How do you assess your spiritual development as a minister? In essence the issue is little different for clergy than for any other Christian. The only real difference is that we live out our spiritual lives publicly. In every other…

How can keeping a sabbath help avoid burnout? Is it really necessary to keep a sabbath for 24 hours in order to make a true difference? Lynne Baab spent the last few years in conversations with nearly 150 church-goers. Some…

As pastor of a 150-member church that averages about 80 for Sunday worship, I am typical of many clergy: we work long hours for many years without relief. Like people in many other professions, we have difficulty drawing appropriate boundaries…

Before a church commits itself to a major program for change, it needs to know what it’s changing. History counts! Visioning the future, a popular exercise in many congregations, is important. There is a great deal of truth in the…

Most congregations engage in social ministry to some degree, and most feel that their efforts could be better. But planning for ministries that seek to serve or influence the world beyond the sanctuary can be challenging. Because the world’s needs…

Most American congregations are already multigenerational, and those that are not are usually intentional about wanting to be. Congregations that hold only one generation are the exception to the rule. Such single generation congregations are more commonly new church starts…

What changes are congregations making in worship? Why and how are those changes being made? And what processes and resources are available for congregations? Alban senior consultants Gil Rendle, Susan Nienaber, and Dan Hotchkiss joined together to discuss these questions…

While new technologies may make it more convenient to use electronic media in worship, congregational practice or tradition may not welcome them into the sanctuary. A pastor or worship committee in touch with a congregation and knowledgeable about the realities…

In our years with the practice of testimony, one of the most valuable things for me was hearing how people perceive their church. With testimony, you encourage members to reflect back to you their vision of the church, and in…

The context in which we do ministry today is radically different from the prevailing context at the time some of us entered ministry a couple of decades ago. Once we catch on to that fact, we begin to see why…