What Should We Wear: The Clergy Clothing Quandry
What Should She Wear? She stands in her closet on a Sunday morning, thinking about what she should wear to lead worship that day. As she rifles through the hangers, Continue Reading
Tag: community
Appreciative Itineracy
You want me to go where??? One of the distinguishing characteristics of pastoral ministry in the United Methodist Church is itineracy. Pastors within United Methodist structures are “appointed” to churches Continue Reading
Before I live, I have to Die: A Grief Ministry.
“Let me not die while I am still alive.”[1] Such a profound revelation could only be spoken by someone lost in deep despair. Someone who has experienced the unexpected 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
A Matter of Life and Death: How Eulogists Inform and Influence Homegoings
Introduction My brother Eric was the oldest of eight children. Considered one of the smartest boys in our county, he skipped two grades in school and graduated early. Attending Continue Reading
The Dream Center Project: Faith-Based Economic and Community Development on J-Street
The Project Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee is launching the Dream Center Project, an ambitious effort to build affordable rental housing in North Nashville, while simultaneously initiating economic Continue Reading
Participatory Leadership: Building New Habits in the Body of Christ
Introduction The church is not a machine, but pastors are often expected to function as if they are operating one. That is the basic problem identified by my Doctor of Continue Reading
Toward Communal Healing: Initiating a Collective Vision to Combat Congregational Crises
The Church In Crisis I was excited! After having endured the gauntlet of a process that only a Baptist church pulpit committee can concoct, I emerged from approximately 60 other Continue Reading
Faith and Food Justice
Why the Peace Garden Project? I was raised in the south in a pretty fundamentalist Baptist Church, and I have a Muslim sister. Though my beliefs are no longer Continue Reading
Lord, Have Mercy: The Order of Confession and Forgiveness, Mystagogical Preaching, and the “Southern Way of Life”
Like most Evangelical Lutheran Churches in America, Beth-Eden Lutheran Church begins every worship service with The Order of Confession and Forgiveness:[1] As worship begins, water is poured into a baptismal Continue Reading