A Ready Hope: Effective Disaster Ministry for Congregations Kathryn M. Haueisen and Carol H. Flores AL386; $18.00 A Ready Hope helps congregations face situations ranging from large-scale disasters to less severe, local conditions. The authors provide an overview of existing…
Read MoreReviews, Fall 2009
Wave Rider, Leadership for High Performance in a Self-Organizing World By: Harrison Owen Many of us know about or have actually experienced “Open Space Technology” as a way to self-organize a large group into smaller groups around topics of interest….
Read MoreThe Leading Edge: The Long, Slow Work of Congregations
A frequent comment by leaders of American congregations is how difficult it is for local churches and synagogues to stay focused on a single project. Multitaskers before the word was invented, congregations teem with countless agendas, projects, and causes. Their…
Read MoreNew & Noteworthy, Fall 2009
A Ready Hope: Effective Disaster Ministry for Congregations Kathryn M. Haueisen and Carol H. Flores AL386; $18.00 A Ready Hope helps congregations face situations ranging from large-scale disasters to less severe, local conditions. The authors provide an overview of existing…
Read MoreThe Leadership Retreat: Prayer, Practicalities, or Both?
Q: I’ve been asked to plan our annual leadership retreat. Some board members want to set practical goals for the year and others want to spend the time in prayer and Bible study. What should I do? A: Both! The…
Read MoreFrom The Editor: Slow Church, or the Congregation’s Dilemma
Bob Sitze’s article, “Saving the World One Church Garden at a Time,” in which he reports on one congregation’s attempt to establish a garden on its grounds, struck a chord with me. Like many others (to judge from both personal…
Read MoreCENTERview: Choosing Technology That Forwards Mission and Ministry
My two-member household is awash in a sea of technology. That’s one reason we were interested in reading Better Off by Eric Brende. A technology consumer, Brende did graduate studies at M.I.T. on technology and its effect on society. He…
Read MoreFall 2009 Reading Recommendations From The Congregational Resource Guide
Brown, Dale. Conversations with American Writers: The Doubt, the Faith, the In-Between (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 2008). Dale Brown has collected interviews with ten American writers who offer their reflections on writing, church, contemporary culture, and God. Their observations…
Read MoreWaltzing to the Eternal Rhythms
The eternal rhythms of spiritual formation can be seen in the seasons of the church year. Holy days and seasons create sacred space in the cycle of the year that can be used as a teaching tool for children and…
Read MoreSaving the World One Church Garden at a Time, A Cautionary Tale
I’m a purposed kind of guy—my mission statement is “to finish the Reformation”—and I’m a backyard gentleman farmer. So I was honored when I was invited to be part of a group who would promote and execute a plan to…
Read More