Read MoreCongregations Magazine, Issues 3 & 4, 2013
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…
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Joseph and the Development of the Visionary Leader
At prayer services each week synagogues around the world chant the same selection from scripture. Starting right after the Jewish New Year, we work our way through the Torah scroll to complete the five books of Moses in time for…
Read MoreIs “Stay Away” the Only Way?: How Former Pastors Relate to Congregations They Previously Served
by Trish Greeves A colleague once told me about interviewing some years ago for a campus ministry position. His eligibility was expressly predicated on his not talking to any of the clergy who had previously served in that position. Another…
Read MoreThank You from The Alban Institute
Thank you for making 2013 another well-read year. These 10 articles were accessed the most during the year. Click on the link to read the article, and don’t forget, if you like the article, you will love the book. Thanks…
Read MoreA Call for Support
As the Chair of Alban’s Board of Trustees, I write this letter during an important time of transition at the Alban Institute. At the end of this year, James Wind, Alban’s President for more than eighteen years, will complete his…
Read MoreBack to the Future
At a workshop I was leading, a woman stood up and said, “If 1950 were to return, my congregation would be ready.” Succinctly, she summarized a nagging problem for many churches. The context in which congregations now find themselves is…
Read MoreThe Jazz Church
The Jazz Church by N. Graham StandishI like jazz. Not so much smooth jazz or the modal jazz popular among many modern jazz artists, but the progressive jazz fusion of the 1970s and early 1980s. This jazz was inspired by Miles…
Read MoreTen Things We Know about Synagogue Leadership
While the American synagogue was built with the financial support of what are commonly called three-day-a-year Jews, referring to those who may attend the synagogue for worship only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, that generation of occasional synagogue attendees…
Read MoreShifts You Should Know About
Question: What are some of the emerging trends that you see in congregations as they adapt to a changing environment? Answer: This is a question I’m asked frequently, either by curious participants at a workshop or by members of a…
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