In her Pulitzer Prize–winning biography of the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, historian Debby Applegate tells the story of how Beecher became, during the middle of the nineteenth century, deserving of Abraham Lincoln’s claim that he was “the most influential man…
Read MorePlanning for the Spirit
Is ministry really all about programs? Is that all there is to life in a faith community, one program after another? In one sense, ministry is all about programs. In another sense, it has nothing to do with programs. On…
Read MoreAsk Alban: Religious Preference
by Larry Peers Q: It seems that a growing number of people indicate that their religious preference is “none”—or say, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” Is there anything that congregations can do differently? Are we becoming irrelevant? A. Loyalty to religious…
Read MoreCENTERview: How Do Congregations Learn?
by Tim Shapiro Two congregations in Indiana are from the same protestant denomination. They are located in similar neighborhoods. One congregation has increased their mission giving by ten percent this year, supports a group of 20-somethings who meet weekly for prayer…
Read MoreThe Leading Edge: What Is Underfoot?
by James P. Wind The past four months have left most of us yearning for relief from the waves of resentment, vitriol, fear, and misrepresentation that flooded across our country as Americans conducted the ritual we call mid-term elections. Before we…
Read MoreMission and the Challenge of Difference
by William Sachs Doug is proud that First Church where he worships has an extensive mission commitment. In the downtown area where it is located, First Church operates programs that feed dozens of hungry people and house almost as many who…
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Leadership in Scarcity
by Mark Miller-McLemore | My church was located across from an abandoned strip mall and the local “No-Tell Motel,” where drugs and sex were peddled. We worked closely with homeless people through a shelter program in our building. It was a place…
Read MoreAdrift in a Sea of Resources: The Quiet Crisis in Clergy Continuing Education
by G. Jeffrey MacDonald On a crisp winter morning in 2009, pastors from across the country gathered in Herndon, Virginia to explore how clergy learn—and don’t learn—in the twenty-first century. As it turns out, learning routinely happens in a hodgepodge of…
Read MoreWhat Do I Owe You? The Nature of Exchange within Congregations
by Jeff Kunkel Not long ago, I officiated at the funeral of a young man I did not know well. After the funeral, his mother, whom I had never met, asked me, “What do I owe you?” This is the question…
Read MoreNever Let Money (or the lack of it) Stop You From One of God’s Good Ideas! The Pastoral Residency for Turnaround Ministry
by Mary Louise Gifford In 1953, with its membership over nine hundred people, no one could have predicted the cultural and personal changes that would lead the thriving congregation at Wollaston Congregational Church (WCCUCC) in Quincy, MA, to the gates of…
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