Happy New Year! Or, more precisely happy new church year. For those in liturgical traditions, Advent starts a new year in the life of the church. Advent is about preparing for what's to come. And, in many traditions, today started with an emphasis on hope. In the year that just ended, I found much to be hopeful for in my experiences with many local communities of faith, especially the 12 congregations located in the greater Dallas Fort Worth metropolitan area that are profiled below. Read More …
ELCA
The ELCA is Missing 4 Million People! (#2056)
I deeply appreciate and have personally been involved in the life of the Mainline Protestant denomination known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Given my prior involvement in this tradition, I strive to tell the whole story of how the denomination has arrived at its present state so that those involved can use this information as they plan for a brighter future. Mainline Decline Much has been written about Mainline decline in general, and about the decline of the Read More …
Seeking Ordination – Update #8 (#2049)
Since a month has passed since my last update (see Seeking Ordination – Update #7), I figured it was time for another post. During the last month, I Preached at Central Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Dallas (see Preaching Abundant Life)Completed boundary trainingPublished a devotional through the Center of Congregational Ethics (see Holy Ground Ahead)Started a second year as Board Chair of the Texas Association of Charitable Clinics Participated in a clergy retreatAttended the 42nd Annual Read More …
Preaching Abundant Life (#2045)
This morning I had the opportunity to preach at Central Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Dallas, Texas. This was a truly one of a kind opportunity since a member of Central Lutheran was the founder and first Executive Director of White Rock Center of Hope, which is the organization I now lead. The Sermon My message, "Abundant Life," was based on the lectionary passages (Psalm 23, Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25, and John 10:1-10). A Radical Excerpt Let’s get the radical stuff out of Read More …
Giving Up the Old and White Church (#1924)
I've spent my entire life in congregations affiliated with Mainline Protestant denominations. For Lent, I’m giving up something big: the church I always knew. And, unlike past Lenten disciplines that ended on Easter, this change is one I expect to be permanent. Here in the final post in this series, I'm giving up the old and white church. Old According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median age of all Americans is 38.4 years (2019). By comparison, the Pew Research Center Read More …
Giving Thanks: 10 Ministry Experiences (#1900)
Thanksgiving is a lifestyle, not simply a holiday scheduled the fourth Thursday of November. In the spirit of continuing the focus on thankfulness, today I'm reflecting on and giving thanks for the ten different ministry settings I've served. These settings vary in many ways, yet are all committed to making more real God's kin-dom on earth Founding: Less than 10 years ago to more than 150Size: Less than 100 active participants to more than 2,000Denomination: 5 Mainline Protestant Read More …
Politically Partisan Pastors (#1689)
Over the last week I have seen one red, gray and blue graphic more than any other. It seeks to tell the complex story of pastoral political affiliation in the United States in a single image. The widely shared graphic comes from Kevin Quealy's June 12 New York Times article "Your Rabbi? Probably a Democrat. Your Baptist Pastor? Probably a Republican. Your Priest? Who Knows." Quealy's article reports on the most ambitious research of its kind, which was undertaken by Eitan D. Read More …
My 2016 Search for a Church (#1603)
How does someone with more than fifteen years of parish ministry experience search for a church when presented with the opportunity to connect with a community of faith as an active participant rather than serving as a pastor or staff member? In my case the answer is a work in progress. Last September I relocated to North Texas after living in Southwest Florida for eight years. Immediately, my wife and I started our search for a church. Despite my travel for work, we have managed to Read More …
Mainline: Lacking Racial Diversity (#1573)
Race related topics have been featured in the news more in recent months than any time I can recall. Mainline Protestants generally tend to have healthy perspectives on race. Such philosophical and even theological understandings do not necessarily translate into action (for example: read my summary and reflection of Bradley Wright's recent research showing that Mainline Protestant congregations had the highest rate of discrimination to prospective visitors) nor do they Read More …
Retiring Clergy – End of an Era (#1485)
The youngest Baby Boomers reached retirement age in 2011. 10,000 Boomers a day will hit that milestone every day through the year 2030. While not all will retire upon turning 65, it is reasonable to expect a good number will retire at some point not long thereafter. Clergy Retirement Boom Charles M. Austin's cover story in the latest edition of "The Lutheran," illustrates the significance of Boomer retirements in the life of the Lutheran church. More specifically, he cites Read More …