Bearings: Navigating Life-as-Ministry
September 2017

Hope Is a Map

Reflecting on Practices of Cultivating Hope

Pamela Shellberg (, ). Posted in 21stCenturyReligion, 21stCenturySpirituality, Hope, Themes.

Editors Note: Each month, Bearings contributors offer insights on a key theme in the practice of life-as-ministry. As the final installment in the issue, The BTS Center’s scholar-in-residence Pamela Shellberg, PhD reflects on the articles in the issue and poses questions for further reflection by Bearings readers and the communities in which life-as-ministry plays... Read more

More Than Magic Words

Cultivating Hope with Scripture

Lawrence Richardson (). Posted in 21stCenturyBible, 21stCenturyReligion, 21stCenturySpirituality.

“Resilient” is what they call those of us who have overcome tremendous obstacles in order to thrive. Psychologists study the conditions of highly adaptive people who seem to defy the odds against them and conclude that those who are resilient have positive community connections, realistic expectations, goals, relentless optimism, and they practice self-care. Those... Read more

Close to the Gardens of Broken Shadows

Loren McGrail (). Posted in 21stCenturyMission.

Hope on the slopes of hills, facing the dusk and the cannon of time close to the gardens of broken shadows we do what the prisoners do and what the jobless do we cultivate hope. from “Under Siege” by Mahmoud Darwish In God’s garden of broken shadows, facing night and cannons of time, we are commanded to “cultivate hope.” How? How do we dare speak of hope... Read more

Protest Journal

I Repent and Atone With My Feet and Hands

Corinna Guerrero (). Posted in 21stCenturyCulture, 21stCenturyMission, 21stCenturyReligion, Hope.

Editorial Note: Throughout September, Bearings magazine will explore the theme of “Cultivating Hope.” This month’s contributors are all people of faith who inhabit different geographic, cultural, and social spaces. They thus offer richly diverse perspectives on the following questions: How are you cultivating hope in today’s current political and cultural climate?... Read more

Map is Not Territory

Navigating Ministry-as-Life in the New Bearings Season

Elizabeth Drescher (). Posted in AboutBearings, Hope, Themes.

When we began Bearings three years ago—all the way back in the world of September 2014—we had some modest aspirations. In his introductory post, Bob Grove-Markwood contextualized the blog by drawing on his navigational experience as a Marine and a transplanted Mainer. He explained that Bearings aims to help those in ministry—in what often feels like a church unmoored... Read more

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