The air was thick with ash from raging wildfires last November when five millennials with no fixed religious affiliation moved into a Roman Catholic convent campus in northern California to spend six months under the tutelage of the Sisters of Mercy.
The pilot residency was the most ambitious evolution yet for the two-and-a-half-year-old national movement that brings together religiously unaffiliated young adults -- often called "nones," for the box they check on surveys asking about their religion -- and Catholic sisters, colloquially known as nuns.
Since its inception, Nuns & Nones has garnered intense interest and widespread media coverage. The friendships between the millennials, most in their late 20s and early 30s, and the nuns, many in their 70s and 80s, have aroused the curiosity of many religion-watchers to see just what may emerge from the unlikely pairing.
A young writer has some advice for church leaders trying desperately to attract and retain young people: change carefully and wisely. What young people say they want in their 20s is not necessarily what they want 10 years later.
In churches, as in the workplace, generational differences are a challenge. Understanding those differences helps congregations ask the right questions, says the author of two books on generational issues.
Naomi Schaefer Riley, author of "Got Religion? How Churches, Mosques and Synagogues Can Bring Young People Back," offers suggestions for Christian leaders seeking to attract and retain young adults.
Religious leaders need tremendous skill in emotional intelligence; yet their training very rarely addresses how to develop the practical skills needed -- from self-awareness to resilience.
Emotional Intelligence for Religious Leaders draws on the latest research in business, psychology, and theology to offer religious leaders the information and tools they need to increase their emotional intelligence and enhance their relationships, communication and conflict management skills, spirituality, and overall well-being. The book offers both a deep understanding of how to develop emotional intelligence and also prescriptive insights about how to practice it that will be helpful for religious leaders in many settings, including congregational ministry, lay ministry, spiritual direction, pastoral counseling, and more.
