Those of us who grew up in a high church, that is, a church that practices formalities, rituals and liturgies, along with the priests or pastors who wear long robes with big crosses, have a basic understanding of the duties of a priestly position. But do the priests of today, whether in the church or […]
What is women's role in the Church? Sarah Damm shares her own experience as well as insights from the Church Herself on the very essential role women have in the Catholic Church.
If most pastors were pressed to describe an average day of ministry, they'd have trouble doing it. In a single day, a pastor may fill many different roles in quick succession, from counselor to theologian to student to CEO to custodian (well, let's hope there's usually someone else available to perform that last role). Some roles come more naturally than others, but every pastor wants to perform each role to the best of their ability. In The 10 Key Roles of a Pastor, church consultant Gary L. McIntosh shows pastors how to - understand and juggle their many essential roles - prioritize their time and energy - manage their people's expectations of them - and empower others to take up the vital work of the church body Pastors just starting out in ministry, as well as those who have been at it a while and find themselves overworked and overwhelmed, will value this practical resource. It is also an enlightening read for those in church leadership who would benefit from understanding the pressures their pastor faces on a daily basis.
Most of my experience, discipleship and ministry has been in large (or largish) churches. As a student, I attended St Aldate's in Oxford. After attending small churches in Southampton and Slough, I had the formative experience of seeing a medium-sized church grow large in Poole, Dorset, and in Nottingham have been involved in what had
Church events play a vital role in fostering a sense of community, sharing the good news, and deepening spiritual connections among congregants. While live even
Ask the average Christian what makes a small church grow and you'll hear clichés like: "Prayer grows the church" "We need to follow God's leading" "We need to get back to the Bible" "If we just lift Jesus up the people will come" "Shine your light so bright the world will want what you have"
Feminism Today | published a post on Ko-fi
Each person and every ministry team they’re leading is important and their team’s operations can have an impact on the church’s future. But when it comes to Sundays, some teams have a more critical role in helping or hindering church growth than others.
Written by Staci McLean, Director of ‘The Neurocollective NZ’ Is going to church on Sunday worth the effort? For many families getting to and through a church service on a Sunday morning is a marathon effort. As the mother of a child who is neurodivergent, the Sunday morning struggle was real and at times the […]
The Church of England is leaning on tradition, and millennials are showing up.
As a religious organization in Georgia, we have become a force for good as a unified community, serving the needs of our church and the larger community.
It’s not a secret the church has been in decline for a number of years and for a variety of reasons. You can read some statistics and views on why, here and here and here. Everyone has their opinions. Abuse, apostasy, and irrelevance are just a few of the words that keep coming up in
Questions To Ask A Pastor About Leadership: Leadership is a subject that many people like to talk about. This is because everything depends on leadership. Taking on a leadership role, whether in the church, a social-cultural organization that you are part of, or the government, is a step that will boost your life immensely. However,
Scholars and mainline pastors tell a familiar narrative about the roles of women in the early church-that women held leadership roles and exercised some authority in the church, but, with the establishment of formal institutional roles, they were excluded from active leadership. Evidence of women's leadership is either described as \"exceptional\" or relegated to (so-called) heretical groups, who differed with proto-orthodox groups precisely over the issue of women's participation. For example, scholars often contrast the Acts of Paul and Thecla (ATh) with 1Timothy. They understand the two works to represent discrete communities with opposite responses to the question of women's leadership. In A Modest Apostle, Susan Hylen uses Thecla as a microcosm from which to challenge this larger narrative. In contrast to previous interpreters, Hylen reads 1Timothy and the ATh as texts that emerge out of and share a common cultural framework. In the Roman period, women were widely expected to exhibit gendered virtues like modesty, industry, and loyalty to family. However, women pursued these virtues in remarkably different ways, including active leadership in their communities. Reading against a cultural background in which multiple and conflicting norms already existed for women's behavior, Hylen shows that texts like the ATh and 1Timothy begin to look different. Like the culture, 1Timothy affirms women's leadership as deacons and widows while upholding standards of modesty in dress and speech. In the ATh, Thecla's virtue is first established by her modest behavior, which allows her to emerge as a virtuous leader. The text presents Thecla as one who fulfills culturally established norms, even as she pursues a bold new way of life. Hylen's approach points to a new way of understanding women in the early church, one that insists upon the acknowledgment of women's leadership as a historical reality without neglecting the effects of the culture's gender biases.
Designed for pastors, church leaders, and volunteers, Church Communications guides the reader through practical steps a church can take to strengthen their
These images showcase the joy, fellowship and inspiration that comes from faith.
