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Ministry Reflection

“Flourishing for All People”: Early-Career Ministers Reflect on What They Value in Congregations

Spencer Taylor, upcoming Emmanuel Christian Seminary graduate, has spent his time in seminary ministering to the youth at Central Holston Christian Church. In his work, Spencer often returns to the wisdom of Andrew Root. Root writes, “ministry is about connection, one…
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Ministry Reflection

Retelling Our History: Stone Campbell Sanders & EU

In undergrad I took a reading course on Church history. Our reading list involved a great variety of texts from early Christian primary sources to comprehensive histories of the crusades, Reformation, and more. Yet in the thousands of pages of Church history, the name Sanders never crossed my…
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Ministry Reflection

Disagreeing in Love

My steps have been captured by the slogan, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things love.” And this slogan is only worth saying if my essentials list is short. If I decide that all my convictions are essentials, then it would be simpler if I just didn’t use the slogan. Colloquially, I say, “If we can arrive in eternity to find out which of us was right, then our disagreement might have been important, but it clearly wasn’t essential.”
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Ministry Reflection

Remember MLK and Remove the Barriers

As a federal holiday approaches when we will recognize the birthday of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is important to remember that he is the first and only clergy person to be so honored. Most of us are familiar with some, if not all of his…
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Ministry Reflection

Three Lessons for Sustainable Ministry Under Strenuous Church Leadership

There are no perfect churches, no perfect church leaders, and no perfect church leadership bodies. I guess I knew that on some level, over 30 years ago, when Christ’s vocational ministry through me began. Nonetheless my excitement for ministry and lack of experience allowed…
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Ministry Reflection

Lasting Friendships in Ministry

It feels weird to have been at this work long enough to actually have some perspective. But the calendar doesn’t lie! This year marks 43 years in ministry, and in December I will step down from a 28-year ministry with Hopwood Christian Church in Elizabethton, TN. On to more adventures!…
EmptyPews
Ministry Reflection

The Joys of Interim Ministry

Interim minister. Six times I’ve proudly worn this title, starting in Johnson City, Tennessee, with East Unaka Church of Christ. My day job was as a newbie professor at Milligan College (where I joined the faculty in 1965), but weekends belonged to the church. Then, in June 1968, I began…
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Adaptive Leadership

Conflicting Formation

A conflict begins—disagreement, debate, dispute—a tinderbox of ideas and agendas generating sparks directly proportional to the force of the argument and the resistance encountered: Which side are you on? Who do they think they are? Can’t they see how wrong it is? Why do we even have to discuss a…
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Ministry Reflection

Prioritizing What We Value

Earlier this year, just as spring was beginning, our good friend John came down from Philadelphia for a visit. I was in the midst of a sabbatical from teaching – a time granted to theological educators to pursue new lines of research and writing that bring fresh perspective and learning…
Lament
Ministry Reflection

Lament As a Means to Flourishing

We were lying in bed. For days, she had been languishing with nearly unbearable pain. Most mornings, we were unsure if she would be able to get up out of bed, to eat, to drink, or to move downstairs. But this day she had spent a few hours in the…