Consider these worshipers in modern urban America: rather than having performers act out skits or play instruments on a stage, they want “participatory” worship in which all attendees play a part. Instead of grand auditoriums where the audience gapes at…
Read MorePostmodern Worship: Three Views: There's More To It Than "If You Build It, They Will Come"
Balancing the old with the new is a great challenge for congregations. As church leaders struggle with how to reach the postmodern generation, new and traditional ideas often clash. The tensions are most acutely evident in matters of worship. “It’s…
Read MoreFinding a Niche and Filling It: Congregations in a Postindustrial Economy
Blocked by a towering mega-outlet on one side and encroached on by a big suburban mall on the others, the small church is overwhelmed by retail giants. Its founding pastor was forced to quit. Members left and morale slipped. As…
Read MoreThe Main Thing: Finding Diversity and Joy in "The Work of the People"
These days people want congregations to do many things. Walk into a megachurch like Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and you will find large service counters to help visitors and members find the particular connection they are…
Read MoreAsk Alban: Setting Up An Endowment Fund
Q: My congregation is expecting its first bequest. We would like to use it to establish an endowment fund. A stockbroker in the congregation offered to manage it for us, but we’re wondering if this is wise. We’re also worried…
Read MoreNurturing Oneself: Can a Pastor’s Soul Flourish in the Congregation?
“Your people…are the shoot that I planted, the work of my hands, so that I may be glorified.” (Isa. 60:21) “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do…
Read MoreClergy by the Numbers: Statistics Show It’s Not a Youthful Picture
The numbers of young mainline clergy have declined dramatically in recent decades. The table on page 9 provides a snapshot of age distributions of today’s mainline clergy, and it’s not a youthful picture. The numbers can’t be explained away by…
Read MoreAsk Alban: Mentoring: Don’t Wait to Be Invited
Q: Parish ministry is learned largely through experience. How do I find a mentor to guide and challenge me now that I am out of seminary? My denomination seems more inclined to give me additional study requirements than to provide…
Read MoreFinding Links That Matter at Schultz’s Deli
It seems the dot-com revolution is coming to the church. Congregations everywhere are rushing to develop interesting Web sites. Denominations strive to connect. And Christian periodicals laud all of these efforts. The ecclesiastical dot-org movement breezily promises great things: vast…
Read MoreThe Digital Revolution: Changing the “How” of Ministry, Not the “What”
Has the digital revolution changed anything fundamental about ministry? When I entered ministry in 1982, I began by using an array of gadgets taht were not state-of-the-art but were typical of what a congregation of modest means could supply at…
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