Growing by Half

How Part-Time Pastoral Leadership Can Revitalize the Church

Posted in 21stCenturyMinistry, Bearings Review 2017, ChurchChange, Incubator.

One year ago, I began studying a rare but important species that many church officials wrongly believe doesn’t exist: the mainline Protestant congregation that finds vitality after doing away with the full-time pastorate. To be sure, it wasn’t always the easiest species to find. Many congregations with shrinking attendance and budgets continue to struggle after... Read more

What Do We Mean When We Say, “All Are Welcome”?

Posted in 21stCenturyMinistry, Bearings Review 2017, ChurchChange.

I’ve driven by that church—you know, the one with the giant banner that says, “All Are Welcome.” I often ask myself, “If I walked through the doors, would I be embraced?” I’m an educated, queer, Black, Progressive, Transgender Christian. Would I, with all that I bring, be welcomed in that space?" When we claim that “all are welcome,” it comes from a genuine... Read more

Living Religion Beyond Belief

Posted in 21stCenturyReligion, 21stCenturySpirituality, Bearings Review 2017.

A few weeks ago I gave a talk at a local chapter of Sunday Assembly, a gathering started by British comedians Pippa Evans and Sanderson Jones that was briefly known as “the atheist church” and that, ironically, draws on the “seeker sensitive” church planting methods of conservative megachurch pastor Rick Warren. A few months into the meteoric rise of Sunday Assembly... Read more

#NeverthelessSheResisted

Creating Space for Women's Thriving in the Church and the World

Posted in 21stCenturyCulture, Bearings Review 2017, ChurchChange.

Three weeks ago, Senate Republicans silenced Senator Elizabeth Warren for criticizing attorney general nominee Senator Jeff Sessions. Warren had attempted to read civil rights activist Coretta Scott King’s 1986 letter against Sessions’ nomination for a federal judgeship. Scott’s concerns over whether Sessions would support the civil rights of all citizens seemed... Read more

Faithful Resistance is Persistence in Love

Posted in 21stCenturyMinistry, 21stCenturyMission, Bearings Review 2017.

In a season where the leadership of the United States claims to be constructing “An Entirely New Political Movement,” many have echoed what activist and filmmaker Michael Moore said after November’s election: “We are going to resist … This is going to be a massive resistance.” And in fact it has been. The Women’s March was one of the largest in history and provided... Read more

Facing the Future, Eyes Wide Shut

Posted in 21stCenturyBible, 21stCenturySpirituality, Bearings Review 2017, Events.

Editor's Note: Pamela Shellberg, scholar-in-residence at The BTS Center, will be a key speaker at Convocation 2017: “Course Corrections.” The event also will feature poet Scott Cairns and Michelle Walsh, a spiritual director and licensed clinical social worker. In Pam’s latest post for Bearings, she offers a preview of “Course Corrections” and outlines some... Read more

Giving the Church a New Look with Old Eyes

Posted in 21stCenturyMinistry, 21stCenturyMission, Bearings Review 2017.

“Technically, it’s called presbyopia,” said the ophthalmologist. “Starts about age 40, so you’re pretty much on target. Most people just get readers.” “Presbyopia, eh?” “Yeah. It means –” “I know … old eyes.” As a lifelong Presbyterian, this is the only other word I’ve heard with the Greek root presby, which means “old." Technically, Presbyterian refers... Read more

Following Jesus Into the Resistance in 2017

Posted in 21stCenturyCulture, 21stCenturyMission, Bearings Review 2017.

What a year it was. For many, including myself, 2016 had its share of joys and sorrows, but the election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America overshadowed all else. In the wake of his unexpected victory, those who did not support Trump experienced shock that turned to distress, anxiety and fear. Millions participated in last-ditch... Read more

Humble Clay Cups

Poetry for Faith and Healing

Posted in 21stCenturyCulture, 21stCenturySpirituality, Bearings Review 2017.

Everyone seems to want to beat up on 2016. On social media, it’s been referred to as a dumpster fire as well as a sentient creature that will rain down more of its wrath if it hears you maligning it. There are ample reasons why people—in my bubble, at least—want to malign 2016. Syria, as I write this, is a cradle of slaughter; Syria’s refugees, fleeing this... Read more

Bearing Each Other Up

Reflections Upon the 2016 Election

Posted in 21stCenturyCulture, 21stCenturyMinistry, 21stCenturyMission, Bearings Review 2017.

EDITORS’ NOTE: Adam Copeland was our scheduled contributor for this week, but as we moved late into the night of the presidential election, it was clear that the outcome many of us had hoped for, and perhaps even expected, was not to happen. We began to wonder whether it might be too much to ask a single writer, a single voice, to carry the weight of that experience... Read more