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Pastoring

A collection of 14 issues

Don’t break sheep’s legs please

I was recently reminded of a story that gets shared by preachers of a particular sort. It goes something like this: Sheep are known to be stupid and wander off. A shepherd's job is to go and find the sheep and bring it back to fold. Over and

Returning From Sabbatical

This is my first week back from sabbatical! After twelve full weeks away from the responsibilities of pastoring a church, I am back in my home office, triaging email, arranging meetings, and altogether getting settled back in. I've only had one other sabbatical, but—from conversations with other

Scholars or Pastors or Both?

Does Bible college and seminary create scholars but not pastors?

Co-Pastoring

If I wanted to drive a manager up the wall, I would make him responsible for the success of an organization and give him no authority. I would provide him with unclear goals, not commonly agreed upon by the organization. I would ask him to provide a service of an

You're not alone. You're not the only one. That's perfectly normal.

These are the three most common phrases I say to people during pastoral counseling. I usually hesitate a bit because I never want to make people feel like I'm trying to minimize their feelings, questions, or doubts. No one wants to be told, "You're not

Marketing and Outreach in a Post Evangelical Church

Something I wrestle with constantly as a pastor of a progressive/inclusive church is the need for "outreach" or "marketing" or whatever it is we're supposed to call it. On the one hand, it feels really slimy and sleazy to me. Every time I

I Didn't Dupe You

I recently heard that a few folks at my former church in Iowa felt like I duped them. The claim is that for the ten years I pastored at Good News Community Church, I was an occasionally-provocative-but-mostly-biblically-faithful pastor and teacher. But then, when I moved to DC, my "true

Thoughts on Pride 2022

For the first time this June, The Table Church marched in Washington, DC's Pride Parade. My family and I marched alongside our LGBTQ church family and allies. It was an incredibly moving experience, and I want to tell you why. Homophobia and anti-LGBTQ discrimination has existed for centuries,

Here are some more concrete thoughts on “young people leaving the faith.”

Here are some more concrete thoughts on “young people leaving the faith.” I’m just speaking anecdotally. The research on this is immense and ongoing, but right now I’m just talking about my own pastoral experience. Yes, many people (my age and younger) have left churches or regular church

Open Communion at The Table

The Table Church practices open Communion, open even to those who don't follow Christianity. When we offer Communion we say, "Anyone who seeks the grace of God is welcome to this table." Traditionally there have been 3 positions on whom is allowed to participate in Communion: