Barnabas File

Although most of my ministry was on college campuses, I also worked for a small Baptist university and then a state-wide Baptist organization.     There were differences and similarities in the two. Despite the expected comments about bureaucracy, there were many positive aspects.      A plus was that I was part of organizations made up of committed people who loved the ministry they were doing.  For the most part, they were professionals who enjoyed engaging with others.  I often took the opportunity to walk down the hall or go to another campus building, drop into an office and spend time talking with someone about what they were doing, what I was doing, and life in general.  These were organic relationships that operated outside organization charts and “chains of command.”   As a result of these experiences, my understanding and appreciation for the relationships within an organization grew.  Even when individuals ...

Did you ever dissect a frog in high school biology? The main thing I remember besides the smell of formaldehyde was a bit of guilt because the frog was dead and would never live again.     Dissecting a frog is an exercise in reductionism, seeking to understand an organism by breaking it down into its smallest, most basic components.     The opposite approach would be a holistic approach, observing the living frog in its natural environment to understand how all its parts work together.      Regenerative leadership is informed by the rhythm of life, the nature of living things  The basis of regenerative leadership is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, because the individual components interact and create entirely new properties. Systems should be viewed as wholes, rather than just as a collection of isolated parts. It is famously summarized by the phrase, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." Parts of a system are int...

In previous posts, we have looked at the context in which future clergy leaders will serve, one in which resources may be more limited, but there are options for those who are open to them. There are still churches with strong traditions on which to build.     The challenge is that they may no longer have full-time pastors.     We have also looked at the people who are training for pastoral roles in churches and realize that their numbers are declining.     We have also seen that these ministers in training bring specific gifts to ministry—some with strong life experiences and some with a focused approach to ministry.    Here are some possibilities for the future.   Large congregations that are stable and have adequate resources will continue to seek out pastoral leaders with Master of Divinity degrees as a minimum expectation but will most likely search for a Doctor of Ministry or Ph.D. graduate (or equivalent).  More will be open ...

If we are looking toward the future of clergy leadership, a good place to start is with theological education.  Who is in the “pipeline”?  The best source of this information is The Association of Theological Schools (ATS), the accrediting body for seminaries and schools of theology in North America.  Their report on students as of fall 2024, shows that theological education is experiencing a significant demographic and structural shift.     ATS data shows a total enrollment of approximately 76,500 students across member schools, representing a 1.8% increase from the previous year. Here are some trends:   Age and Life Stage.   The student body is getting older, reflecting a surge in mid-career professionals and "second career" seekers.  The average age of an entering student has risen to 40.4 years.   Approximately 14.8% of degree-seeking students are aged 56 or older.   Racial and Ethnic Dive...

In a recent call with a clergy group, I shared a survey from Exponential NEXT which found that 93.5% of church leaders used or explored using AI in 2025; 78% used it daily or weekly.     One of the participants pointed out that if one uses the Internet, you are using AI whether you want to or not!     It is probably true that everyone uses AI unintentionally!    The finding of the survey, however, was that AI was intentionally used by most clergy leaders in the US.   While AI can assist with sermon research, administrative drafting, and data applications, where do we draw the line to ensure that our teaching remains "God-breathed" and born of human experience, rather than just being an optimized synthesis of existing data? How do we safeguard the integrity of inspiration in our use of AI? How do we continue to nurture the human connection?   Here are some tension points church leaders are currently navigating with AI:   Authenticity. ...

You’ve probably received a letter or e-mail with this message: “(Name of organization) wishes to inform you of an incident that may impact the use of information you have provided to us.”     Yes, there’s been a data breach.   In the past year, we have received such messages from a prominent medical clinic in our city, an insurance company, and the custodian of some of our retirement funds.     The hackers are out there, and they want your information.    And don’t think that church will not be a target.   The tools of technology, like all others, can be a blessing and add impact to our work, but there is the potential for abuse as well. As we think about the church and technology, digital privacy is just one of the things we must consider.     Data Privacy and Trust: What ethical frameworks are we using to protect the data and privacy of our congregants in an era of increasing digital surveillance and data harvesting? ...

Those who are immersed in the digital world sometimes forget that the same is not true of everyone.     Not everyone has a state-of-the-art computer, a smart phone, an Apple watch, and high-speed internet connection.     Due to their financial status, their demographic group, or their geographic location, these modern amenities are not available to all.      Consider these challenges to inclusivity and connection in the digital age:   The Digital Divide: How do we remain inclusive of older members or those with limited financial means who may feel alienated or left behind by a heavy reliance on apps and digital platforms? Moving to digital platforms as means of communication is faster and more economical, but how do we maintain contact with those who are not connected in this way?  We shouldn’t assume that the barrier is knowledge.  For some—in both urban and rural areas—there may be inadequate and unreliable internet or c...

