Bruce Epperly’s article, “Finding the Right Blend of Action and Contemplation in Ministry,” argues that pastors—particularly new pastors—can get so caught up in ministerial tasks that they fail to establish the spiritual practices and disciplines that would enable them to be more effective in those tasks. As a result, they often burn out.
Drawing on the example of Jesus’s ministry—which demonstrated an ongoing rhythm of action and prayer—Epperly makes the point that ministry can ultimately be “zestful” when pastors “balance the hard work of social concern and mission with a commitment to spiritual practices.” Among the practices he suggests are remembering to breathe deeply between the activities of ministry, taking regular times of retreat and rest, and even “walking prayerfully.”
What resources might support you and other leaders in balancing action and contemplation? In addition to the items listed at the end of the article, please consider Armchair Mystic: Easing Into Contemplative Prayer, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, and Addicted to Hurry: Spiritual Strategies for Slowing Down.
What are your stories and thoughts on this topic? And what resources do you suggest? We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Torgerson, author of “Creation Care in Motion” (the May 14, 2012 Alban Weekly, adapted from Greening Spaces for Worship and Ministry: Congregations, Their Buildings, and Creation Care), emphasizes the importance of committing to “greening the life of a faith community” if a congregation is to honor its biblical mandate to protect creation.
Once that commitment is in place, says Torgerson, leaders need to develop congregation-wide greening strategies and garner the support of the entire congregation for confirming a greener building and community. Leaders can do this by visiting other congregations that have successfully launched greening efforts, as well as by analyzing their own community’s patterns of consumption and waste, getting advice from land development professionals, and offering opportunities to “implement green initiatives”.
The author also discusses the value of education and worship in promoting and sustaining activities that honor the earth and all its creatures.
What resources might support you and your congregation in becoming more “green”? In addition to the items listed at the end of the article, please consider Sacred Acts: How Churches Are Working to Protect Earth’s Climate and Claiming Earth as Common Ground: The Ecological Crisis through the Lens of Faith.
What are your stories and thoughts on this topic? And what resources do you suggest? We look forward to hearing from you.
The May 7, 2012 Alban Weekly (“The Danger in ‘Getting By‘“) highlights the factors surrounding meaningful change. Drawing on the work of Peter Block, author Larry Peers emphasizes the importance of knowing why a congregation is being called to change—before implementing the how-tos. The why serves as an impetus for developing common ground and creating a deep commitment.
Once a commitment is in place, congregational “innovation teams” need to sustain that commitment by engaging in some interrelated processes—including exploring possibilities, new realities, and new outcomes; executing plans and practices; developing solid supports; and “leading with care and courage.” Throughout these processes, change-makers need to remain focused on the why, on their larger purpose.
Peers concludes by reminding us to always ask, “for the sake of what…are we making these shifts, implementing these changes, taking these actions?” He also points out that continual innovation toward larger commitments leads us toward being changed, not simply “making changes.”
What resources might support you and your congregation in your change processes? In addition to the items listed at the end of the article, please consider two works cited by Peers: The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters; and The Innovator’s Way: Essential Practices for Successful Innovation.
What are your stories and thoughts on this topic? And what resources do you suggest? We look forward to hearing from you.
Roy Oswald and Otto Kroeger’s “The Case for Becoming a Type Watcher” (the April 30, 2012 Alban Weekly, adapted from their book, Personality Type and Religious Leadership), explains why it can be valuable to use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator not only for self-understanding, but also for understanding and working with your parishioners.
Chief among the values they list is self-understanding. When we apply the capacities most suited to our own temperament and outlook, our ministries are more rewarding and we perform more effectively. Oswald and Kroeger point out, however, that “type should never be an excuse.” Nevertheless, the type indicator can help us know what activities most de-energize us and most require help from others.
Other values include understanding others (we can appreciate people whose gifts and temperaments are the opposite to ours, rather than wish they were different); mobilizing church volunteers (we can help others see what most motivates them and offer opportunities to engage in these ministries); and spiritual guidance that’s attuned to the need for a variety of disciplines and approaches to prayer.
What resources can support you as you learn about and apply personality type in your congregation? In addition to the items listed at the end of the article, please consider the resources and products of the CPP organization as well as information from the Myers & Briggs Foundation.
What are your stories and thoughts on this topic? And what resources do you suggest? We look forward to hearing from you.
“A Spirit of Hospitality” (the April 23, 2012 Alban Weekly, excerpted and adapted from Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability, and Inclusion) narrates the story of a congregation that not only opened its doors to persons with disabilities, but also sought to integrate their ministries into the life and work of the church.
Nickville Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania had already called a woman who uses a wheelchair to be its pastor: Reverend Sue Montgomery. So the congregation’s decision to embrace and integrate people with intellectual disabilities into its ministry “flowed from an understanding of what it meant to be embraced in the family of God, including full integration into the church.”
