by 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 MoreAdrift in a Sea of Resources: The Quiet Crisis in Clergy Continuing Education
by 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…
Read MoreThe Case for Multifaith Education
As a rabbi who directs a multifaith center in a Christian seminary, I often get asked about multifaith education. People ask me, “What curriculum should I use?” or “How can we teach our students about other religions?” Even more often…
Read MoreWhy Would Laypeople Want Theological Education, Anyway?
In this new world, this global village we inhabit, growing ever more complicated and accessible through science and technology, many of us think daily about the meaning and purpose of our lives. We are mindful of the decisions that need…
Read MoreTen Lessons about Being a Learner-Centered Teacher
I still remember what a shock it was to discover just as I was finishing my graduate training to be a theology professor, that I was about to have to start to learn to be a teacher. Suddenly I was…
Read MoreGod Beyond Borders: Interfaith Education and Congregations
One Friday during Lent, Greg Foraker, director of adult formation ministries at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church in Tucson, Arizona, entered the Islamic Center, the city’s largest mosque, to participate in worship with its 500 members. To the…
Read MoreCENTERview: Including Laity in Education Events Empowers Congregations
At the Center for Congregations, we believe that congregations are learning organizations—that they have the capacity to learn and change. They are communities of leaders and teachers, students and learners, and educational events are great learning tools for them. Attending…
Read MoreFinding a New Way: A Call to Reconceptualize Theological Education
The verdict is in. A growing body of national studies and initiatives all indicate that cultural shifts in society and demographic changes among seminary students demand a reconsideration of how we educate and train people for ecclesial leadership for the…
Read MoreViews from Seminary: Why Theological Education Needs Young Pastors
One of the greatest challenges facing religious institutions today is solving the looming clergy shortage. This means finding ways to attract—and keep—theological students who will make a lasting commitment to serve their denomination. As educators and institutions continue in their…
Read MoreA Strong Start: Transition into Ministry Program Aims at Helping Young Ministers Thrive
In 2001, the Alban Institute published an issue of Congregations highlighting the significant decline in the number of young people (those in their twenties and thirties) choosing pastoral ministry as their vocation. At the time, this precipitous decline in mainline…
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