A blog post by Megan Clapp About a year ago, I made a pretty big mistake. I attempted to make a huge change in our Sunday School programming, and it was a colossal failure. I had spent a full year working with the youth and family leaders in the congregation. We produced a vision statement,…
A blog post by Adam Butler Yesterday, Aaron wrote these words about idolatry and the dangers of a self constructed God: “We call this the incarnation, and that is the core of what the Gospel is all about: the reality of what it means to be human, in God’s view. And most of the time,…
A blog post by Aaron Fuller “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” ~Anne Lamott My faith has been shaken up a bit recently…well, more than a bit. I’ve been engaging with another blog lately, the author of…
At the end of a vibrant, engaging first day at the Rethinking Evangelism conference, the 300 or participants were asked to gather in groups of four or five and come up with their critical question of the day. These Critical Questions from Day One are now posted here. Join the conversation… respond, rank and…
A blog post by Tim Bowman As youth ministry people, so much of our time is spent either planning or being active that it is sometimes difficult for us to listen. It is not so much that we do not want to listen, because I genuinely believe that we do, but when there are camps,…
A blog post by Pastor Nancy Lee Gauche I read this post on Kenda Creasy Dean’s Blog on April 14, 2011, and it got my juices flowing around this question: “What are the Top 10 Characteristics of a Healthy Youth Ministry?” There are a million lists like this floating around, but my challenge to you…
A blog post by Megan Clapp I recently moved from Arizona to Iowa. Before we left, my husband and I spent an evening with a family that we had grown to be friends with. We played laser tag, raced go-karts, and finished up the evening with a round of mini-golf. It was our last time…
A blog post by Aaron Fuller Question for ya: Are you a leader or a manager? Before you answer, take a minute to hear me out — while we often will acknowledge that leadership and management are not the same things, if you pick a part your role in ministry, there’s a good chance you’ll…
A blog post by Sarah Bane A wise educator once told me, “Learning is the residue that’s left over after the experience is over.” If this is true, then how has our Christian witness invited us to experience and think about the world around us? In the case of Abraham and Sarah, God said to…
Courtney Young is a graduate of Luther Seminary – M.Div. with an emphasis in Congregational Mission and Leadership. Missional, a Millennial, and a new mother, Courtney shares her thoughts with us here: Now that Christmas is over, way over, can we please talk about Christmas? I hold this idea that if something actually matters,…
Ecclesiastes 3 begins … “For everything there is a season and a season for every activity under heaven.” Recently I have been reflecting on time and its relationship with leadership. And I am convinced that a key practice of leadership is helping a community identify what time it is and then discover that it means…
From his key role in helping lead the South African Duch Reformed Church out of its Apartheid-era inwardness to his leadership in exploring new ways to convene church (check out the Open Door Cafe) or hospitably listen, Pastor and Professor Jannie Swart is on the leading edge of evangelism. Join Jannie Swart at the Rethinking…
Here’s another contribution from one of our CYF graduates thesis. This one, by Joshua Feala, addresses the issue of youth ministry and congregational leadership. Enjoy! Closing The Ministry Gap actually began years ago when I was a youth in the church. I noticed there was this distance between the pastor and my fellow youth. Our…
What’s in a story? Perhaps even more to the point, how does God use the stories of our own lives to bring hope and life, love and peace to a struggling world? How might story be an entry point to relationship and true sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ? Join Nadia Bolz-Weber at the Rethinking…
Did you read Amanda Nelson’s thesis yet? If not, it is posted at the bottom of the previous post. I want to commend Amanda on her work in digging into what the church needs to learn about the spiritual lives on young adults. Her stories of young adults are similar to so many stories of…
