Pastoral leadership

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Like runners, ministers benefit when they learn healthy habits that allow them to pause and experience restoration from concerns and fatigue and be refilled by the spirit of God. Bigstock/Dean Drobot

Christian Leadership, Pastoral leadership, Health & Well-being, Vocation

Mike Cope: Contemplation, relationships, emotional maturity and self-care are key to pastoral thriving

Theological training doesn’t offer ministers everything they need to flourish. Pastoral peer groups that develop additional competencies can fill the gap, writes a minister who is director of ministry outreach at Pepperdine University.

iStock/greenaperture

Christian Leadership, Pastoral leadership, Health & Well-being, Emotional health

Kate Rae Davis: Resilience and pastoral leadership

To acquire the resilience necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing world, pastors need people, practices and purpose, says the director of the Resilient Leaders Project.

Composite illustration by Catherine A. Caimano / SmartMockups

Innovation, Christian Leadership, Pastoral leadership, Laity, Role in church

Catherine A. Caimano: Free Range Priests solve traditional church problems

An Episcopal “clergypreneur” innovates a new model of pastoral care in which congregations run their own churches and contract with her for services such as worship, Christian education and leadership formation.

The Rev. Justin Mathews works the serving line at Thelma's Kitchen, a cafe operated by Reconciliation Services.
Photos by Susan Pfannmuller

Missions & Evangelism, Christian Leadership, Pastoral leadership, Innovation

Orthodox-affiliated nonprofit helps a neighborhood heal from a legacy of trauma

In a neighborhood long marked by the trauma of racism and poverty, Reconciliation Services is building community with an entrepreneurial but distinctly Orthodox Christian approach to mission.

Worship can be a powerful way to engage conflict, as participants discovered at this 2018 Colossian Forum event on political division.
Photo courtesy of The Colossian Forum

Reconciliation, Christian Leadership, Pastoral leadership

Michael Gulker: Conflict and Christian discipleship

In a time of intense polarization, both inside and outside the church, Christians are called not to run from conflict but to engage it, drawing upon ancient practices of the faith, says the president of The Colossian Forum.

Photo by Malerapaso

Congregations, Christian Leadership, Pastoral leadership

N. Graham Standish: What are the next chapters of your church's narrative?

Leading a congregation into the future requires understanding its story -- and helping it envision what new chapters might come next.

Julia Perez, (right) at a news conference held by Durham, North Carolina, city leaders to update the community about her husband, Samuel Oliver-Bruno, who was arrested and deported to Mexico in November. Photos by Justin Cook

Christian Leadership, Pastoral leadership

Tito Madrazo: In a polarized world, we need vulnerable and authentic leaders

After witnessing the arrest of his friend and student Samuel Oliver-Bruno, a pastor learns that he can’t be all things to all people but must instead honestly share his grief and fear for his undocumented friends.

It's in shops and streets and other unexpected places where God’s transforming "meant to be" experiences happen. iStock / Torresigner

Missions & Evangelism, Christian Leadership, Pastoral leadership

Thomas Rusert: 'Meant to be' -- playing our part in providence

As pastors, don’t leave the power of “God moments” entirely to chance. Help make them happen. Ask yourselves, “Where am I ‘meant to be’ this week?”

Redeemer Lutheran's annual block party is one of the many ways the church reaches out to the Harrison neighborhood in North Minneapolis. Photos courtesy of Redeemer Lutheran Church

Christian Leadership, Pastoral leadership, Congregations, Missions & Evangelism

Church finds new life, focusing on 'congregation' outside its walls

Viewing the congregation as more than the Sunday faithful, Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis has been ‘a beacon of hope’ for nearby residents, with its focus on service to the neighborhood.

iStock / Floriana

Christian Leadership, Pastoral leadership, Congregations

Kathryn Lester-Bacon: In defense of 'icebreakers'

Icebreakers are about more than small talk, says a Presbyterian pastor. In a world of increasing social isolation, they lay the groundwork for hospitality and welcome, creating common ground where community can take root and grow.

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Fourth in a series. In Acts, writes C. Kavin Rowe, the apostles create a new church structure to address the neglect of widows, among the most vulnerable of people.

A learning resource for Christian leaders and their institutions from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity