There are times when being a second-chair leader in a progressive Baptist church should include membership in a multi-step support program. The second-chair leader is the most misunderstood clergy position of all time. Whether we are called executive pastors, associate…
Read MoreSpecialist or Generalist? The Associate Pastor Role in the Large Church
Audrey and Libby are associate pastors serving mainline Protestant churches in the same city. Both enjoy their roles and both are considered effective in ministry. The challenges of life in associate ministry produce an immediate bond between Audrey and Libby…
Read MoreFrom Stressed to Blessed, A Conversation for Recomposing Volunteer Service in the Congregation
“You should have seen the one that got away!” “I got a big one—quite a catch!” Each of these comments was followed by brief peals of laughter as a small group jokingly talked about the process of recruiting members for…
Read MorePitfalls and Possibilities: Understanding and Managing the Associate Pastor Role
Call it Senior Pastor Syndrome. Call it creeping corporatism in the church. Call it human frailty. Whatever its name, many people think second-banana pastors will be the solution to their problems when—based on my own experience—usually they are the opposite….
Read MoreCongregations Magazine, Fall 2009
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…
Read MoreStewardship and Simple Thinking
Something about stewardship campaigns inspires simplistic thinking even in leaders who, on other subjects, are quite capable of grappling with ambiguity. Stewardship is complicated. It includes everything from dilemmas facing households in a shaky economic time to the pledge-dampening effects…
Read MorePastoral Care as Healing Presence
A single parent, Deborah recalls that during her first month as pastor of a United Church of Christ congregation in Western Pennsylvania, she performed nine funerals, four of which related to a boating accident. Already weary from moving across country…
Read MoreExpeditions into What is Possible
Where Moses stood, “the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed” (Ex. 3:2). In that holy encounter, he was being summoned into an experience of leadership that he would rather not pursue. After all, he was tending his father-in-law’s…
Read MoreThe Top Ten Articles of 2009
THE TOP TEN ALBAN WEEKLY ARTICLES OF 2009 (SO FAR) Number 1: The Power of Feelings by William M. Kondrath William Kondrath paints an illustration of the power of feelings and the tendency of most groups to ignore feelings and focus on intellectual…
Read MorePlanning and the Budget
Congregations often plan and budget as though planning were one thing and budgeting another. Bringing the two together calls for a comprehensive calendar for goal-setting and evaluation. A key event in the sequence is the annual planning retreat. Typically, this…
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