Because of your protection, I sing. I stay close to you; your right hand supports me.
Love Requires Vulnerability
Hate is about controlling others, while love is about becoming vulnerable to them. Vulnerability opens us up to suffering because people will inevitably hurt us.
Movement Gives the Unmentionable Momentum
Talking about the pain and difficulty of this past year is going to be very important to all ages within our churches. But, how do we guide people to mention their pain?
Reflection Roundup: Mama Said, Mama Said
Gathering one another for nurture, for centering, and allowing oneself to be gathered, for focus, admonition, and empowerment: this is the maternal work of God.
10 Questions with David Kneip, Associate Director
We announced this week that David is joining our team. For those of you who don’t already know him, allow me to introduce you to my new boss!
God Talks About Sex, and So Should We
I wonder if some of the problem is that church leaders do not share what God says about sex.
Your Silence Will Not Protect You
When are you keeping quiet when you suspect something isn’t working, and why?
Reflection Roundup: Honest and Curious
Liminality: it’s the ultimate “are we there yet?” And in fact, we’re not. If we’re honest, we’ll admit we don’t even know where there is, exactly, and lead with the spirit of contentment enjoying the missional pit stops with God while holding the destination loosely.
Foot Check. Nose Check. Smile Check.
If we acknowledge the physical and/or emotional constraints that limit our capacity, then we also become intentional about focusing our ministry around these essentials and doing so in whatever format works.
#FreeBlackMamas
God is doing something about this injustice, and the church has an invitation and a responsibility to join God in the mission of liberation.
Reflection Roundup: Listen for the Voice of God
Is the voice of God always a word? Might it be found in a child’s exploration of a grandparent’s elderly, muscular hands? Is God’s voice in the soil they worked? Listen.
Monday to Saturday Faith
This conviction – that God is already in our homes, our Zoom calls, our neighborhoods and parks – offers us a vibrant and hopeful invitation.
A Time to Speak, Part 2: Hiddenness
How do we respond to abandonment as ministers and Christian leaders? I don’t like talking about abandonment, and my first instinct is to find excuses.
Reflection Roundup: “The Gift of Unhurried Time”
Ask, seek, knock. Pray those bold prayers and there will come a day when God’s responsiveness comes tumbling after you. Expectantly wear sturdy shoes every day of your life lest you be bowled over by the love of God.
Rebuilding Bridges
Bridge events provide a comfortable place for people to interact with church members in a relaxed and inviting way, and as we come out of the pandemic, they hold promise in helping our current church community as well.
Reflection Roundup: Christian Community, Face-to-Face
The mission of God is not something we have to do; we receive it. We share it and spread it around like maple butter on Holy Saturday French toast, savoring the Savior.
Three Christian Truths About Death
As spiritual leaders … we are expected to have words that matter as we speak into the lives of those in pain.
You Can’t Teach Confidence, Right?
When you are thrown off balance by a comment, a criticism, a conflict, a failure, a judgement, or a surprise topic at an elders’ meeting, do you have a verbal recovery plan?
Christian No More
Oh freedom, how I love thee!
For in your arms I am whole.
Reflection Roundup: Sacramental Hospitality
As the created world hosts humanity, we have much to learn from the soil, from the seeds. Stretching toward the light, cultivated hearts propagate God’s mission.