Um…this is what I like to call those interesting, awkward things we do when we speak in front of a group. Whether we are like preaching, speaking in a Sunday school class, or leading a training session, we all have what I call “The ‘Um’ Factor”.

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We are please to announce that BTSR student Greg Harrell is the recipient of the 2008 G.R.A.CE. award. Congratulations, Greg! The G.R.A.C.E. Award is given to a student enrolled in the M.Div./Christian Education emphasis who shows the most promise of exemplary contribution to the profession of the pastoral educator.

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It’s been pretty hot in Richmond lately, even for this former Miami resident. For those needing relief from the heat, here’s something cool. One of the world’s most awesome waterfall (the term “awesome” has been trivialized due to its overuse for just about anything, but these cataracts may help recapture the intent of the word).

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I’m often amused by what church leaders anxious about numbers and attendance assume about non-church-goers. A lot of loopy and unfortunate ideas get foisted on “prospects” in an effort to entice them into the church front doors—especially the 20-somethings and young adults. More often than not, it seems to me, those efforts tend to do their best to make church more palatable, friendlier, “inviting,” and “less threatening” only resulting in stripping the Church of all the distinctiveness it offers as something “set apart” from culture. I often imagine prospective seekers asking, “If there’s no difference, then what’s the difference?” Here’s another item from the June 12, 2008 issue of the Christian Century, this one on sacred space and architecture.

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One of the concepts I continually stress to my seminarians is the concept that Christianity, and faith, is corporate in nature. One expression of the concept is the idea that while there is a personal dimension to faith, faith is always corporate in nature. In other words, “You can’t be a Christian by yourself,” or, “You cannot be a Christian apart from the Body of Christ, the Church.”The corporate concept of Christianity and faith often is a challenge for many students reared in overly- or exclusively individualistic experiences of faith and church.

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The latest issue of the Leadership in Ministry Workshops newsletter is now available. Check out this latest issue for articles, news, and updates.

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