Worship is one of the first experiences of a congregation that newcomers might have, and it therefore becomes an opportunity for the church to introduce itself to outsiders. When potential members or other visitors encounter a congregation in worship, they…

A promising set of new experiments has the potential to make a collective impact on the way people enter pastoral ministry in the twenty-first century. The Transition into Ministry initiative (TiM)—an effort funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and participated in…

I often read reviews of products I already own. Apparently I’m not alone: a lot of people, after a big purchase, hunt for favorable reviews. It makes us feel better and leaves us more convinced than ever that we made…

Nancy Myer Hopkins, one of the primary contributors to When a Congregation Is Betrayed, was once making a presentation to a group of afterpastors about the dynamics of grief in a congregation where clergy misconduct has occurred. As she spoke, she…

Recent research has provided considerable data on how leadership, growth, and assimilation happen in congregations up to 400 and beyond 2,000 in weekly worship attendance. But what happens in between? What are the leadership, growth, and assimilation challenges faced by…

Recent research has provided considerable data on how leadership, growth, and assimilation happen in congregations up to 400 and beyond 2,000 in weekly worship attendance. But what happens in between? What are the leadership, growth, and assimilation challenges faced by…

When I was a youth minister outside of St. Paul, Minnesota, some years ago, the local lore included a story of how Post-it® Notes were conceived during church one Sunday. A 3M engineer named Arthur Fry was singing in his…

During the 17th-century Reformation struggle for religious freedom in Great Britain, Puritan Richard Baxter wrote: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Numberless struggling churches of every stripe resist encouragement toward unity or cooperation, struggle to hang…

A colleague, Kim, and I fell into conversation over a cup of coffee. Kim had just retired after decades of hard work and profound growth. It had become clear in the past year that the time had come to retire….

With great sadness, we at the Alban Institute mourn the unexpected death of our friend and colleague Anne Van Dusen. Anne died on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Given her youth, her energy, and her joy for life, her death stunned…