by Irene Cho “It’s all too much. I don’t think I can handle it anymore. I can’t keep pretending that I’ve got everything under control and am this perfect all-star person, when really I’m falling apart.” I remember Rebecca sobbing in my office. School had only just begun, but the responsibilities of everything were already too overwhelming—the pressure to maintain her GPA for a college … Continue reading What Does the Lord Require of Us?
by David Scherer While I try very hard to model Christ’s welcome for all people, there are times when I completely blow it. As a straight, white, able-bodied, educated, middle-upper class, Christian male, I have to work hard to be aware of my own biases so that I do not impede God’s liberating mission in the world. I want our church to be welcoming and … Continue reading The Six Least Welcoming Things I’ve Ever Said in my Ministry
by Joe Davis As a newlywed, one of my most joyful experiences is learning new ways to be a great husband and friend to my spouse. This has made me increasingly aware of behavioral patterns I’ve picked up throughout my life as a male-bodied person that are not only annoying to my partner, but contribute to larger cultural patterns that are hurting us all. I … Continue reading Letters from the Male Box
by Bishop Kristen Kuempel When I was a senior at Luther Seminary, I experienced a gift that I didn’t even realize was a gift until later. My pastoral care professor was the late Dr. Richard Wallace. I went into his class with some skepticism—new professors are always an unknown quantity, and a black professor in the early 00s was even more of an anomaly than … Continue reading Finding True Self-Care in Pastoral Ministry
by Rev. Brenda Bos It starts in high school. We get separated into groups: the cool kids, the nerds, the jocks, the band kids. Smart kids, dumb kids. Thugs. Cheerleaders. Some of these labels are accurate; some are not. Some of these labels we shrug off in adulthood; some bleed into our later years in unhelpful ways. You can bet most people who struggle with … Continue reading Creativity for the Rest of Us
by Jason Santos In my travels and teaching, I often get approached by Christian leaders who are curious about intergenerational formation. Although many have already dabbled in the subject, for most people I encounter, it’s a fairly new way of thinking about formation and discipleship. Some have read articles or books on the topic, while others have experimented with intergenerational formation in their own ministry … Continue reading Top 10 Things You Should Know About Intergenerational Formation
by Leigh Finke How do we become better at church? I mean, literally. What does that mean, and how can we measure whether or not we are doing what we need to improve? That question is at the heart of my recent conversation with Peggy Hahn. Hahn is the author of “Faithful Metrics,” and executive director of LEAD, an organization devoted to growing leadership in … Continue reading Practicing Lead Metrics: An Interview with Peggy Hahn
by George Baum So, for a long time I played in a band (technically, a duo) where one of us lived in California and the other lived in various parts of the northeast. We only got together to go play concerts or to record albums. And on tour, probably at least once a day, someone would ask us, “How do you guys practice?” And our … Continue reading I’m Practicing Over Here
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