Reflections & Research
Discover what we are learning about what helps pastors thrive
March 25, 2020
Meeting with your church online is vital for serving your congregation’s needs
Online church offers congregations the ability to continue being church amid the coronavirus pandemic. Health professionals and the media call the COVID-19 virus a “novel virus.” This new virus for humans has generated many novel responses around the world — new tests being created, new restrictions being imposed, new vaccines being developed. Amid all this […]
read moreabout Meeting with your church online is vital for serving your congregation’s needsFebruary 18, 2020
Excerpt: ‘Planning Sabbaticals: A Guide for Congregations and Their Pastors’
In this excerpt from his recent book, author Robert C. Saler writes about pastoral sabbaticals as a time of reinvigoration and reflection for both church leaders and their congregations. Saler directs the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs and the Center for Pastoral Excellence at Christian Theological Seminary. What Kinds of Activities Can the Congregation Do? […]
read moreabout Excerpt: ‘Planning Sabbaticals: A Guide for Congregations and Their Pastors’February 18, 2020
How I reach college students as a womanist millennial preacher
The inaugural dean of chapel at Wiley College blends traditional faith practices with a fresh approach in order to inspire and teach undergraduates at the HBCU. Much of who the Rev. Dr. Dominique A. Robinson is today can be traced back to two women — her grandmothers. Her father’s mother was Pentecostal and the founding […]
read moreabout How I reach college students as a womanist millennial preacherFebruary 18, 2020
Creating community in nature
For one pastor, feeding the spiritually hungry means meeting them where they are. At 8:00 on a Sunday morning, I usually worship in the suburban Chicago church where I am pastor, wearing a stole and sensible flats. But this Sunday, I am leading a group of 10 on a hike in a Chicago forest preserve, wearing […]
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