Barnabas File

Jeff Slingo , an editor at large for The Chronicle of Higher Education, recently posted a blog about what he learned from a ten day transcontinental train ride with 24 millennial entrepreneurs.   In the post, Slingo pushes back against the stereotype of millennials as “ lazy, entitled narcissists who still live with their parents. ” Slingo lists some of the things he learned in dialogue with these young adults.  What he discovered has implications for the church, not only in engaging young adults but in embracing a way of doing ministry that will renew the life of the church. First, we should “think and make connections across silos rather than within them.”  Young adults have been brought up in educational and recreational venues where they have interacted with people of many races, cultures, and backgrounds.  They don’t function well in “silos” cut off from the insights and experiences of others.  To reach young adults and to enrich our own ...

Along with over 78,000 others, I participated in The Global Leadership Summit of the Willow Creek Association on August 8-9.  I was at one of the 269 Host Sites around the U.S. and Canada.  A version of the Summit is now made available now in 100 countries during the months following the event through a combination of video and live presentations. I always feel that I have to provide a disclaimer to get my friends who are uncomfortable with megachurches to read a blog involving Willow Creek, so let me say that I attend the Summit for three reasons: First, Willow Creek Community Church, the “mother church” of the Willow Creek Association, does “big church” well, and they are transparent when they falter.  The same spirit infuses the Summit. Second, the worship is always different from what I usually experience and that is not bad.  I need to be “stretched” a bit. Third, the Summit organizers enlist some of the most creative and challenging leaders...

Regular readers of this blog will note that on more than one occasion that I have shared my doubts about long range strategic planning.   When major companies have adopted planning cycles of only six months, it would seem that the church, which is supposed to be responsive to the leadership of the Spirit of God, should be flexible in its planning as well. This does not mean that I think visioning and planning processes are unwarranted, but I do believe that such processes should focus on understanding the church’s ministry context, its resources, and ways to prepare its people for service that allow a rapid response to a changing world rather than developing inflexible action plans that may hamper ministry. This was on my mind when David Cates, our church’s minister to students, preached last Sunday on Luke 12:35-38:   “Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to ...

In a recent blog , writer Ben Schiller suggested that n ew technologies will change the kinds of jobs people will have in coming years. He says, “Don't be surprised if one day you've taken on the position of microbial balancer, corporate disorganizer, or urban shepherd. ” This got me to thinking:  “What are some ministry roles that might emerge in the next decade that will reflect not only changes in technology but the evolving needs of the churches?”  Here are some ideas.  You might want to add your own. 1.         A “death with dignity” pastor would help churches to die with dignity.  Despite their best efforts to survive, some churches need to receive permission to go out of operation.  Christ promised that the “gates of Hades” would not overcome his church (Matthew 16:18), but He was undoubtedly talking about the universal church rather than its local expression. Churches are planted, they flourish and grow, an...

This past Wednesday night, I was part of an adult Sunday School leaders training event at our church.   This was the kick-off for the Sunday School year.   I don’t know how the Sunday morning Bible study is going in your church, but this meeting gave me hope for the viability of this venerable institution in our church. Why?   Here are a few reasons. I was part of a conversation with three leaders who were talking about how the class could use social media to connect members with the lesson during the week. Not remarkable? All three of these individuals are retired persons (who have been educators in either public schools or higher education).  I was impressed by their openness to new ways to approach their task and to “think outside the box.” Two other leaders are working on launching a new class that will take both theological reflection and life application seriously.  They are excited about trying something new in Bible study in our setting and in...

 “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.  There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27-28). As I approach a birthday this week,   I have been thinking about a number of family, personal, and professional milestones.  Some were very positive experiences, some were bittersweet, and some were disappointing. One of the things that I am disappointed about was my failure to stand up for women in ministry early in my ministry.  Although I always encouraged everyone—male and female—to discover and exercise their gifts and abilities through the church and campus ministry, there were some times when I faltered.  One was in discouraging women to take the top leadership roles in our campus organization. Of course, during that time, I did not know any women who were ordained or who were pastors...

Alan Roxburgh is a leader in the missional church movement.  He is not only a practitioner, coach, and conference leader but he is also an engaging writer on the subject.  In Introducing the Missional Church:  What It Is, Why It Matters, How to Become One , he has joined colleague Scott Boren to provide a simple primer on the missional church for readers new to the subject. Roxburgh and Boren address three primary concepts in the book.  First, what does it mean to have a missional imagination, asking a different set of questions as one seeks to grapple with the current state of the church?  Second, what are the key theological considerations of the missional conversation?  Third, how can a congregation embark on the journey of becoming missional? The first section provides a good introduction to the shift in paradigms necessary to understand the need for a missional church.  Using many biblical and historical examples, the authors help us t...

One of the challenges that many pastors face is working with and leading other ministerial staff.  This is one of those skills that are rarely addressed in seminary, so it is usually learned by trial and error.  Help is available in a new book by Alan Rudnick from Judson Press.  In The Workof the Associate Pastor , Rudnick (a former associate himself) seeks to provide “insight and reflection upon the ministry specialty of associate pasturing.”  He includes all specialize staff ministry—youth, education, worship, etc.—in this category. I had the opportunity to ask Rudnick some questions about his book, and I share those questions and his responses in this blog. Why did you write this book? After experiencing several positive ministry relationships with senior pastors, I found myself in a new church as an associate pastor and I was frustrated. It was difficult to work with a micromanaging senior pastor. He wanted to manage j...

Although we shrink from talking about pastors as CEOs, a recent survey of over 200 CEOs has some implications for pastoral leaders. The 2013 Executive Coaching Survey poll was conducted by Stanford University and The Miles Group. The study inquired about the kind of leadership advice that CEOs and their top executives are–and aren’t–receiving, and the skills that are being targeted for improvement.  The emphasis, of course, was on identifying the need for and encouraging executive coaching. According to the survey, “Top areas that CEOs use coaching to improve [are] sharing leadership/delegation, conflict management, team building, and mentoring. [At the] bottom of the list: motivational skills, compassion/empathy, and persuasion skills.”  CEOs steer away from coaching around the “soft people skills” because they either are uncomfortable with those skills or feel that they don’t have the capacity to develop them.  The report does go on to say, however, “ When c...

When I was a child growing up on the Gulf Coast, the best place to be on a hot summer afternoon was at the movies.  They were air conditioned and usually offered a double feature, so it was comfortable and my parents or grandparents were happy to park me somewhere for three hours and get some other things done. Most of these films, of course, were what we call “B” movies—cheaply made with low production values and second-tier actors and actresses.  There were exceptions, but most of these films were just an excuse to disengage in a comfortable setting and stay out of trouble. I have been to eleven movies so far this year.  Given that I have a teenage grandson and several younger grand-children (including a great-grandchild) who live locally, most of the movies that I have seen are not art house classics.  What has struck me, however, is that the majority of these films are really “B” movies but with multimillion dollar budgets and performers who have box offic...