by Peter L. Steinke I doubt Sir Isaac Newton ever expected his theories to be used to explain human behavior, but in my experience working with more than a hundred conflicted congregations, two Newtonian principles do indeed seem to apply. When…
Read MoreAsk Alban: Dealing with Resistance
Q: We are undertaking a capital campaign to finance the renovation of our synagogue’s 35-year-old sanctuary and the building of new classroom space, changes our board recently decided were necessary for our growth. But some members of the congregation are…
Read MoreSample Web Links to Denominational Initiatives on Race and Racism
Episcopal Church (USA). “Antiracism debate resurfaces in the house of bishops,” Episcopal News Service (July 2000). www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/GC2000-038.html Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “The ELCA’s Anti-Racism Ministry,” www.pcusa.org/racialethnic/justice/antiracism-training.htm Unitarian Universalist Association. “Antiracism Primer,” UU World (March/April 2000). www.uua.org/world/0300primer.html United Church of…
Read MoreThe Elephant in the Sanctuary
In the wake of the 1991 Gulf War, I attended a seminar in New York for denominational representatives that was sponsored by the National Council of Churches. The seminar took up the question “What happened?” The national offices of many…
Read MoreCan Congregations Talk about War?
The topic of the week for the congregation’s popular adult forum was Jonah (post-whale). At the worship service, the minister departed from the appointed lectionary text to follow up with a sermon on God’s faithfulness among all kinds of people,…
Read MoreThe Congregation: Moral Convener in a World House?
In 1968, the year he was assassinated, Martin Luther King, Jr., published an essay titled “The World House.” It includes these words: Some years ago a famous novelist died. Among his papers was found a list of suggested plots for…
Read MoreDefining a “Just Peace” Vocation
President Bush addressed the nation from the National Cathedral in Washington following September 11, 2001. “Just three days removed from these events,” he said, “Americans do not yet have the distance of history. But our responsibility to history is already…
Read MoreBeating Burnout by Building Teams
About two years ago I performed Beth and Steve’s wedding ceremony. At that time they were brand new to our congregation. Over the months that followed I watched them get involved in a small group and then begin to serve…
Read MoreFrom Birth to Death: Exploring the Life Cycle of the Church
As a young, 52-year-old, middle-aged person (I intend to live to be 104), I am becoming increasingly (and sometimes agonizingly) aware of the natural life cycle of human beings. I remember when misery was a bee sting, not back pain;…
Read MoreThe Leading Edge: The Long, Elusive Line
Almost 2,000 years ago, when Jesus answered the Pharisees’ trick question about paying taxes with his classic retort “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21), his questioners, we are…
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