Preaching gives pastors an incredible opportunity that most leaders do not have. At their best, sermons teach, inspire and provoke, which are three essentials for leadership and change. Whatever approach we use for sermon planning, preparation and delivery, preaching has the potential…
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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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A year ago, I made the jump from pastoring a local church to running a center at a small denominationally-affiliated college. While I was well-versed in the conversations around church vitality, the world of higher education has been relatively new…
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A pastor reflects on the success of his church’s ministries of Christian education and formation
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by Tim Shapiro Congregations, or perhaps more precisely, congregational leaders, need to learn new skills all the time. Such are the demands on congregational life. What do you do when your congregation either needs or chooses to do something new?…
Read MorePart of what drew me to the ordained ministry was a particular image of that calling: the minister as a field-based teacher and scholar. It is in many ways a rabbinic model. Rabbi means “teacher.” Rabbis were teachers who were…
Read MoreI no longer attend continuing education events because I’m tired of rubber band workshops.” A pastor was describing his experience attending events in the past, being stretched and excited by what he heard, only to return home to the tyranny of…
Read MoreHow many times have you come home from continuing education events, laid your folders and notes on your desk, become consumed in the demands of everyday ministry, and—six months later—found those notes and thought, “Oh, I remember that event. What…
Read Moreby Tim Shapiro Two congregations in Indiana are from the same protestant denomination. They are located in similar neighborhoods. One congregation has increased their mission giving by ten percent this year, supports a group of 20-somethings who meet weekly for prayer…
Read Moreby G. Jeffrey MacDonald On a crisp winter morning in 2009, pastors from across the country gathered in Herndon, Virginia to explore how clergy learn—and don’t learn—in the twenty-first century. As it turns out, learning routinely happens in a hodgepodge of…
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