Like nature, congregations may change slowly
While we admire speed and efficiency, successful change can require time and patience, writes an associate director for Leadership at Duke Divinity’s Thriving Congregations Coordination Program.
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Could ‘hybrid shared ministry’ help struggling congregations survive?
A pastor shares his experience with a new model in which a larger congregation helps a smaller one by digitally sharing resources, sermons and other assets.
Link to author A. Trevor Sutton
By
A. Trevor Sutton
Pastor and writer
A place where interfaith families can be wholly together
In Maryland, families have gathered for almost three decades to create a faith community where they can fully explore their religious identities without sacrificing their heritage.
Link to author Edie Gross
By
Edie Gross
Journalist
‘When God’s Call Is Bigger Than a Building’
The Rev. Ashley Goff reflects on her congregation’s long — and sometimes contentious — process of building 173 apartments for low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities in this excerpt from “Gone for Good?”
Link to author Ashley Goff
By
Ashley Goff
Pastor, Arlington Presbyterian Church
Age does not limit Christian leadership
Encountering a unique ministry in San Francisco prompted a confrontation with her own ageism, writes a director of educational programs at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
Link to author Angie Kay Hong
By
Angie Kay Hong
Director of Educational Programs, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity
The church needs innovation instigators
As we’ve learned through COVID-19, faith communities can adapt. Church leaders must be willing to continue sparking change by asking new questions and challenging old answers.
Link to author Gabby Cudjoe-Wilkes
By
Gabby Cudjoe-Wilkes
Pastor, author and educator
Celeste Kennel-Shank: ‘It was the safest place I knew as a child.’
A pastor and journalist tells the story of the Community of Christ in Washington, D.C., in which she grew up. It was a five-decade-long experiment in living and worshipping in a neighborhood parish that intentionally ended in 2016.
Considering the future of the 'Old First Church'
In this two-part series, United Methodist Church Bishop Kenneth H. Carter, Jr. and the Rev. Audrey Warren reflect on First Churches -- those anchor congregations in American downtowns. How can these institutions, which may be rich in tradition but strapped for cash, adapt to a changing society?
Observation, interpretation and intervention are key to revitalizing our big downtown churches
Nearly 50 years ago, the authors of “What’s Ahead for Old First Church” examined the strengths and weaknesses of these anchor institutions. The lessons are surprisingly relevant today.
Kenneth H. Carter Jr.
Audrey Warren
Technological hesitancy and digital reluctance can be barriers to digital justice
Negative attitudes toward the adoption of technology during the pandemic raise issues of fairness and justice into the future, writes the author of a study on the post-pandemic church.
Link to author Heidi A. Campbell
By
Heidi A. Campbell
Professor, Texas A&M University
New people can mean new ways of doing things
The last four years have seen an influx of new hires for many organizations. Slowing down to make the changes that turnover requires can benefit everyone.
Link to author David L. Odom
By
David L. Odom
Executive director, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity
