A week after the September 11 terrorist attacks, I had lunch with some of my students at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. As part of their program, first-year students are required to visit churches in the area. Over lunch that day,…

A year or so ago, I came across a description of the pastoral life that rang as true for me as any I have read or heard. It comes from Garret Keizer’s A Dresser of Sycamore Trees: The Finding of…

Ten days into his first pastorate in rural upstate New York, the Rev. Jim Gertmenian faced the challenge of conducting a funeral for a member of the two-point parish that he served. He had recently earned a master of divinity…

As a teenager, at the height of the so-called “youth culture,” I accepted the notion that the older you get, the more inauthentic you become. A cautious and conventional kid, I might not have been the one you would expect…

In some years winter, spring, summer, and fall flow seamlessly. In other years the seasons are punctuated by devastating droughts, paralyzing snowstorms, and overwhelming floods. Seasons of ministry for rabbis and ministers are equally unpredictable. Sometimes the life stages flow…

In this era of rapid cultural change and declining church attendance, many Protestant congregations have embarked upon efforts to recreate or redevelop themselves. They want to attract new members, improve their financial status, and increase the participation and enthusiasm of…

Pastor Luke, a young minister in his first call, serves a rural, midwestern congregation, Faith United Church of Christ. He was ecstatic when he learned that his wife was pregnant. Once he finished calling family, parishioners, and friends with the…