This is a public forum to share ideas, ask questions, and reflect on being a pastor in the CRC.
Safe Church
Miriam
Harry
Keith
Todd
From an outsider looking in at this situation and how it continues to unfold, there are some lessons that we in Safe Church Ministry should consider.
What I want to underline, however, is the need for everyone to advocate and act for the well-being of the pastor. Failure to take this seriously can result in spiritually unhealthy pastors AND spiritually unhealthy congregations.
Lecturing my millennial friend on the priorities of giving won't accomplish much. Truth is, he has a lot more to say about how and when church ministry will be paid for than I do.
We celebrate Lord's Supper more often than in years past.. We are thankful for it and likely we are very calm about it. This piece is asking: What is the life, what is the power of Lord's Supper?
I've been a pastor for 9 years in a different denomination. Here, I am not ordained and not qualified to baptize or lead the church in communion. Is there anybody who could help me understand the reasoning for this?
The uncomfortable truth is that something is missing if our prayers and serving and witnessing aren’t coupled with generous giving.
Jill’s conversations centered on family faith formation, a specific focus that Faith Formation Ministries (FFM) has chosen for the coming school year. “These pastors noted how busy families are,” she said.
I don’t need to be a Brewmaster Pastor in order to drum-up some controversial grass-roots community of believers doing something radically cool. As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, I’m already radical.
In a smartphone world, reading the Bible is becoming increasingly individualized. Check out this guide for reading the Bible in community.
Like all Christians, ministry leaders face daily challenges and difficulties. Spiritual direction can help us meet those challenges in the spirit of Psalm 139.
A regional pastor reflects on his experience at the recent Bi-vocational ministry gathering.
A review of Andy Crouch's book, "Strong and Weak." Part of a newsletter for Regional Pastors.
Find video recordings from the bivocational ministry gathering that took place last month in Grand Rapids, MI. We'd love your feedback!
More and more churches are exploring how their congregations can give beyond the offering plate. But deciding which digital company to use for these giving options is confusing! Here's some help.
As I have been grading sermons these past days (about 25 of them since middle of last week with about 10 to go) I often find myself writing “Show, Don’t Tell.”
It’s more blessed to give than to receive; but just how is blessing realized through giving? Who gets it? What does it look like? What do YOU think?
Faith formation cohorts promote faith nurture and help “shrink” the denomination in important ways. Find out more below!
Jesus' agenda is radical because it orients us to God in the first place so that our living is shaped by God's priorities, instead of our own.
Letter from John Bolt, Chief Financial Officer, CRCNA about the bi-vocational ministry gathering happening April 24-25 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Women clergy and seminarians respond to an invitation to a gathering in the Grand Rapids denominational office. Twenty women showed up ready to receive from each other and the Holy Spirit.
As pastors and church councils know, obstructionists can do great damage in a church. Here's how to work toward the discipline of holy complaint.
Missional pastoral care is care for the soul—ours and theirs. It is one soul speaking to another, one beggar showing another beggar where to find the Bread of Life.
Why, so often, during my 23 years of parish ministry, did my own actions and attitudes related to money betray my faith convictions about it?
I don't see coming to the table more often as a threat to our historic and enduring emphasis on the centrality of Scripture. If anything, I’d suspect this may actually help the congregation more deeply comprehend and embrace the Word.
I am a bivocational (BIVO) church planter, and it's the best decision I've ever made in my 30-year ministry career. Here's why.