Book: Perspectives on Children’s Spiritual Formation

Posted on July 31, 2007 by Israel Galindo

Michael J. Anthony, Professor of Christian Education at Talbot School of Theology is the author of Perspectives on Children’s Spiritual Formation (Broadman & Holman, 2006) presents in counterpoint form four contemporary views of children’s spiritual formation and four related methods of Christian Education. Continue reading →

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Quicumque vult posters

Posted on July 30, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I’ve been reading up on heresies lately. In the course of my readings I was inspired by the words of confession from the Athanasian Creed (also know as the “Quicumque vult”). The creed is authoritative to Catholic, Anglican, and some Protestant churches. I remember it as one we would recite on occasion in our Baptist church when I was a liturgically overly-attentive child. Continue reading →

Posted in Design, ecumenical, theology | 2 Comments

The pastoral life. Heavenly?

Posted on July 28, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I often tell people that I’ve never had a bad job, and I can say that honestly. I even enjoyed my years in parish ministry, due in great part to having landed in a great congregation. Although pastoral ministry remains one of the most unique and challenging jobs today (and according to the National Opinion Research Center it is a job that reports a higher level of satisfaction than more “prestigious” careers), like most any job is has its plusses and minuses. Continue reading →

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Taking it to the streets: an educational immersion approach

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Israel Galindo

Five members of the Greater Richmond Area Christian Educators (GRACE) peer learning group took a field trip to The Center for Church Understanding of Islam and a local mosque, The Islamic Center of Virginia in November of 2006. The event was put together by GRACE member, Marty Canaday, Minister of Christian Formation at the Derbyshire Baptist Church (Richmond, VA) as a small group learning experience to facilitate greater understanding of Islam and dialogue between Christian and Muslim leaders. Dr. Charles Beckett, Director of The Center for Church Understanding led the GRACE group in an orientation to Islam through a tour of the Center and arranged a tour and dialogue with the administrative director of a local mosque. After the tour the group met over lunch for discussion with Dr. Beckett. They shared impressions and pondered questions about their experience. Continue reading →

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My Journey with Harry

Posted on July 26, 2007 by Jon

The final book in the Harry Potter series was released June 21st. I have followed the series since book one although I confess that I came in after four of the books had been released so I only waited around for three of them. After reading the first book, I was hooked. It was well written and I made a lot of theological connections. Those connections and my fascination with Harry have not stopped.

Harry Potter 7

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Posted in bible, books, children, Christian Education, curriculum, teaching | 3 Comments

Effectual Faith domains are subtle

Posted on July 25, 2007 by Israel Galindo

In a recent post Marty identified the “domains of effectual faith” found in a couple of my books (The Craft of Christian Teaching and in How to Be The Best Christian Small Group Leader). Marty’s treatment was accurate, and the schema is very helpful for addressing educational issues from curriculum design to lesson planning. These domains are more subtle and dynamic than we usually get into when introducing the concept of Effectual Faitih in workshops. The risk there is in leaving people with simplistic or one-dimensional misunderstandings about this schema on the nature of faith. Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Education, discipleship, personal growth | 3 Comments

Common sense in pastoral leadership

Posted on July 24, 2007 by Israel Galindo

Emotional Intelligence is one of the fields of research that currently is being applied to pastoral leadership. I think it holds great promise to effective pastoral leadership because the nature of leadership in the (systemic) context of congregations is more about understanding emotional fields than about anything else typically associated with what constitutes “leadership” (management skills, education, intellect, good looks, personality style, etc.). But I think in many cases, “common sense” may be as valuable an asset for the leaders as a high score on any emotional intelligence inventory. Continue reading →

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Owning My Agenda

Posted on July 23, 2007 by jbennett

As one who confessed that, after having met some remarkable role models, all I ever wanted to be was a great Sunday School teacher, how do I explain all the time and money invested in those later credentials in Sociology of Religion?  The sixties>happened, and they were pretty exciting, whatever else you may have heard about them.  For this young suburban pastor’s wife, mother of four, the sixties were an early taste of the change that swirls around us now, overwhelming many and bewildering most. 

From the early Women’s Movement I learned that the personal is political.  I learned that centuries of church history only told part of the Christian story, which is a nice way of saying that, if it didn’t lie, at least it didn’t tell the whole truth – – about women, about power, about institutional preservation.  From there it’s an easy matter of connecting the dots to the academic discipline that drew me in.  The sociologist’s fundamental question is, what is going on here – – not what do people say is going on, but what is really going on?  It is the relentless probing and sifting and connecting of human behaviors. 

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Posted in Christian Education, discipleship, Prayer, theology | 1 Comment

Christendom redux

Posted on July 23, 2007 by Israel Galindo

Theocracies are not new, of course. They spring up all throughout history (and literature), sometimes as a result of a group that sees itself as a “remnant” and splits off from a larger religious culture, and sometimes they come about as a result of a reactive or pro-active stance against the wider “secular city.” In a world that many describe as “post Christendom” a Christian “city of God” seems newsworthy: Continue reading →

Posted in discipleship, ecumenical, theology, world view | 1 Comment

How to run any organization

Posted on July 22, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I’ve got a book on my bookshelf that I’ve had for years titled How To Run Any Organization, by Theodore Caplow. The clever title caught my attention and I snatched it up from the used bookstore I frequented during my pecuniary seminary days. I was eager to learn any secrets it could reveal as I was heading off to my first administrative job. Never having been in a position of primary leadership in any organization I was hoping for a crash course in “how to succeed in business without really trying.” Continue reading →

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