For years the Alban Institute has encouraged clergy and other congregational leaders to build personal support systems. Over the years these systems have taken many forms, involving therapists, physicians, spiritual directors, financial advisors, mentors, friendship groups, peer learning groups, and…
Read MoreAsk Alban: Lay Leadership: Expanding the Circle
Q: How can we expand our leadership circle? We keep seeing the same people volunteer. A: Most congregations dramatically underutilize their leadership gifts. Stagnation of the leadership pool is neither healthy nor inevitable, and it does little to move the…
Read MoreLiving from the Inside Out: Lay Vocation in Principle and Practice
I enjoy nothing more than conducting retreats for church leadership teams, usually on a Friday evening and all day Saturday. Leaders who call to schedule such events typically want to renew and revitalize their congregations. They’re ready, they insist, to…
Read MoreCalling All Believers: Celebrating the Gifts of Baptismal Ministry
The Border Parish comprises three small congregations—All Saints Anglican Church in Hereford, Quebec; St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Canaan, Vermont; and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Colebrook, New Hampshire. The members have prayed and studied together for 30 years. Marilyn…
Read MoreSacred Journeys: A Lay-led Discovery of God through Spiritual Practice
It happened one morning during the sermon. Joe Duggan, a church leader participating in an initiative exploring ways to incorporate recent confirmands into the ongoing life of the parish, suddenly knew what he wanted to provide for them: a program…
Read MoreMaking Sundays Relevant to Mondays
When I asked my supervisor a question about funerals during my student ministry placement, he picked up the phone and arranged for me to spend a day with the local funeral director. As a new ordinand visiting a family a…
Read MoreProclaiming Passion: The Theological Challenge of Youth Ministry in the 21st Century
Teenagers are heat-seeking missiles. They’re drawn to fire. They yearn for experiences that will channel their passions. And by and large they are not detecting many signs of life in the church. —Cuyler Black, youth pastor, in Fellowship Magazine, June…
Read MoreExpressive Communalism: The Embodied Spirituality of the Post-Boomer Generations
Today we are bombarded with visual symbols virtually every minute of the day. Our relationship to technology is far more interactive than it once was, and the ease of access created by modern technology has created a global market culture….
Read MoreThe Leading Edge: Reading the People in the Pews
In my parish ministry days, preaching and leading worship were central elements in a weekly rhythm. I found that those leadership roles gave me a distinct vantage point from which to view the congregation. From pulpit or communion table I…
Read MoreAsk Alban: When Not To Do a Congregational Survey
Q: Our church is experiencing conflict between the pastor and several lay members. Should we conduct a congregation-wide survey to evaluate the pastor? A: Now is probably not a good time for a congregation-wide survey to evaluate the pastor. Let…
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