| | | | | | | | | | | | PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | With the advent of Advent, I find myself thinking of Mary and Joseph. But not the young couple making their weary way to Bethlehem with a pregnant Mary astride a donkey without air bags or, heaven help her, a seat warmer. Not the Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt only to escape again into Nazareth.
This Advent, the Mary and Joseph on my mind are not the parents of the infant Jesus but the parents of Jesus the boy. The holy couple who somehow lose sight of their precocious 12-year-old amidst the crush of the Passover crowds. Luke concludes the infancy narratives with this story, but the twist always seems to get lost.
I think it's because the story is embarrassing. Sure, Jesus does OK. He finds his way to the temple and for three days mystifies scholars with his incredible knowledge. We like this part. But hold on -- Jesus was missing for three days? How did Joseph and Mary let this happen? What kind of parents could allow this to happen?
In today's atmosphere of hypervigilance, we freak out if parents allow children to walk to a local park by themselves for an hour. Jesus was AWOL for three days? My mom loves to tell my kids that when I was 4 I took my Big Wheel, crossed a busy street that was explicitly forbidden and pedaled to my older brother's elementary school. When she found me there, I was laughing and said, "I bet you thought I was lost, Mommy!" With the same mix of relief and anger Mary expresses in Luke's Gospel, my unamused mother escorted me home and placed my Big Wheel on the highest shelf in the garage. She didn't take it down for what felt like an eternity.
As a father of three and a working pastor, I have to say that I kind of love Mary and Joseph's lack of parental perfection. They show us what British pediatrician and psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott called "good-enough" parenting. After observing thousands of parents, Winnicott concluded that children benefit when their parents fail them in small, safe ways rather than hovering over them to meet every need.
Read more from Ken Evers-Hood »
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| IDEAS THAT IMPACT: CLERGY SELF-CARE
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St. Augustine, preaching on the mystery of the newly baptized said, "At communion, the priest says, 'the Body of Christ' and you reply 'Amen.' When you say 'Amen,' you are saying yes to what you are."
All that's lovely, theologically speaking. Then I take a look at myself and find I'm not all that impressed with what I see: Self-care hasn't been too high on the priority list, reflecting yet another breach between my nosebleed high theology and the practical habits of my life.
Read more from Anna Adams » |
Pastors work within a complex web of relationships -- peer, family, congregation and denomination among them -- with sometimes-conflicting demands that have repercussions for pastors' vocation and health. In that web, research shows, the influence of congregations and the denominational polity is so strong that pastors' efforts to be healthy are likely to be enhanced -- or thwarted -- by the institutions in which they serve.
Read more from Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell »
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The Rev. Wayne Weathers began struggling with depression in 2002, after a congregant in the church where he was the pastor shot and killed a family member who also was a member of the congregation. But the stigma against seeing a therapist prevented Weathers from getting the help he needed for five years -- and even then, he kept it a secret. Read more of the interview with Wayne Weathers »
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| | UPCOMING ONLINE COURSE: SOURCING INNOVATION |
Chances are good that your institution needs to change in some way if it's to thrive (or even survive). You know it. You embrace the idea. But you don't know what to do, or even where to begin.
Join visual anthropologist and filmmaker Marlon Hall and a community of other Christian leaders for this five-week online course (January 30 - March 1, 2017) as we move step-by-step through the process of learning from a community, which is the foundational step to engage in innovative ministry.
Sourcing Innovation will provide you with the skills to lead innovation to improve the common life. You will learn to examine your community to determine:Where you want to engage;With whom you want to engage;How to develop meaningful partnerships with those people; andWhat to do with what you learn. Learn more and register »
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Leading Congregations and Nonprofits in a Connected World by Hayim Herring & Terri Elton
Leading Congregations and Nonprofits in a Connected World shares emerging practices for leading and organizing congregations and nonprofits in our increasingly networked lives. Drawing on studies of congregations across denominations, and nonprofits with historic ties to faith communities, Hayim Herring and Terri Elton share practical, research-based guidance for how these organizations can more deeply engage with their communities and advance their impact in a socially connected world.
Learn more and order the book » |
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