Many in church leadership roles know the truth of Bonhoeffer’s words, but there seem to be obstacles and barriers that get in the way of that sort of quality of listening. We seem to live with the illusion that speaking and doing are more important than listening. In the face of all the many challenges for the church the temptation is for more strategies for success, more pressure to turn things around. Listening – in whatever form – easily gets marginalized. Here, Chris Edmonson outlines why listening is so essential to good leadership. He looks at the barriers to good communication, at the importance of silence and stillness, and the challenges of listening to those from whom we differ. He emphasizes the essential elements of discernment and prophecy, looking closely at what those terms really mean, and offers some practical ways forward for leaders wishing to create a more listening culture in their church communities.
Creating Space is a passionate and engaged exploration of the ministry and professional role of healthcare chaplains which uses the tools and methods of practical theology to reflect on healthcare chaplaincy and spiritual care. It models the way in which practice development emerges from reflecting on the human story and reveals to healthcare, the Church and the community, the unique role of the chaplain’s experiences as a resource to others. It is written for professional practitioners, prompting their own contextual learning and development, whether as chaplains, pastoral carers, parish clergy, lay ministers, volunteers in any caring context, those who work in listening therapies, those who provide care and support to others of any kind, or those who use or teach reflective practice. The authors are both Anglican clergy who are passionate about healthcare chaplaincy and feel privileged to be called to be a priest in this context. They have healthcare backgrounds and are both naturally and professionally reflective. By “creating space” daily as a forum for reflection, and here as a book, the authors model a practical theological reflection. As chaplain practitioners, they share the ontological position that knowledge is gained by human experience with people exploring their own story and that of others. Here they want to combine this with the epistemology of sharing discoveries from the story of their work together. The storytelling of these two practitioners aims to reveal a means of empowering the “being” of healthcare chaplaincy. These are their inner stories combined with the story of their work.
The Print This photographic print leverages sophisticated digital technology to capture a level of detail that is absolutely stunning. The colors are vivid and pure. The high-quality archival paper, a favorite choice among professional photographers, has a refined luster quality. Paper Type: Photographic Print Finished Size: 18" x 24" Arrives by Fri, May 10 Product ID: 8533323
Religion has a very different place in people’s lives than barely half a century ago. It used to be commonplace to go to church every Sunday and barely a soul grumbled about it. But nowadays, more and more individuals are acting like Homer Simpson and wondering if it wouldn’t be better to sleep in and stay toasty in bed.
Anglican Communion leaders, the global organizing body of Anglicans, are punishing the Episcopal Church by revoking certain privileges for at least three years, following years of heated debates with the American church about homosexuality, same-sex marriage and the role of women, per a Thursday announcement.
Major controversy exists regarding whether there ought to be gender roles within the work of the church. What do the Scriptures say?
Part 1 We do not understand the role of women in ministry because we do not understand the role of men in ministry. We do not understand the role of men in ministry because we do not understand the church. We do not understand the church because the consumer culture has eviscerated the familial c
The rammed earth technique is one of the oldest ways of making earthen clay walls. The clay earth is placed in layers in a formwork and compacted. This creates the characteristic horizontal stripes.
The ministry guide for church ushers: What does an usher do? How to be an usher? What is the role of a church usher? Duties of church usher
In a previous post, we looked at the institution of the new ministry of catechist by Pope Francis and why that is important for RCIA teams. In the press conference announcing the new ministry, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the … Continue reading →
Views on the roles of deacons vary widely among evangelical Christians. What does Scripture actually teach about deacons and their role in the church? Views range from deacons being the board of directors, to the church building maintenance crew. Strauch states that his purpose in writing this book is “to encourage my deacon friends and fellow church leaders to think more critically about what they are saying, what they are doing, and what Scripture actually teaches about deacons.” Whatever your view of deacons may be, this study will help you examine in detail the biblical facts on deacons, allowing those facts to guide your thinking. This book offers the opportunity to build broader agreement among our Bible-believing churches as to what deacons do. Known for his deep love for the church and for his careful Bible exegesis, Strauch’s new study cannot be ignored by churches that are committed to following a biblical church polity. This is not simply a revision of Strauch’s popular book, The New Testament Deacon: Minister of Mercy. It is a completely new study with a fresh perspective. A companion Study Guide is also available. Together, these resources make excellent training material for deacons and the elders who lead them.
The pope has engaged his Council of Cardinals in discussions on the role of women in the Church as the Synod assembly next October is poised to look at female deacons
Hierarchy guide and comparison between Catholic and Anglican titles and clergy ranks. What's the difference between a pastor, a vicar and a priest?
I have a love-hate relationship with systems. I love when systems are in place to save time and help things run efficiently. I hate when systems get in the way and cause unnecessary complexity. When I began my role as communications director at West Ridge Church, one of the biggest mistakes I made during the first year was not investing the necessary time to bring clarity to essential systems that would help me, my team, and my church communicate effectively. It took months of living in survival mode for me to finally hit a breaking point and put systems in place. What I discovered is that creating margin for myself to create and implement sustainable systems was never going to be the most urgent thing on my to-do list; but it was the most important.
