

ENGAGING RURAL CONGREGATIONS TO EMBRACE RACIAL DIVERSITY
ENGAGING RURAL CONGREGATIONS TO EMBRACE RACIAL DIVERSITY: THE EXPERIENCE OF A UNITED METHODIST PASTOR SERVING IN CROSS-RACIAL/CROSS-CULTURAL APPOINTMENT WITHIN THE GREAT PLAINS ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH INTRODUCTION Continue Reading
#Blessed: Grace and Privilege in the Church
#Blessed: Grace and Privilege in the Church The Context Northside Church is nestled within the Buckhead Community of Atlanta, Georgia. Among the wealthiest neighborhoods in the United States, Buckhead is Continue Reading

Re-membering Who We Are: Congregational Care in the Face of Dementia
By Jared R. Wortman Background Bread and cup are lifted high above the expansive marble altar every week at Peachtree Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Atlanta, Georgia. The Eucharist liturgy Continue Reading

Leadership Development Among Early Career Adults
A Challenge Let’s get right down to it: early career adults are less likely to make themselves available as leaders in their communities and congregations. Likewise, as society becomes even Continue Reading

Sowing the Seeds of Friendship: Cultivating Hospitality Across Class Lines
How can an affluent congregation build friendships with persons living in poverty in their neighborhood? First United Methodist Church serves the mission field of Monticello, Arkansas, a county seat town Continue Reading

Preaching to All Ages
The Problem I had recently begun my role as the lead pastor for the small contemporary service, “The Bridge,” at our large traditional church. One Sunday after worship, a young Continue Reading

Reproductive Loss & Story Sharing
1 in 4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage. 1 in 5 couples experience infertility or struggle to become pregnant. Reproductive loss, including miscarriage and infertility, impact a large portion of our Continue Reading

The Pastor Reader: How Daily Reading Shapes a Practicing Minister
Project and Problem As a lifelong reader who did not turn to the ministerial vocation until I was thirty years old, I was surprised to find early in my Continue Reading

SPIRITUAL MATURITY: A Preaching and Teaching Series on Ephesians
By Eric Sanford MATURITY There are many ways to talk about maturity, but often the process of becoming an adult comes to mind. In fact, research shows that children in Continue Reading

Pastoral Prophetic Preaching: A Spiritual and Cultural Hermeneutic for Prophetic Speech
Sunday, September 20, 2015, I preached as the pastoral candidate of the Historic Shiloh Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia. The sermon was entitled “It Doesn’t Make Sense,” taken from Job Continue Reading