When our Macedonian Ministry staff brainstormed “truth” as a topic of our February column for 2017 it was about two months before the Oxford dictionary declared that the “Word of the Year” for 2016 was post-truth. The Oxford dictionary combs through data bases of word...
When has a door closed in your life? Every one of us has experienced closed doors …when a loved one dies and a chapter of our lives ended; when a job or a relationship did not work out as we hoped; or when we hoped...
My adventure with Serious Ju Ju skateboard ministry had evolved from spectator, to advocate, to volunteer. I guess at some point I went “all in.” Read more about Tom Esch's adventure....
When Leonard Bernstein was conductor of the New York Philharmonic, he was asked by a reporter, “What is the most difficult instrument to play?” With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “Second fiddle.” Bernstein is quite right…second fiddle is THE most difficult instrument to...
If we’re not careful, a Christian meditation on the theme of “adventure” can quickly devolve into shortsided idealism about the supposed excitement of following Jesus, how inherently adventurous it is to take risks for Jesus, or something of the sort. ...
My friend Marjorie Bankson is a gifted potter. One day, I saw her put a hunk of dry, brittle clay on her potter’s wheel and turn the wheel on. The motion of the wheel and the moisture from the water hose softened the clay to...
As we the people of the United States of America inaugurate our 45th President of the United States today, I am asking you to join me in doing two things. First, let us reflect together on the words of President Abraham Lincoln which called our...
I hate roller coasters! I always have. They scare me to death. When our two sons were little, my wife Suzanne would take Ryan, our older son (who is now a Navy pilot) on the roller coaster while Toby, our younger son, and I would...
But …what has happened to King’s dream of an America where “children will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character?” In his 1963 letter from the Birmingham Jail, Dr. King reminded us that America is one...
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I was the Facilitator for the first New York City cohort, and at the time, I was working in theological education on Christian leadership formation, so it seemed like a natural fit. What I discovered, though, was something quite different from my “day job.” While the content and topics of the curriculum was a crucial part of our gatherings, it was the community of mutual care and support that made the content relevant, not the other way around. And second, having three years of strong bonding created an extraordinarily resilient community that, in turn, was able to build up resilience in our leaders. I think every member of my cohort went through significant seasons of both joy and heartache, professionally and vocationally, during our time. And the cohort, in turn, lived out the exhortation of Romans 12:15, “rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep,” with a depth and integrity that I have rarely experienced, and often doing both in the same gathering. It was a privilege and a blessing to me and my own faith and ministry to be their facilitator, and I am eternally grateful to the Ministry Collaborative for calling me to that work!”
“It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was unique to my particular situation. It was needed, appreciated and healing. It was affirming. Most valuable was the unspoken understanding of what we all were facing in our ministry context. There was a sense that we could finish each other’s sentences. Solidarity and empathy.”
Graduation Date:
May 23, 2021
“It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was unique to my particular situation. It was needed, appreciated and healing. It was affirming. Most valuable was the unspoken understanding of what we all were facing in our ministry context. There was a sense that we could finish each other’s sentences. Solidarity and empathy.”
Graduation Date:
May 23, 2021
“I truly looked forward to this every week. The discussion topics, activities, and small group conversations were all very rich and meaningful. This experience gave me space to reflect on what’s happening right now in my congregation and community. It helped me to think about what might be next in my own ministry. It offered some very concrete ways I might work on equipping leaders in my congregation. I really enjoyed meeting colleagues from different places, denominations, and contexts–and learning from their experiences and reflections. I also appreciated hearing further conversation and reinforcement in the podcasts.”
Graduation Date:
July 14, 2021
“The experience was, in one word, enriching. It was timely as well. I was at a critical point in my own ministry and this literally breathed life back into me. The time went by so fast that I didn’t even realize two months had passed. To be able to share that type of camaraderie with other preachers, and realize that my struggles are not isolated, was liberating.”
Graduation Date:
March 18, 2021
“It was great to find confirmation and affirmation of my ministry through the voices of other pastors. I particularly enjoyed the focused time on talking about each of us as individuals and pastors, and not so much on what our churches look like.”
Graduation Date:
January 31st, 2020