I was a hospice chaplain for about five years. It was a great job, despite the obvious need to redefine professional competence and success that comes with the territory. Nothing I was able to do would help the patient “get better.” And every one of our patients died. Over six hundred patients died under my ministry. That’s not something I put on the resume.

[Read more...]

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.

[Read more...]

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.

[Read more...]

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

[Read more...]

One of the concept tools I use for just about everything is mindmapping. I also teach it in one of my courses and students find it very helpful. Some time ago a student wrote to say,

Dr. Galindo - I have to stop and say many thanks to you. I have not done so well in my writing in seminary. Most recently, in Old Testament, my papers have only been C quality work. Writing has been my weak area. Now, in my last semester, I cross paths with your class and the idea of Mindmapping. I have another OT paper due this next week. I thought, what can I lose. So in 1/2 hour this morning I mindmapped on one page my paper. It is now being typed with ease. Of course I had already done much reflection over the scripture and research about it. Just wanted to say thanks. I think this should be information available to all students as they enter BTSR.

[Read more...]

One of the most underused teaching techniques is repetition. I suppose many teachers consider it appropriate only for children in the classroom who are required to learn things by rote. But that fact is that adults and teenagers alike learn a good chunk of things by repetition. Adults in the choir learn a choral piece through repetition. Actors learn their lines through repetition. Teenagers learn adeptness at sports through repetition in drills. The most effective curriculum involves a spiral design which repeats concepts at various stages and levels in the course of study. The fact is that we hardly ever learn anything the first time around. We all need repetition in order to learn.

[Read more...]

Delivering a presentation can be an overwhelming experience for beginning teachers or novice presenters. And we’ve all learned that some presenters never become much better with experience. But the fact is that anyone who desires can become a very effective presenter—in a classroom or giving a workshop—by applying some basic practices of effective presentations. If you consistently put the following into your repertoire you’ll see immediate positive results in your students or audience.

[Read more...]

We’ve all experienced moments when we’ve misheard something which led to misunderstanding. Like the young boy who was sitting in church with his father when he noticed the flags on each side of the altar. He asked his father what the flags were for.

[Read more...]