Posted in Alumnotes
Senior Minister, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Greensboro, NC
FTE Ministry Fellow ('01)
July 29, 2010
I take my daughter to the church garden early on Saturday morning. We bring her “tools”
– a small plastic shovel and rake, and a bucket for collecting rocks.
One of our most regular gardeners talks about how
important this project has been for her. “I sit at a desk all day long,”
she says, “and then I get tocome out here and play in the dirt, and
it’s wonderful.” We ask God’s blessing on the ground and on the harvest,
and pray for the people this food will feed. Someone has brought a
guitar so we sing a little bit, which feels just right. The breeze sweeps
through us just then, a welcome freshness on the hot morning, and I am
pretty sure it is the breath of God.
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Posted in Alumnotes
Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Hallock, Minnesota
FTE Ministry Fellow ('05)
FTE Undergraduate Fellow ('04)
July 26, 2010
I had an interesting conversation with a pastor friend last week in
which he said something like, “Everyone assumes I’m so busy, but I’m
not. I have a lot of time to do anything I want. My congregation just
runs itself.” I do know, for certain, I am not like this pastor. Yes,
our congregation could function perfectly well without me, but I do feel
really busy. And I’m pretty certain it’s more than just a feeling. I
am busy.
So the question: how, if possible, might I improve my time
management? What tips do you have for pastors so that they might use
their time to God’s glory?
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July 20, 2010
Consider these two statements on leadership:
"Strong people don't need strong leaders."
"Leadership never ascends from the pew to the pulpit. It always descends from the pulpit to the pew."
The first quote is a famous line from Ms. Ella Baker, whose masterful work in organizing and leadership development helped to launch and stabilize the early work of many of the most significant civil rights organizations of the 20th century: NAACP, SCLC, SNCC and MFDP. The second quote is a lesser known line from a better known figure: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ...
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Posted in Alumnotes
Candler School of Theology
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA
FTE Congregational Fellow ('09)
July 16, 2010
You learn the basics of any language when you’re going to a foreign
country: “Hello,” “Thank you,” “Do you have wireless here?” Well,
perhaps the last is not very useful in Haiti, where most things except
the internet are wireless, and where my Kreyol...
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Posted in The Next Narrative
Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul
FTE Ministry Fellow ('10)
July 13, 2010
The following is an original poem composed by 2010 Ministry Fellow Emmy R. Kegler for final night "coffeehouse" at our 2010 FTE Leaders in Ministry Conference in Boston, MA
O Father O Mother O Maker Creator
Almighty Uniter Redeemer and Light of the World
This is not painting a gloss on our skin
But revealing the glow from within
We are the fountains of a new generation
Now living out who we'll become
We're splitting our hearts for illumination
We know nothing but that we are loved
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Posted in The Next Narrative
Princeton Theological Seminary
American Baptist Church
FTE Congregational Fellow ('10)
July 08, 2010
From of our 2010
Leaders
in
Ministry
Conference in Boston, MA
Today my roundtable group had our last meeting. I would not consider
myself a very sentimental person, but I found myself a little upset
about this meeting. Over the past few days, my group had become quite
close. We spent our together each night reflecting on each group
member’s call story and why each person believed that God had led him or
her to this conference. Every story was very distinct from the next;
however, these distinctions brought us together in ways that would
normally take years to happen. Now that our final hours at the
conference were approaching, I realized that I would probably not see
some of my fellow conference participants again. Suddenly, I became a
little sad that such a good thing was coming to an end.
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July 06, 2010
It seems to me that job searches are all about being authentic. The
time-consuming preparation of application materials can really be an
opportunity for a person to re-examine her/his direction in life. This
idea of “vocation” guides my thinking on this matter. To what am I being
called to do? The reality is that I have had to revisit that question
several times in my life.
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