From this understanding, the “Training towards Self Reliance” ministry was formed, which enabled persons with developmental disabilities to read scriptures, assist with morning prayers, play the piano, and sing for morning worship. In addition, this ministry featured a “group home” component that brought worship to those beyond church walls—as well as a fundraising component on behalf of the local food pantry.
While the congregation has encountered obstacles, its spirit of inclusion has helped it to meet and respond to them.
What resources might help your congregation to develop a spirit of inclusion and to embrace persons with disabilities? In addition to the items listed at the end of the article, please consider the American Association of People with Disabilities, Interfaith Initiative; the Special Needs Ministry Handbook; and Dimensions of Faith and Congregational Ministries with Persons with Developmental Disabilities and Their Families.
What are your stories and thoughts on this topic? And what resources do you recommend? We look forward to hearing from you.
In “Restructuring the Rabbinate” (the April 16, 2012 Alban Weekly, adapted from Tomorrow’s Synagogue Today: Creating Vibrant Centers of Jewish Life), Rabbi Hayim Herring discusses the cultural and demographic factors affecting the rabbinate today. Noting that the “paid rabbi” position only emerged in relatively recent times, Herring speculates that “we may well be approaching a time when the rabbinate does not offer as many full-time positions as it did in the past century.”
Rabbinical seminaries and related institutions, believes Herring, will need to ask themselves some key questions as they develop strategies for future rabbi formation—such as (1) what will be the “essential services and roles for congregational rabbis”?; (2) how can rabbinical organizations support rabbis who are experiencing “dislocation”?; and (3) what alternatives to “six-year rabbinical-school education at current tuition levels” might be considered?
What resources might support congregations, seminaries, and other organizations that are re-examining the rabbinate? In addition to the items listed at the end of the article, please consider Synagogue 3000; Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life; and The Self-Renewing Congregation: Organizational Strategies for Revitalizing Congregational Life.
What are your stories and thoughts on this topic? And what resources do you suggest? We look forward to hearing from you.
In “A Congregation of Theological Coherence” (the April 9, 2012 Alban Weekly), Tim Shapiro asserts that a congregation’s health correlates with the way its leaders think and speak about God.
This correlation, which Shapiro describes as “theological coherence,” happens when a congregation is clear about how it understands God and applies that understanding to its daily life. It happens when there’s congruence between a congregation’s stated values and what it does. And it happens when a congregation both practices what it preaches and preaches what it practices.
While theological coherence can take many forms, what the forms share are “strategic efforts to integrate theological reflection into the life of a congregation.” These efforts may appear as mission and vision statements, formal governing board actions, new adult education processes, and even everyday conversation.
What resources might support theological coherence in your congregation? In addition to the items listed at the end of the article, please consider The Art of Theological Reflection; How to Think Theologically (Second Edition); and Becoming a Congregation of Learners: Learning as a Key to Revitalizing Congregational Life.
What are your stories and thoughts on this topic? And what resources do you suggest? We look forward to hearing from you.
In the April 2, 2012 Alban Weekly (“A Backdrop of Loss,” excerpted from Strategic Leadership for a Change: Facing Our Losses, Finding Our Future), Kenneth McFayden lists and explains the kinds of losses that have led congregations to a sense of crisis. Among the losses he cites are the loss of members, staff, and pastors; the loss of traditions, structural supports, and stability; and the loss of confidence, community status, and energy for ministry. Perhaps most poignant is the loss of identity, as members lament that “We’re not the church we used to be.”
In the face of such losses, some congregations now understand that “how they discern and live into the future, not how they engaged in ministry in past years, will determine their viability and vitality.” Yet these congregations mourn what has been lost, even as they engage in processes to discern their future.
If you and your congregation are mourning losses and seeking to discern the elements of a vital future, what resources might help? In addition to the items listed at the end of the article, please consider The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations; Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change (Third Edition); and Transitions: Leading Churches through Change.
What are your stories and thoughts on this topic? And what resources do you suggest? We look forward to hearing from you.
Like the fund-raising appeals of public radio stations, congregational fund-raising can take a variety of forms, be offered in a variety of settings, and speak to a variety of human motivations. Craig Satterlee, author of “Preaching Is Not Fund-Raising from the Pulpit” (the March 26, 2012 Alban Weekly, adapted from Preaching and Stewardship: Proclaiming God’s Invitation to Grow), argues that there is nothing wrong with such appeals.
However, they are not what people expect in a sermon, and however expedient it might be to use the pulpit for fund-raising, it is not appropriate. Satterlee puts it this way: “It is inappropriate and even dishonest to pull a kind of bait and switch and replace what people expect in a sermon—the promise of God’s unconditional love, forgiveness, justice, and participation in God’s own life revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—with a fund-raising appeal.” If it’s necessary to make such an appeal during worship, asserts Satterlee, it’s probably best that it be made by someone other than the preacher.
What resources might support your work in preaching and/or fundraising? In addition to the items listed at the end of the article, you might consider these items: Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate: A New Vision for Financial Stewardship; Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money; and The Witness of Preaching (Second Edition).
What are your stories and thoughts on this topic? And what resources do you suggest? We look forward to hearing from you.
