Lay leadership

‘Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry’

In this excerpt, Beth Allison Barr follows a mother and daughter who both participated in ministry, but only one worked formally as a pastor.

By Beth Allison Barr Professor and author

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Consider the introverts

Leadership comes at all volumes. The church must listen for quieter voices, too.

By Emily Lund Director of Communications, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity

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Falling in love again — with a congregation

Now could be the time to rediscover why we chose a faith community in the first place and to consider what’s next, writes the director of the Thriving Congregations Coordination Program at Duke Divinity.

By Kelly Ryan Missioner for discipleship, Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina

Image link to article: Falling in love again — with a congregation

To my white sisters in Christ

A Black mother of sons challenges white women to move beyond silence or tepid, timid outrage to work for a world in which all of God’s children can live more fully and fairly.

By Aleta Payne Senior editor, Faith & Leadership

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Do you need full-time clergy to be a vital congregation?

Don’t let the ingrained belief that only churches with full-time pastors can thrive keep you from making the switch to part-time clergy, writes an author who has researched the effects of part-time ministry.

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald Journalist and UCC minister

Image link to article: Do you need full-time clergy to be a vital congregation?

'Business is the calling God has ordained for me to do'

John Gasangwa, an entrepreneur who grew up in a refugee camp, uses his business training to create jobs in remote western Rwanda. Arise Rwanda Ministries has developed the coffee trade as well as educational and microlending opportunities for people living in the region.

By Bruce Buursma Journalist