Join Alban Now Faith & Politics: Where Do We Draw the Line? CONTENTS INFOCUS: Partisan Religion (Members Only Article)Pastor and social justice activist John Wimberly urges people of faith to be involved in the political process in a…
Read MoreKite Strings and Clotheslines: Learning to Value Difference
I learned an exercise in 1979 as a member of the Paulist Leadership and Renewal Project that I have used ever since to help people understand some of the dynamics of how individuals make choices in a group, how their…
Read MoreBeyond “Corporate:” New Insights on Larger Churches
In 1983 Arlin Rothauge published Sizing Up a Congregation for New Member Ministry (Episcopal Church Center) and transformed the way mainline Protestant congregations think and talk about church size. The nomenclature of family, pastoral, program, and corporate-sized congregations came into…
Read MoreTaken for Granted? Four Ways to Do Church Better
I am writing this piece on a Sunday morning at 11 a.m. A year ago, and for many years, I would have been in church at worship, but today I am not. I was a pastor for almost 20 years,…
Read MoreSeeking Mystical Union: Relearning Contemplative Ways in the Midst of Daily Life
It was the view of Antisthenes the Cynic, a companion of Plato’s, that hard work is what is good.1 This view dominates our world. Everywhere I look, the active life is the life that is promoted. Even at church we…
Read MoreBeyond "Corporate:" New Insights on Larger Churches
In 1983 Arlin Rothauge published Sizing Up a Congregation for New Member Ministry (Episcopal Church Center) and transformed the way mainline Protestant congregations think and talk about church size. The nomenclature of family, pastoral, program, and corporate-sized congregations came into…
Read MoreHelping Committees Be Their Best
If your committees don’t have written descriptions of the work expected of them, committee charters are definitely worth the time they take to write. A Gallup research study (First Break All the Rules) found that clear expectations are what most…
Read MoreValuing the Resources of the Young
We often disregard the important assets that adults under forty can offer us. In the denominational church, leadership positions are given to people who prove themselves in some way. Usually they’re people who have a great deal of influence, time,…
Read MoreHow Responding to People’s Needs Hurts the Church
Defining the church’s ministry by responding to people’s needs is a common notion; but, because of the blurred line between want and need, no matter how much we speak of needs or perceived needs, it puts the church in the…
Read MoreLearning to Apologize
My daughter was watching television in the family room while I sorted mail on the dining room table. I heard her yell, “I want Jesus. Jesus!!!! I waaant Jesus.” Thinking she needed some sort of spiritual help (and who better…
Read More