Faith communities have always provided for those in need in the United States, founding hospitals, social service agencies, and other organizations. While congregations continue to contribute to this work today through volunteerism, donations, and spiritual support for those involved in…
Read MoreMyth-Busting: Challenging the Notion of Emotional and Interpersonal Deficits in Candidates for Ministry
Over the past two decades a variety of observers have raised concerns about perceived clergy ineffectiveness in managing conflict or change. The application of family systems thinking has brought a new awareness of the role that family-of-origin “baggage” plays in…
Read MoreWhen Your Critics Set the Agenda: How to Avoid One of the Biggest Mistakes a Leader Can Make
For the most part, my first 11 years as a senior pastor were wonderful years. Of course no pastor is without critics, but the criticism I faced was sporadic and easy enough to put behind me. This changed drastically in…
Read MoreWho Is Robert, Anyway? And Why Do We Think We Have to Follow His Rules?
After leading a church meeting, Henry Robert, a trustee of First Baptist Church in New Bedford, Massachusetts, came home feeling frustrated, discouraged, and even a bit embarrassed. He had been a trustee for some time, but this was the first…
Read MoreSpeaking the Truth in Love
“Almost every time we at the Alban Institute are asked to help a congregation, people will tell us that the problem is ‘communication,’” Loren Mead once wrote. Congregations complain that people do not seem to know the information they need,…
Read MoreChurch for the 21st Century: National Cathedral Event Helps Launch “New Reformation”
As the Rev. Stephen Baden arrived at the Washington National Cathedral for a conference on the future of the church, he carried a burden that other pastors would call “a good problem.” The group of “nomadic seekers” attending an alternative…
Read More(Weddings that are more than) One Perfect Day: Helping Couples Create Something Inspiring
We all have our wedding stories. We who officiate at weddings have all experienced our share of obsessive brides and grooms, fanatical family members, and theologically challenged wedding coordinators. We have witnessed wedding preparations that can only be described as…
Read MoreChurch for the 21st Century: National Cathedral Event Helps Launch "New Reformation"
By Topper Sherwood As the Rev. Stephen Baden arrived at the Washington National Cathedral for a conference on the future of the church, he carried a burden that other pastors would call “a good problem.” The group of “nomadic seekers”…
Read MoreCongregations Magazine, Fall 2007
Setting a New Agenda Contents IN FOCUS: Church for the 21st Century Journalist Topper Sherwood presents an inside look at the work of the creative pastors who met at a recent conference to envision, encourage, and energize congregations for the…
Read MoreLeadership in a Non-Staff-Dependent Congregation
A few years ago, I moved from one church to another expecting the two congregations to be very similar. Both were mid-sized, with many young families and a healthy population of children and youth. Both churches valued music, worshiped informally,…
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