The Baptist way

Posted on July 21, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I “grew up Baptist” as they say. My own religious and cultural tradition colored our Baptist heritage with a particularly pietistic bent. We weren’t fundamentalist but not liberal either. Growing up the phrase “The Baptist way” often served as the preservative equivalent to the infamous “seven last words of the church” (“We’ve never done it that way before.”) Like many, my own spiritual journey has kept my feet on my denominational path though I’ve wandered byways that have given me new vistas and perspectives on faith and belief. They have expanded my horizons and, as is the nature of journeys, now there’s no going home again. But it’s safe to say that while my faith is different than it was (some of my friends acuse me of being an EpiscoBaptist), I’ve not strayed far from the faith of my forbearers. Continue reading →

Posted in children, teaching, theology | 1 Comment

Entering the Twilight Zone with eyes wide open

Posted on July 20, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I recently got an e-mail from a former student who was in the middle of an interview process with a congregation for a pastoral staff position. She’d gotten news from the church that the senior pastor, who’d been involved in the search process conversations, had just announced his resignation (he was moving on to another congregation). The congregation plans on hiring an “intentional interim” but also wants to go ahead with the search process for the staff position. My former student is in the midst of a dilemma. Does she accept the call and the risk or does she pull out of the interview process? Continue reading →

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Book Review: Jim and Casper Go To Church

Posted on July 19, 2007 by GregR

What happens when a Pentecostal preacher turned house painter and an atheist walk into a church? Well, a book in this case. Jim Henderson is a former pastor turned researcher and is interested in what non-Christians think of the church, so he hires Matt Casper, an atheist, to go with him to twelve churches in the US and observe and comment on what he sees and hears.

Continue reading →

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On not getting what you expect

Posted on July 18, 2007 by Israel Galindo

The other day my wife and I went out to breakfast at a local I-Hop. She had the day off and I had a craving for waffles for some strange reason. When you head out to a place that specializes in a particular thing—like breakfast—you tend to build up certain expectations for what you’re going to get. We got our booth, my wife ordered her pancakes, I ordered my waffles and we settled in to wait for our orders. I finished off my glass of orange juice and poured myself a cup of coffee from the plastic faux-bronze personal-sized pitcher. It was the worst coffee I’ve ever tasted. Continue reading →

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Is the (c)hurch a Business?

Posted on July 17, 2007 by mcanaday

Over the years I’ve heard the statement that the church is a business and needs to be treated like one. I suspect that any time money is involved there’s a tendency to think this way. Comments like this are, in my opinion, examples of an unclear theology of big “C” and little “c” church and more specifically—Christian stewardship. It’s to the latter that I would like to generate some discussion.

Continue reading →

Posted in administration, leadership, theology | 3 Comments

Prayer, The Force, Energy, and Causality

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Israel Galindo

First, I think I need to start this entry by saying that I’m a personal believer in prayer (although I must confess that I didn’t really know how to pray until I was forty, even though I grew up in a Christian home—but that’s another story), and a practitioner. In fact, I believe in prayer such that I don’t make it a practice to open class lectures with prayer for fear that it become reduced to merely a utilitarian function of quieting a roomful of students, getting their attention, and signaling the “start” of class. Prayer has its place and its function, and it isn’t utilitarian. I believe in prayer, but I don’t believe in “magical thinking.” Continue reading →

Posted in discipleship, spiritual gifts, theology | 3 Comments

Healthy Congregations conference in October 2007

Posted on July 14, 2007 by Israel Galindo

There’s a “systems and congregations” conference coming up in October of 2007. The “Healthy Leadership: Living with nerve” conference is the 9th annual advanced workshop of Healthy Congregations, Inc., housed at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, OH. The conference dates are October 8-10, 2007. The keynote speakers are author Peter Steinke, Margaret Marcuson, and Israel Galindo.

Conference information, registration forms, and conference brochure are available at the conference website: Healthy Leadership Conference.

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World’s Greatest Christian Educators: Augustine of Hippo

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Israel Galindo

Augustine of Hippo was one of the foremost philosophers and theologians of early Christianity. He had a profound influence on the subsequent development of Western thought and culture and, more than any other person, shaped the themes and defined the problems that have characterized the Western tradition of Christian theology. Augustine received a classical education that both schooled him in Latin literature and enabled him to escape from his provincial upbringing. Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Education, teaching, theology | 2 Comments

Church 2.0

Posted on July 12, 2007 by Jon

That title is probably misleading but if it grabbed your attention for the moment, it did what I intended.  Technology is a big part of individual lives.  We hold the cell phone to our ear while reading the GPS to find the local Net Cafe so we can check our email that is not connected to our Blackberry.  So what is the implication for the church? Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Education, personal growth, technology and education | 6 Comments

I’m not worth much

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Israel Galindo

I had an insurance salesman I worked with for a few years who always asked the question, “What’s your net worth?” I never had that information at my fingertips and so was never prepared to answer. He always seemed surprised that I didn’t know my “net worth” off the top of my head. And I was always annoyed that he seemed to think that was an important indicator of . . . well, something. While I find some people’s point of reference as to what constitutes what is of worth odd or off-putting, I remind myself of the axiom dear to the hearts of those with a penchant for educational assessment and psychometric experimentation that everything exists in a certain amount, and, therefore, can be measured.

So, I just found out that I’m worth $4490.00 . . . dead! Continue reading →

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