High School Ministry – Defining Success

2012/02/23 By Leave a Comment
Rich Melheim

Lutheran (ELCA) pastor Rich Melheim is the founder and chief creative officer of Faith Inkubators, which he describes as "a Christian education systems design think tank and resource provider dedicated to incubating faith every night in every home."  In the February 22, 2012 edition of the Christian Century, he answered several questions regarding faith formation as a family matter, including one about high school youth ministry. Q: How do you define a successful church program for high Read More …

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The Other Half

2012/02/14 By Leave a Comment
marital-status-since-1960

Protestant churches have done exceptionally well among those who are married and even better among those who are married and have children.  These groups, as a percentage of the total American population, have been shrinking for decades and likely will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The latest data from the Pew Research Center shows that only half of adults (51%) aged 18 and older were married in 2010.  Additionally, the median age for first marriage has risen steadily over Read More …

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Renter or Owner: The Mindset Matters

2012/02/10 By Leave a Comment
talbert

Robert Talbert, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Grand Valley State University, recently blogged about the difference between renting and owning.  After sharing his own experiences with home ownership and rental, he applies the principle to education suggesting that we all want students to own rather than rent their education.  He explains the different approaches thusly: The rental mindset says, I am paying the rent, and as long as I pay, I expect the management to take care of my Read More …

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What About Twitter is Appealing?

2011/12/11 By Leave a Comment
Carol-H-Merritt

Carol Howard Merritt, a Presbyterian pastor and the author of Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation (2007 - read my review here) and Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation (2010 - read my review here), recently was interviewed by the Christian Century.  Among other things, she was asked to "say more about what you find so appealing about Twitter."  Her response, in part, follows: I use Twitter in a couple of ways. It's a news stream for me . . . As a pastor, I Read More …

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Blurry Lines

2011/12/10 By Leave a Comment
fhardaway

Francine Hardaway is "an experienced marketing strategist with special expertise in startup companies," a "geek-to-human translator," and the co-founder of Stealthmode Partners. In a recent blog post she shared how to make your business more successful: The root cause of any business failure is the neglect of a simple, ancient Buddhist idea: the line where I end and you begin is blurry. As the Beatles used to sing, “I am you and you are me together.” As the founder of a business, the Read More …

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Reverse Mentoring

2011/12/01 By Leave a Comment
Leslie Kwoh

Leslie Kwoh's Wall Street Journal article, "Reverse Mentoring Cracks Workplace,"  describes the practice and benefit of reverse mentoring in the workplace.  A reverse mentoring relationship involves young employees mentoring old senior level staff.  The relationship offers executives the opportunity to learn technology and social media skills while providing the younger workers with "a rare glimpse into the world of management and access to top-level brass." So What? The church, at least Read More …

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Ministry in 2011

2011/11/02 By Leave a Comment
Jin An

Jin An, IT Director at Quest Church and owner of 8 Four Consulting, recently wrote a guest piece for the New Media Project.  He begins his article with observations about what he knows of life in 2011, including "I can have church on my phone or laptop." So What? For years, many have taught that ministry modeled after Jesus should do as he did.  One implication of that philosophy is that those who follow the way of Jesus should meet people where they are.  An provides updated language Read More …

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Review of Introducing the Practice of Ministry

2011/08/15 By Leave a Comment
cahalan

Meet the Author Kathleen A. Cahalan is an associate professor of theology at St. John's University School of Theology-Seminary, which is a Catholic and Benedictine school that educates both ordination candidates and lay ecclesiastical ministers.  Previously, she taught at Christian Theological Seminary and as an evaluation coordinator for the religion division of the Lilly Endowment.  Cahalan is the author of three books:  Introducing the Practice of Ministry (2010), Formed in the Read More …

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Sowhatfaith.com – The First 2 Years

2011/06/11 By 1 Comment
sowhat logo no text

Happy 2nd birthday to sowhatfaith.com!  Over the course of the last two years, a great deal has changed in my life and with this site. I have transitioned from full-time to part-time ministry in a local congregation transitioned from serving a Presbyterian (PCUSA) parish to serving one affiliated with the United Church of Christ (UCC) started working full-time for a university Sowhatfaith.com has transitioned from posting new content twice a week (101 posts in the first Read More …

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