by Martin Davis Though Bruce Epperly is now a grandfather, he understands well the trials and tribulations facing our youngest ministers. Graduating from Claremont University in 1980 with a Ph.D., he did not find a tenure-track job, so he was forced…
Read MoreFollowing–Backwards and In Heels
by Kerra Becker English Ginger Rogers danced all the same moves as Fred Astaire, but she did them backwards, and in heels! I’m not the first to notice. This quote has gone around in dance circles for probably as long as…
Read MoreCovenants of Leadership Behavior
Efforts to lead change are often defeated or sabotaged, not by open and honest disagreement, but by inappropriate, unhelpful, or indirect behaviors. Board members who do not say what they think while sitting at the board table but who hold…
Read MoreCongregations Magazine 2012 Issue 3
Alban members receive a subscription to Congregations, our award-winning magazine. Our mission is to provide clergy and lay leaders with practical, research-based information and ideas for effective ministry as they grapple with an ever-changing environment. Congregations is sent quarterly to…
Read MoreIs E-mail the New Parking Lot?
It is more than a little ironic that you are reading an e-mail message that is about to warn you of the dangers of e-mail, but here goes: You may be familiar with—perhaps even have participated in—”parking lot meetings.” Those…
Read MoreDiscovering Work-Life Balance
What is work-life imbalance? You might answer that question by reflecting on your own life. Do you feel stretched and unsettled? Does it seem like you never have enough time to do everything you feel you need and want to…
Read MoreDelighted and Disillusioned with Discernment
Discerning God’s Will Together, which Danny Morris and I co-authored, was jointly published by Alban and Upper Room books in 1997. I had incorporated prayerful spiritual discernment as one of the four practices in the Worshipful-Work model, which was presented…
Read MoreWhat’s the Problem?
The senior minister at First Church was actually looking forward to the weekly staff meeting. For some time the staff had been tip-toeing around problems with the traditional worship service, and today they were going to address the problem head…
Read MoreMatching the Message with the Moment
Imagine that it’s Rosh ha-Shanah and you are about to give your sermon. For the past year, you and your board have been working hard on fundamentally rethinking what it means to be a congregational community in the 21st Century….
Read MoreInitiating the Conversation
In an earlier Weekly, Barbara Day Miller outlined the POWR model for worship planning . Here, she addresses how pastors can help implement—and benefit from—this new process. Susan and Richard were engaged in conversation at the local ministers’…
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