This book review talks about the death of a family member due to mental illness. If you or someone you know are struggling with mental illness or suicidal thoughts, help is available. My very first funeral as a minister was…
How can we talk about church finances in a healthy way? Let’s face it, it is a sensitive topic to bring up in a church. Having said that, in the past twelve years, hundreds of congregations in the United States have permanently closed their doors due to lack of funds.
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!…
Researcher Matt Bloom begins Flourishing in Ministry, his work on pastoral wellbeing, with the story of Carolyn. Carolyn discovered a love for theology and ministry in college and switched vocational paths from medicine to ministry. Her time in…
Dr. Robert Hull, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, used to give incoming students this advice, “Live your life here while you are here.” This is good and helpful advice, but it is also hard to do. When we enter a state of transition—especially a new stage in life—we cling to…
The celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ is the oldest feast in the faith. It was, and continues to be, the center point of the Christian faith. Just like in the New Testament Scriptures, early Christian writers took every opportunity they had to speak about Christ’s incarnation, death,…
In a picture from the fall of 1974, I am standing next to my father outside the dormitory as my parents are about to leave me to begin my first year of college. As part of the “Baby Boom Generation” (born between 1946 and 1964), I was just one of…
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…
Since joining our church staff back in 2019, it’s usually around this time of year that I am given the opportunity to preach during the Advent season. At first, I’m always really excited. As a woman in ministry, I’m still getting used to the fact that I’m now blessed to…
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. -Matt. 5:8 Pray without ceasing. -1 Thess. 5:16 “Community starts in the heart.” Could there be a more Hallmark way of talking about cultivating community? Maybe not. As Henri…
