When I decided to do this column, I didn’t think I’d use a public media frenzy for a Bible lesson. Hoping to be more instructional – words for leaders, aspiring leaders, those who want to learn about leadership, and help members understand leadership better – it wasn’t my posture to jump on media bandwagon and write about another church disaster witnessed this year. Yet I felt for this one, maybe more than all the others. I felt for it as... Read more
Trying to understand the Bible can seem intimidating. This is true even for those who spend their lives teaching Scripture. We all come across passages that don’t make sense to us, and in the process, require us to do some in-depth research. Sometimes, even that can leave us uncertain. Research often leads to more questions, and somewhere in here, we step back, pray, and ask God to show us what we might be missing. All the New Testament women named... Read more
It’s not uncommon to hear the term “cult” frequently thrown around today. The term is often used casually to identify a group that one dislikes for various reasons. Whether it is unconventional doctrine, the way members seem to follow a leader no matter what they do, or aggressive evangelism techniques, people often think a group is a cult based on personal criteria rather than actual standards. Standards for cult criteria do exist; it’s not all a matter of opinion. In... Read more
When I first went into ministry (twenty-plus years ago), we weren’t met with the same response that many leaders are today. We were not put in the pulpit right away. (If we saw a pulpit within a year, we were lucky.) Instead, we saw bathroom stalls that needed cleaning, church closets full of cleaning supplies, and a nursery or Sunday school class full of children who needed monitoring and education. We were part of altar work, childcare, and maintenance of... Read more
A quick run through social media will show a number of different angles on Christian ministers. An overwhelming majority of these are negative. Many sites portray Christian ministers as spiteful, manipulative individuals who are out for power and control, deliberately trying to harm people. As a Christian minister myself, I can say this is both an exaggeration and a falsehood. While I do not question there are leaders who abuse their positions, that is not the standard “norm” among Christian... Read more
When I was in fifth grade, I didn’t know I would spend the majority of my adult life in leadership. All I knew was the world I associated with my everyday life: school days, awash in my navy and blue jumper with white blouse (peter pan collar, of course) navy blue uniform sweater, white knee socks, and black penny loafers. My world was long division, copying spelling words, social studies, and Girl Scouts and piano lessons after school. Me, a... Read more
The term “The Ministry of Ordination” sounds very serious and official. I have titled such on purpose, for that very reason: ordination is a crux of ministry. It is both a beginning of ministry and the receipt of ministry, at once. When one goes into ministry, they are at the beginning of their service (the word ministry means “service”) as an individual and are receiving the benefit of service from a spiritual leader. It reflects a number of different ideas... Read more
Patheos’s new project, Sacred Spaces: The 100 Most Holy Places on Earth has me thinking about the concept of “sacred space.” Growing up, it wasn’t uncommon to hear of people taking huge trips to different sites, each with the hope that their pilgrimage would render a special blessing. One woman claimed she was healed at Medugorje, Yugoslavia (a place where a group of children claimed to have an apparition of Mary, mother of Jesus). A few people made trips to... Read more
We go into ministry because we love God and want to serve others. We also go into ministry because we enjoy attention, encouragement, and the words, “Job well done!” Even though we don’t talk much about the latter, I firmly believe God uses these things to help propel us into His work. There’s nothing wrong with loving every aspect of ministry, including those that get us attention and praise. Not everyone has the ability to speak in front of groups... Read more
It’s not a secret to say the issue of women in ministry may be one of the most decisive present throughout church history. It continues to be a topic of controversy, no matter the evidence that speaks for itself. While current statistics cite that more than seventy percent of Evangelicals support public ministry roles for women, seeing women in top church leadership roles remains relatively rare. This is true across a number of major Christian denominations, notwithstanding entire denominations, such... Read more
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