The more we learn how to effectively navigate tough conversations, the more confident we will feel when we are called to do so.
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Does your church respect you?
When we esteem one another, we call forth the best of God’s gifts and possibilities.
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Working in interfaith spaces
In a recent interview project with Christian congregational leaders, I heard repeatedly that they found navigating interfaith spaces a challenge. They worried about unintentionally offending their neighbors. They were anxious about what they did not know about the other person’s…
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Leading change in a polarized world
Today’s polarized climate often frustrates leaders in their efforts to bring about meaningful and lasting change within their congregations and communities. Opposition can rise quickly and unexpectedly even to seemingly benign initiatives and programs. So how do we help lead…
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Strengthening your congregation in unpredictable ways
It’s been our core work at Alban for more than four decades now — strengthening congregations by supporting and equipping their leaders for the challenges and opportunities before them. This week, we pause our look at the future for hybrid…
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Reframing our questions
Sometimes our friends and colleagues have a way of helping us see something in a new way. They take the question we’ve been stuck asking personally or organizationally, reframe it and help us see possibilities that were always there but…
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Sharing in the pursuit of racial justice
What does it mean for a congregation — particularly a predominantly white congregation — to participate in the work of racial justice? In this week’s Weekly, we begin with the stories of three congregations that are excavating their pasts and finding…
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The Sunday after Tuesday
While Americans have been cautioned that the results of the 2020 election may not be known for some time after Election Day, pastors and other congregational leaders will have to say something next weekend to the faithful who assemble either…
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Dealing with conflict during COVID-19
In this week’s edition: how congregational leaders can respond to conflict in the age of COVID-19. Professor Leanna Fuller of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary offers four suggestions and a warning for leaders. We also look back into the Alban archive to hear…
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Spiritual Dissonance: When Conflict between Clergy and Congregation Is about Vocation
by Diane J. Strickland Some years ago I attended a worship service in which the organist played the music for one anthem while the choir opened their music and sang a completely different one. At first it sounded like the performance…
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