Barnabas File

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that a number of the habits we picked up during the Pandemic appear to have become habitual—online ordering, food deliveries, remote work, and virtual meetings, for example.    The big picture, however, is that the Pandemic accelerated the adoption of new tech by five or ten years and many of the changes appear to be lasting. This is certainly true in our churches.  Congregations that were considering upgrading the broadcast or livestreaming of their services were suddenly forced into doing it.  Most have continued the practice and invested additional resources into equipment, internet access, and personnel to make it happen. Most of us have readily accepted the convenience of virtual committee meetings.  Rather than dressing up, driving twenty minutes or more to the church campus for a meeting, we now connect online for an hour or so and get back to home activities. To assure sustainability, giving proces...

For each person in the ministry, there was a point where she or he received a sense of calling.     God worked with each of us in a unique way in calling.     Perhaps it was a friend or mentor who challenged you to consider the possibility of Christian service. Maybe it was a sermon or Bible study on a particular verse of scripture that caught your imagination.     It may have come because of a life-changing event.    Whatever the precipitating experience, you started down that path of Christian ministry.   During the past two years, some of us may have questioned that calling.  Perhaps you have even said, “This is not what I signed up for.”  The sense of calling may have become less clear, motivating, or empowering.   Often coaches help clients define their vision for the future, their calling.  This is true for both laity and clergy.  In these days, however, a coach may help someone not to discov...

As I was planning to write this blog, I came across a Facebook post from a person whose career I have followed for a couple of decades.  This is a guy that I really admire.  He posted a long narrative on his FB page that said that he is no longer pursuing the “big dream” but has decided that there is a better way to do life.  He has pulled his resume decided to concentrate on a trade where he can work with his hands, something that gives him great satisfaction.   A key ingredient in this decision was his experience during the COVID crisis. He thought that eventually the financial need would cause him to get serious about finding a job and get back to the expectations that others had for him. Well, it’s not happening that way.   There are many people out there who have experienced an alternate reality during the pandemic, and it has changed their perspective on life.  Some call this “the Great Resignation” as many choose to give up their ...

I t’s probably happened to you.     You’re at Walmart or the grocery store.     You see a person you think you know from church.     He or she comes over and makes sure of who you are (because you are probably still wearing a mask in public).     They ask how you are doing, then immediately start telling you about the church they are attending now: “It’s so friendly.     The pastor really preaches from the Bible.     I love my Sunday school class.”    You politely mumble something like, “I’m glad that you are happy there” and move on as quickly as possible.   There will be more moments like this especially if you are staff minister or active in the life of your congregation.  Those who have moved on will want to take the time to let you know that they are much happier since they left your church.   Please don’t get me wrong.  If a person has come to the point where they no longer feel the...

After a summer of plans to return to some semblance of normalcy, we find ourselves continuing to face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The reasons are many, but the reality is that our best laid plans will not be realized.  We each have our own stories to share.  The reality was brought home to me this morning when I heard a report that many Americans have come to the point that they believe we will “just have to learn to live with COVID.”   This is discouraging for all of us—businesspeople, health professionals, teachers, parents, students, clergy and lay leaders in congregations, and more.  The marathon goes on and nerves wear thin.  One option is to seek someone to blame, but this only leads to further frustration and anger.  Another option is to acknowledge that this is, for present, our lot in life and seek the strength to endure.   We can find that strength in the Psalms, where writers are very transpar...

During a recent webinar, my colleague Mark Tidsworth observed, “Every congregation is in redevelopment or transition.”    I agree, but my question is, “Do they realize it yet?”   In his classic work The Frog in the Kettle published in 1990, George Barna shared the metaphor of the frog residing a kettle where the temperature was steadily rising.  Barna suggested that the frog would not be aware of the rising heat until it was be too late to escape the boiling water. His take-away was that churches were in a similar situation. Things were slowly changing, churches were ignoring those changes, and they needed to respond before it was too late.   Societal and cultural changes in recent days have turned the heat up drastically and the change would be hard to ignore.  Even so, some of us are doing our best to try to get back to a “normal” that no longer exists.  The pandemic has accelerated cultural and societal changes that were already pres...

In The Agile Church:  Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age , Dwight J. Zscheile writes about the Book of Acts, “The apostles don’t typically understand what kind of witness God wants to bring forth until they are in the midst of it; it is much more improvisational.” I was recently introduced by a friend to a book on improvisational theater or IMPROV, and I have done some additional reading about the process and come to understand that there are certain concepts that are basic to improvisation.  First, there is a situation or an idea that runs through the sketch.  Second, the sketch builds on the idea of “Yes, and . . . .”  We take what is given and build on it.  Third, the performers use what is on hand.  Fourth, they work with their intuition. This seems to be what was happening in Acts.  The apostles had an idea that runs through the account: “We are called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”  We co...

“ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”--1 Corinthians 12:27, NIV   For the past ten months, local congregations have wrestled with the question, “What does it mean to be the church--the body of Christ--when we cannot physically gather?“  It is first of all a theological question since the church often sees itself as the continuing incarnation of Jesus Christ in the world and gathering is a visible expression of that belief. Second, it is a sacramental issue based on your particular tribe’s understanding of the nature of communion, baptism, weddings, funerals, and other rituals of the church as communal events.  Third, it is an emotional issue exacerbated by isolation, stress, and loss.  Fourth, unfortunately, this has become a political issue that some have appropriated to sow division and discord.  Fifth, it is a very practical issue that affects ministry, stewardship, and institutional survival.   ...

In a recent blog , a noted Baptist ethicist indicated that he feels that it is time to “reopen for worship services.”     He provides some significant arguments and closes with this comment: “Big picture, we are a society crippled by a mismanaged pandemic and filled with hurting souls. I think it is time for our congregations to reopen, to meet the needs of those souls as best we can.” Although I appreciate many of his observations, I strongly disagree with his conclusion. I know that every worshipping community will make its own decision about when to return to onsite worship, but I affirm the statements articulated by the Coronavirus Task Force at First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (where I am a member): We care for the FBC community. We care for our neighbors and the broader community. We want to protect the vulnerable. The task force--made up of church leaders, staff, and several health care professionals--summarize what is important in ou...

Every clergy leader has his or her list of learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic.     In a recent webinar sponsored by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), theological educators identified some of the things that seminary students involved in field education during this time are learning.     James Barber, Barbara Blodgett, and Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi have been responsible for supervision of students doing their field work in the last several months.    Here are some of the things they shared. “This isn’t what I signed on for” is a metaphor for ministry.  Perhaps we don’t communicate often enough to seminary students that ministry is messy.  It was chaotic even before the pandemic which has added another current of uncertainty.  Although most of us went into the ministry with a bit of idealism and a model of how each week would unfold, we quickly learned that needs and expectations challenged our preconceptions....