Journey
This article was first published in Neue Quarterly, Vol. 4, Summer 2009. Remembering Why You Said Yes by Chuck Warnock The phone rang at 3 A. M. one Saturday morning. "Pauline is dying," her niece said, "Can you come?" I dressed quickly, told my wife I
Leadership
If you have a Master of Divinity degree, you might be thinking about taking the next step academically -- obtaining a doctoral level degree. If so, I'd recommend you check into a Doctor of Ministry program, a practical theology degree rooted in the practice of ministry. One advantage
Culture
In addition to this blog, I also edit/curate articles at two other sites, NewChurchReport.com and SmallChurchPROF.com. Both of these sites consist of links to videos, articles, blog posts, and information applicable to churches. Today I'm introducing you to NewChurchReport.com, with the following from the
Culture
The problem with Twitter is you only have 140-characters to make your point. The example above has been re-tweeted about a million times in the past two days, and frankly, I find it a little annoying. Okay, so Rick Warren is a megachurch guru, no doubt. Warren has over 65,
Culture
Okay, I'm going for the cheap search hits with the title, but bear with me because I do have a serious point. Google launched the Nexus One phone today, to no surprise and with little flash. One reviewer said the presentation was "underwhelming." Of course, that&
Culture
With the rise of multi-ethnic congregations, global mission trips, and world-wide communication, church leaders should read Dr. David Augsburger’s book, Pastoral Counseling Across Cultures. Augsburger guides the pastoral counselor, or church staff member, on a tour through alternative worlds by exploring the care of souls across the rich variety
church as abbey
The church growth movement helped foster the idea of the pastor as the authoritative leader of the congregation. I know because I studied church growth at its height at Fuller Seminary. The premise of the theory of "pastoral authority" was that churches grew faster and larger when the
Culture
"We have become so accustomed to thinking of repentance as an unpleasant, though necessary and obligatory rejection of the sin we 'enjoy,' that we have tended to lose sight of repentance as a fundamentally joyous, restorative return to life in its fullness." -- from Soul Mending:
Congregation
There is an idea floating around out there that small churches are inherently resistant to change. This is often called a "small church mentality" because the conventional wisdom is that every church will be growing numerically if it has the right attitude. However, small churches should not be
Culture
Is it just me, or has anybody else noticed how silly Christian book titles have become? Zondervan is in a dust-up with Soong-Chan Rah and other Asian-American church leaders over the book Deadly Viper Character Assassins: A Kung Fu Survival Guide for Life and Leadership. Dr. Rah's beef,
Congregation
Lillian Daniel sparks an interesting conversation about clergy self-care in her article at Out of Ur, What Clergy Do Not Need. Lillian's point is that the "self-care talk" given at ordinations has become a joke, a cliche. What we as clergy need, she asserts, are deep
church as abbey
I am speaking tomorrow at Duke Divinity School to students in the Rural Ministry Colloquia, a monthly gathering of students involved in, or interested in, rural church ministry. I have been asked to tell our story of how we started a community center, community music school, and several other projects