Barnabas File

Everyone has a story to tell.  In our fast and busy world, we rarely take the time to listen to each other’s stories or simply to reflect on our own.  When I taught Formation for Ministry classes for Central Seminary, I took the time to share a bit of my own story and ask students to share theirs as well, but there was always more there than we were able to process. Being aware of the power of story, I was pleased to discover  Living a Narrative Life:  Essays on the Power of Stories  by Keith Herron.  Herron draws not only on his own extensive experience as a pastor and a counselor but shares his own life story to help the reader understand the value of understanding her or his own life story. Herron writes, “All of life is a story.  This is the richness of life:  to know your own stories, to value and understand them with others.  In doing so, we are all enriched.”  He enc...

McConnell and Herron (CBF photo) I have stopped counting how many Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly meetings I have attended.   I always come away having enjoyed the fellowship with friends, former students, and colleagues; however, I sometimes have left asking myself, “What did we really accomplish here?”   Not this year. The meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, affirmed that CBF is making progress in many ways.   I was particularly impressed by three things this year—the affirmation of women in ministry, the presence of young adults, and the balanced leadership between laity and clergy. First, the overwhelming attendance at the Baptist Women in Ministry meeting at First Baptist Church, Greensboro, on Wednesday night was a testimony to the leadership of executive coordinator Pam Durso and the persistence of the “founding mothers” of the organization.  BWIM has continued to champion the role of women in all ministry roles.  We now se...