Q: I recently accepted a call to serve a congregation that is losing its much-loved minister of many years. How should I approach my new pastorate in the wake of this pastor? A: There are several things that you can…
Read MoreBuilding Blocks: An Anthropological Approach to Congregational Size
Ever since Arlin J. Rothauge published Sizing Up a Congregation for New Member Ministry1 in 1983, mainline Protestants have been using the terms family,pastoral, program, and corporation to identify congregations by size, starting with the smallest.2 A sociological axiom underlying…
Read MoreAsk Alban: Finding the Right Pastor for Your Parish
Q: Our congregation is searching for a new pastor. Out of the pool of available applicants, how do we identify and call the right leadership? We want the best fit possible. A: The work of the calling committee (or pastoral…
Read MoreUnpredictable Seasons
In some years winter, spring, summer, and fall flow seamlessly. In other years the seasons are punctuated by devastating droughts, paralyzing snowstorms, and overwhelming floods. Seasons of ministry for rabbis and ministers are equally unpredictable. Sometimes the life stages flow…
Read MoreA Pathway to Wisdom: Three Stages in the Development of Clergy
As a teenager, at the height of the so-called “youth culture,” I accepted the notion that the older you get, the more inauthentic you become. A cautious and conventional kid, I might not have been the one you would expect…
Read MoreGood-Enough Self-Care
Clergy self-care requires spending enough time to build and maintain transparent, truthful, and loving relationships with God, with those we love, and with ourselves. It is Monday morning, and she is exhausted. She had planned to take the day off,…
Read MoreA Novel Kind of Sabbatical: Consider a Home and Ministry Exchange
Okay, I am excited. My congregation has a sabbatical policy, and it’s my turn. But when I bring up the subject for discussion, either at home or at church, the response is always the same: “What is this going to…
Read MoreAddressing the Housing Crisis: How Your Congregation Can Make a Difference
No single entity can accomplish as much as groups working together. If government, churches, businesses, financial institutions, and educational institutions combine their commitment, strategies, and resources, communities in the United States will be able to rebuild poor neighborhoods, making them…
Read MoreHousing Initiatives: Four Congregations with Heart
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church Housing Program: From Homelessness to Wholeness Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church (OSLC) in Minneapolis has acted on the biblical injunctions to care for those in need. Located in the Phillips neighborhood—notorious for drugs, crime, and intense poverty—this…
Read MoreLook Who's Having a Baby! Reflection on the Importance of Parental Leave
Pastor Luke, a young minister in his first call, serves a rural, midwestern congregation, Faith United Church of Christ. He was ecstatic when he learned that his wife was pregnant. Once he finished calling family, parishioners, and friends with the…
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