Q: Right now we just tell our committees what we would like them to do. We don’t put anything in writing. Should we develop a formal job description for our committees? A: Committee charters are definitely worth the time they…
Read MorePartisan Religion
When people are going over my resume, if I am present, I love to watch their reactions. I see a few of them pause as they read the letters A…C…L…U. They don’t even look up at me, afraid to reveal…
Read MoreKite Strings and Clotheslines: Learning to Value Difference
I learned an exercise in 1979 as a member of the Paulist Leadership and Renewal Project that I have used ever since to help people understand some of the dynamics of how individuals make choices in a group, how their…
Read MoreCongregations Magazine, Summer 2008
Join Alban Now Faith & Politics: Where Do We Draw the Line? CONTENTS INFOCUS: Partisan Religion (Members Only Article)Pastor and social justice activist John Wimberly urges people of faith to be involved in the political process in a…
Read MoreCENTERview: Being the Exception to the Rule: What It Takes to Transcend Negative Trends
There is an exception to every rule. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the fastest growing and most virulent infections hospitals are battling, but a hospital in Pittsburgh was able to eliminate MRSA infections in a single year. Likewise,…
Read MoreTaken for Granted? Four Ways to Do Church Better
I am writing this piece on a Sunday morning at 11 a.m. A year ago, and for many years, I would have been in church at worship, but today I am not. I was a pastor for almost 20 years,…
Read MoreSeeking Mystical Union: Relearning Contemplative Ways in the Midst of Daily Life
It was the view of Antisthenes the Cynic, a companion of Plato’s, that hard work is what is good.1 This view dominates our world. Everywhere I look, the active life is the life that is promoted. Even at church we…
Read MoreBeyond "Corporate:" New Insights on Larger Churches
In 1983 Arlin Rothauge published Sizing Up a Congregation for New Member Ministry (Episcopal Church Center) and transformed the way mainline Protestant congregations think and talk about church size. The nomenclature of family, pastoral, program, and corporate-sized congregations came into…
Read MoreBeyond “Corporate:” New Insights on Larger Churches
In 1983 Arlin Rothauge published Sizing Up a Congregation for New Member Ministry (Episcopal Church Center) and transformed the way mainline Protestant congregations think and talk about church size. The nomenclature of family, pastoral, program, and corporate-sized congregations came into…
Read MoreHelping Committees Be Their Best
If your committees don’t have written descriptions of the work expected of them, committee charters are definitely worth the time they take to write. A Gallup research study (First Break All the Rules) found that clear expectations are what most…
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