Creating expectations for laity
All of the encouragement to explore a call at Sandy Plains UMC complements a larger effort: to put laity to work in meaningful ways.
Laity
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Enuma Okoro: For the love of God, write
Making a living as a writer is choosing to struggle with the tension of being called, having that call affirmed as ministry and discerning the particulars of that ministry, says the author of the memoir “Reluctant Pilgrim.”
Jeffrey Van Duzer: Another way of doing business
Business is called first not to profit but to participate in the work of redemption, providing meaningful work and helping communities flourish, says the business school dean at Seattle Pacific University.
C. Kavin Rowe: Why does your Christian community exist?
Sixth in a series. A community can thrive over time only if its members know why it exists and can communicate that with others.
The Rev. John Heinemeier retired from ministry after 45 years, then returned to work and became the part-time vicar of St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Oxford, N.C. Photo by York Wilson
Laity and retired clergy lead together in small congregations
St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Oxford, N.C., illustrates a new model for underserved churches: active laity and retired pastors.
'We have been resurrected'
Two years ago, tiny Saint Cyprian’s Episcopal Church was dying. Today, to everyone’s surprise, it is beginning to thrive. It’s a testament to the work of dedicated lay leaders in the historically African-American congregation and a retired white Lutheran pastor.
Charles Hambrick-Stowe: What's Christian about a Christian business?
Profit is important, but it's not the most important thing.
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Visibility: A feature of thriving communities
Third in a series. Christians are those whose common life positions them for visibility in the world as a witness to Jesus Christ, writes C. Kavin Rowe.
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The Work+Shop: Faith in everyday life
Two Episcopal priests in San Antonio combine scholarship and discernment to help ordinary Christians ‘live life in full color’
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Excellence is the standard
The Catholic Church has been described as an organization as large as Walmart that operates on a feudal model. But the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management hopes to change that, starting with standards for excellence adapted from the nonprofit world.