Jason Savage's recent explanation of his decision to leave parish based ministry is an excellent example of the-grass-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence thinking. Savage is concerned by a decades long trend in the church toward what he calls "professionalism," a broad term that seems to include everything from leveraging the best marketing and management practices from the wider non-profit and for-profit world to accepting the evolving demands of leadership and roles of Read More …
Ministry
The Value of a Blog Post (#1177)
Rob Jenkins, a community college professor, recently wrote a blog post for the Chronicle of Higher Education in which he questioned the value of blogging. Most who teach in higher education are involved in a world that requires them to publish in order to retain their livelihood, yet blog posts are often not counted as published material. Since blogs have the power to shape how people think about issues, Jenkins asks important questions: Which ultimately does more good—an article or Read More …
1980s Technology & Ministry (#1136)
A few days ago I came across a Mashable post featuring 15 technology ads from the 1980s. It was during that era that I first fell in love with technology. As I scrolled through these old ads I realized just how much technology has changed in a few decades. My mind began to compare the rate of change in technology to the rate of change in the American church. So What? While there are significant limitations to broad generalizations, they are helpful as conversation starters. Read More …
Churches: Be Who You Are (#1074)
David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church and founder of Church for Men, recently blogged about the strength that comes when churches know who they are and work within that framework. For Murrow the importance of such was illustrated when he visited a traditional church that made a poor attempt at offering an occasional contemporary worship service. His sound counsel for all local congregations follows: . . . be who you are. Do what you do well – and do it Read More …
Don’t Wreck Your Ministry (#1058)
Ben Reed, pastor of small groups at Long Hollow Baptist Church (Hendersonville, TN) and communications director for the Small Group Network, recently blogged about how people wreck their ministries. Reed shared a few obvious ways people ruin their ministries before sharing a list of 17 additional ways he labeled "not so obvious," including: quit dreaming, never build relationships with people outside of the faith, spend 98% of your time in your office, never go to Read More …
Review of Faithful Generations (#1057)
Meet the Author John R. Mabry is a pastor, spiritual director, musician, professor, and author. Since 1994, he has served Grace North Church (affiliated with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, and are currently in-care with the United Church of Christ) in Berkeley, CA. Since 1999, he has been in private practice as a spiritual director, directing those of differing generations. Mabry teaches spiritual guidance, world religions, Read More …
Pastor of Innovation (#1054)
When I was a seminary student, it was understood that the vast majority of students would go on to pastoral ministry in a parish setting. Most of these individuals would spend all of their years in ministry as solo pastors serving smaller congregations. In recent years, the expectations have shifted significantly. Only about half of all recent seminary graduates enter parish ministry. For those who do enter this form of ministry, increasing numbers serve in large, mega, Read More …
Pastoral Stressors (#1028)
Bill Reichart, creator of Ministry Best Practices, recently shared an infographic about the pressures of pastoral ministry. The visual is based on data in Pastors at Greater Risk by H. B. London, Jr. and Neil B. Wiseman. So What? Pastoral ministry is a broad category of ordained ministers with varying responsibilities. Clergy, regardless of the amount or type of higher education they have received, must be mindful of and respond to the pressures associated with Read More …
Youth Group Memories (#1006)
Jessica Misener recently shared 33 ways you may know you were a part of a youth group during your teen years, including You were so excited your crush was going to the lock-in; You went on a mission trip to Mexico, Guatemala, Haiti, Ghana, Nicaragua, Uganda, or Venezuela; Your parents bought you a purity ring; You prayed at school during "see you at the pole;" and All the concerts you went to gave you the opportunity to sponsor a kid. So What? I was never very involved in a youth Read More …
Pastoral Regrets (#0973)
Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, recently asked more than twenty pastors who had been in ministry for at least 25 years a single question: “What regrets do you have about the years you have served as a pastor?” The top seven answers follow: Lack of practical training for local church ministry Overly concerned about critics Failure to exercise faith Not enough time with family Failure to understand basic business and finance issues Failure to Read More …