We can’t avoid technology today.     If I want to communicate with my grandchildren, I must know how to text.   When I need that refrigerator part that Sears no longer provides, I can go to Amazon and find it.     Most of the companies I do business with—including my health care providers--want to interact online.    Many of us learned quickly how to move our worship services online during COVID and now we must decide what to do with that “second campus.”   As we attempt to integrate technology into our faith communities, we are challenged to balance modern necessity and efficiency with humanity and sacred tradition.  In this series of posts, I encourage us to think about technology and the church in several ways.   First, the "Why" behind the "What": How do we ensure that our use of technology serves our core mission of spiritual growth rather than just becoming a performance or a distraction?   I hope we are beyond the “...

In a recent conversation, a pastor friend asked this question: “Does God require all the things I think my congregation needs?”    Great question!   Depending on our experience and faith family, we each have ingrained idea of “this is what a church looks like.”  When I was involved in a church start several years ago, we worked hard to offer everything that our denomination (at that time) told us that good church needed—Sunday morning and evening worship, Bible Study (Sunday School) for all ages, Wednesday night service, and financial support for missions.  It was a lot of work for a small group of people, but we did quite well!   Over the years, what has come to be expected of a church has changed and even more so during the Pandemic.  We have pared down to the essentials and it has not looked the same in every case. I wonder, however, if we have included God in the conversation about what is “essential”?   Most often, God speaks t...

Although I am not certain, I believe it was W. Edwards Deming said, “What gets measured gets done.”     The grammar seems a bit tortured, but the idea is clear—unless you have some measurement for an activity, you probably won’t do it.    This applies not only to jotting down on a calendar or logging in an app how much you exercise, but we what do in ministry as well.   If we are going to take the time to plan and execute a ministry, shouldn’t we take the time to measure its effectiveness?  The problem is that the church is behind on identifying, keeping, and celebrating metrics for effective ministry in the twenty-first century.   The default for most churches is usually “nickels and noses”—what are our offerings and how many are in the pews?  I won’t argue that stewardship and participation are not important, but how do we measure Christian growth and missional engagement among other things?   Let’s acknowledge that this is an iss...

What is the difference between creativity and innovation?     Creativity is the ability to come up with great ideas.     Innovation is making a great idea a reality.     As Joel Barker has said, “ Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”  Once we have developed our “God-sized dreams,”  what do we do with them?   First, this is a collaborative process.  If we have spent time understanding the gifts of our people and the capabilities of potential partners, we are ready to sit down together and come up with implementation plans.  We also find ways to communicate with the entire congregation, to share the vision, and to bring others into the work through their prayers, contributions, and participation.   Second, this is an intentional process.  We decide what we will do, and we mobilize the resources to do it. ...

Most of us have read Margaret Mead's quote , "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can  change the world . Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."  Although Mead may have been thinking primarily of a secular context, the idea is certainly central to the work of the Christian church. In the Book of Acts, some Christians were dragged before public officials with the charge,  “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.” (Acts 17:6b, MEV)   Once we have clarity as believers, we can make an impact in our community and our world.  This clarity comes only through a time of collective  spiritual discernment with God’s people talking, listening, and praying.  They talk about their experiences, hopes, and fears.  They listen to each other with love and compassion. They pray seeking the leadership of the Holy Spirit.    Our church recently went through a pastoral transitio...

A friend in the real estate business says that there are three primary concerns about buying and selling:     location, location, and location.    Where the property is located, especially in relationship to lifestyle concerns, traffic, schools, and shopping, is vitally important.   The same thing can be said for our churches.  Let’s think about it in this way:  God has placed us in a particular geographic place for a reason.  The reason is to be an expression of God’s kingdom in that particular place.  Of course, the context in which the church ministers may change over time.  Neighbors come and go. The community changes.  Once when we used the terms “urban,” suburban,” “neighborhood,” “county seat,” or “open country,” we had a pretty good idea of the context.  This is no longer true.  A county seat church may find itself in the center of a growing satellite community on the edge of...

Have you read the book or seen the movie The Martian ? In the story, crewman Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is unintentionally left behind on the surface of Mars by his crew.     How will he survive?     The first thing he does it to take inventory of what he has available—what he can use, reuse (don’t ask), or repurpose.    With ingenuity and creativity, he uses what he has on hand to survive for 564 days on the surface of the Red Planet.   During the pandemic, we have found ourselves in Watney’s situation and considered what God has placed in our hands that we can use not only to continue but further the mission that God has given to us as churches.  In the midst of change and challenge, what are the resources we have available to us?  Many churches have been asking this question all along and have made some great discoveries.  What do we have to work with?   Of course, we have people.  Some of these are mobiliz...

As I read the letters in the New Testament and the messages to the churches in the Book of Revelation, I am struck by the differences in the local gatherings of believers.     Many are engaged in conflict.     We would have far fewer books in the New Testament if we did not have the epistles that the apostles wrote to churches dealing with hypocrisy, heresy, and just plain old sin!    As the same time , the writers often point out the things that are good about a local fellowship and encourages the believers to do more of those activities.   Leadership often emerged from within the local church.  An apostle or an itinerant evangelist might come alongside for a while, but leaders were usually identified within the body and called out to serve important functions in the life of the church.  These individuals came from varied backgrounds. Therefore, there might be struggles over identity because the church included people with differen...