ministry

What two drastically different messages from parishioners taught me

Scot McKnight looks to Paul to define the pastoral task.

How American hostility toward Muslims has shaped my pastoral vocation

How Sacred Stones Ministries is bringing new ministry models to birth

Congregations aren’t paradise. They’re communities in which we constantly hurt each other’s feelings.

Deanna Thompson's book about cancer takes us where we don't want to go but must.

The most useful essays in this new collection are the ones that tell stories from parish ministry.

Can Christians display a life together that’s as compelling as war?

In a recent interview, someone asked me, “What did you write in Tribal Church that you regret? Is there anything that you would change?” The question reminded me of the fact that we’re always predicting and observing things that may not prove to be true a few years later. Here are three myths that I often hear about ministry that I question.

Lloyd Rediger's "clergy killer" premise is, in some senses, indisputable. Yet put so baldly, the kvetch seems odd.

"I feel like a Hospice nurse," I sighed as I set down my bags. I had so many funerals in my small congregation that I had little time for anything other than caring for the dying. 

I get jealous. I try not to, but I hope that I’ve also begun to recognize and constructively use the emotion. Here are some dos and don’ts that I practice to make sure that the little green monster doesn’t take over my life.

Church leaders are already strapped with not enough hours in the day. And now we’re supposed to be engaging in social media too? How do we manage it all?

Unco is short for Unconference. It’s specifically designed for discussions on the future of the church. It’s a percolator for new ministries and ideas, usually within mainline contexts. 

One of our tradition's best ideas is that God calls us to become all we were created to be. One of its worst is that only clergy are called.

An annotated list of top new titles.