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Category Archives: congregational life
Pondering the imponderables
Some of my students in my philosophy course are starting to get annoyed that the professor doesn’t answer their questions. More often than not, when a student asks a question, the professor will respond, “That’s a good question,” or, “What … Continue reading
Virtual church
Some of us observe with amusement, and some impatience, the ongoing occasional conversations in theological education about the legitimacy, value, or congruence of online delivery for seminary education. At one time it was appropriate to include in that conversation talk … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Education, congregational life, philosophy, technology and education
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Self care and self-definition
For ministers, and aspiring ministers, who embrace that part of their calling involves service to others, self-denial, and self-sacrifice, investing in self-care can be a challenge. Whatever its source, feelings of obligation, guilt, or shame; or a lacking sense of … Continue reading
A classic pastoral triangle
I’ve experienced the third instance in recent months of a classic pastoral triangle. It’s “classic” in the sense that it has all of the components of an “elegant” emotional process triangle: (1) it is generated by anxiety, (2) its source … Continue reading
Posted in bowen family systems theory, congregational life, leadership
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Why triangles are “bad”
One misunderstanding about basic concepts of Bowen Family Systems theory has to do with assigning value statements. For example, the notion that overfunctioning is “bad.” Overfunctioning, like other behaviors are not “bad” or “good,” they are merely functions, symptoms, or … Continue reading
Posted in bowen family systems theory, congregational life, leadership
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50 skills every pastoral leader needs to have
I recently read an online article along the lines of “10 Skills Every Man Should Have.” I was pleased that I had them all (although it’s been a while since I’ve had the need to weld anything). I wondered what … Continue reading
Posted in congregational life, leadership
1 Comment
The Myth of Competence
Some years ago I did a presentation titled “The Myth of Competence.” It developed out of my observation that so many leaders live under a crushing load of performance-anxiety and a frame of mind I called the myth of competence. … Continue reading
Posted in bowen family systems theory, congregational life, leadership
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”Everything takes five years”
These past few weeks I’ve had ocassion to be reminded of what my friend Margaret says about bringing about change in congregations, which is, ”Everything takes five years.” While that’s a bit tounge-in-cheek, it’s not far from the truth. Over … Continue reading
Posted in congregational life, leadership, second chair
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A list of names
At a recent workshop with a group of ministers from another denomination I asked the participants to introduce themselves and include in their introduction information about their context. When describing their context all participants shared the membership size of their … Continue reading
Posted in congregational life, leadership
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The one year seminary
Every once is a while (like last month, in fact) I get a call from a church leaders wanting guidance and ideas about creating a mini-seminary in their congregations. While that idea is driven by a desire to make Christian … Continue reading
Posted in bible, Christian Education, congregational life, curriculum, teaching, theology
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