http://www.fteleaders.org/ en Copyright 2012 2012-01-30T15:45:11+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/happy-new-year1/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/happy-new-year1/ I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season and that you are preparing for an exciting new year. As people contemplate New Year’s resolutions, many Christians around the world are preparing to celebrate the feast day of Epiphany, which commemorates God’s revelation in Jesus and his appearance to the world as God’s beloved Son. What is God’s revelation in you or your organization? As God’s beloved, how will you appear to the world? On the dawn of a new year, these are two questions I am wrestling with on behalf of The Fund for Theological Education (FTE). FTE "On Call" Blog 2012-01-01T04:01:33+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/bored-to-tears-an-act-of-contrition-for-young-adult-believers/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/bored-to-tears-an-act-of-contrition-for-young-adult-believers/ It wasn’t what my student said that so startled me, but rather the tone of his answer to my question about why “church” hadn’t come up in a discussion of where we “feel most spiritual.” As though he were supplying the obvious and uncomplicated result of a simple math equation or the name of an element from the periodic table, Scott, a student in my undergraduate Ignatian Spirituality course, answered matter-of-factly, “Church is boring, but spirituality isn’t.” Of course, I’d heard versions of this before (indeed, if you Google “church is boring,” some 20+ million results appear, much of it, well, very, very boring…). But this time was different... FTE "On Call" Blog 2011-04-15T16:44:24+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/stumbling-into-the-digital-reformation/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/stumbling-into-the-digital-reformation/ Our “Theo-Epicurean” social experiment began with a few simple acts. My brother Simon created a Facebook group page. We took a picture of the homemade chicken pot pie we had just made, used it for the masthead, and uploaded all our food related photos from our cell phones. Voila! The Episcopal Foodie Network was born. Within days over 500 foodies of faith had joined and were posting like mad. Elizabeth Drescher, a professor at Santa Clara University whose field is“contemporary spirituality at the intersection of new digital social media and ancient Christian wisdom,” an early contributor to EfN and “lurker” as she describes herself, named what had happened: we had inadvertently stumbled right into the heart of what she calls the “digital Reformation.” What is that? Here’s how Drescher describes it, “The digital Reformation is a renewal of the church inspired by new practices shaped by the participatory, co-creative, collaborative, and distributed culture of digital social media.” With it comes... FTE "On Call" Blog 2011-04-04T12:02:40+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/freedom-to-flunk/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/freedom-to-flunk/ I started in the preaching ministry at the age of 15.  Fifteen is a strange age. At least it was for me.  I was just old enough to have my own ideas about this and that.  And I was just young enough to be very certain about my ideas.  But I was also just “green” enough to believe that what I had to say might be useful to God in a preaching moment.  I preached my first sermon on a chilly spring day in April 1992 in Chicago, IL.  This was the pulpit in which a master preacher got up each Sunday to “break the bread of life.” However on this Sunday, this people and this preacher let the young people “run the service.” And they let me preach the morning message.... That church was a grace-filled space in which I had the freedom to flunk.  With that freedom I was provided the space to identify, explore, and reflect on my sense of call to ministry... FTE "On Call" Blog 2011-01-07T19:10:25+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/do-we-really-need-people-preparing-for-ministry/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/do-we-really-need-people-preparing-for-ministry/ p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} A Presbyterian recently told me there are 2,000 pastors looking for jobs in her denomination and 500 openings in congregations. I had heard this from another Presbyterian not too long before and have heard similar clergy-to jobs ratio from other denominations as well. The obvious next question: Do mainline churches need more people preparing for ministry?   Denominational leaders (including pension boards), sociologists, cultural observers, theological educators, congregational pastors and theologians are all working through this question from their particular contexts and with the tools of their disciplines. Their conclusions remain to be finalized.     FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-11-05T19:21:49+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/wonderful-thing-extraordinary-privilege-marvelous-adventure/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/wonderful-thing-extraordinary-privilege-marvelous-adventure/ You may have heard that Stanley Hauerwas, theology professor, ethicist and pacifist, has written a memoir, Hannah's Child: A Theologian's Memoir In a recent interview with Christianity Today, Hauerwas spoke about teaching seminary students preparing for pastoral ministry. He said: I try to give them a sense of what a wonderful thing it is that they are doing by going into the ministry. What an extraordinary privilege to every week be asked by people to preach. Our lives hang on it. I try to give a sense of the marvelous adventure it is to be brought within God's providential care of the world through the every day acts of preaching and Eucharistic celebration. Wow. What do you pastors and would-be-ministers think about Hauerwas’s vision? Romance, reality or just rarely remembered? FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-09-17T19:26:23+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/what-are-the-keys-to-renewal/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/what-are-the-keys-to-renewal/ Are you interested in strong leadership for the church? Do you want the church to thrive and be relevant in the world?  If so, what are the keys to renewal and vitality?According to a recent United Methodist Church study, the four key factors are: “small groups and programs; worship services that mix traditional and contemporary styles with an emphasis on relevant sermons; pastors who work hard on mentorship and cultivation of the laity; and an emphasis on effective lay leadership.” These four factors depend on the church giving more attention to the continuous work of cultivating quality leaders who attend to them. And because the average age of both clergy and parishioners are rising-- and because church is becoming less relevant to young people (according to the study), cultivating quality leaders should be a church mandate! FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-09-03T15:00:08+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/gutsy-sermon-title-beckoning-pastor/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/gutsy-sermon-title-beckoning-pastor/ Driving through downtown Decatur, GA last week, I passed the sign in front of First Baptist Church at least a dozen times. It announced the title of the coming Sunday’s sermon: "What If I Can’t Forgive?" That’s a pretty gutsy sermon title. Just asking the question lays certain claims, namely that (a) forgiving is a good, something I should do; (b) forgiving is hard and sometimes I can’t do it; and (c) something happens if I can’t forgive. If we could get CNN to conduct a poll, I doubt a majority of Americans would agree with these as blanket claims, true no matter what it is that needs forgiveness or whether the offender apologizes. This question goes against the grain; it calls us to how we should live. "What If I Can’t Forgive?" is a prophetic question. FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-08-20T12:32:00+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/transitions-and-new-beginnings/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/transitions-and-new-beginnings/ Here we are again.  It’s the month of August—that transition month.  By this point in the year, those summer plans have given way to summer vacation memories of adventure trips and special times with family. At FTE, making space for conversations and convening is part of our DNA.  As you approach this season of transitions and new beginnings, we invite you to join us in planting seeds for a new future in theological education.    FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-08-09T12:12:59+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/invest-now-in-diverse-generation-of-leaders/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/invest-now-in-diverse-generation-of-leaders/ Dr. Alice W. Hunt, President, Chicago Theological Seminary, Dr. Sharon Watson Fluker, FTE Vice President for Doctoral Programs and Administration Here in Chicago and throughout the United States, men and women scholars of color hunger to make a difference in the lives of our young people, our neighborhoods and our schools... FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-06-07T19:14:27+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/celebrating-the-journey/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/celebrating-the-journey/ On May 22, 2010, I will be in the Princeton University Chapel, adorned in my commencement regalia, eagerly anticipating the moment when my name will be called and I am welcomed into the company of scholars. As hard as I will try to maintain my cool...   FTE "On Call" Blog, Nurturing the Next Generation of Scholars 2010-05-20T13:33:16+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/the-death-of-the-black-church/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/the-death-of-the-black-church/ Hundreds of black clergy and students gathered in Florida, heaving around books and bags, to hear and share stories and challenges of justice and inclusion in the church. And from the looks and sounds of things, the Black Church is far from dead. The 2010 Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference convened, calling ministers, seminarians, and lay leaders from around the country to come and hear, to be awaken and aroused, to be prophetic and persistent, and to respond. FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-04-30T13:04:48+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/are-we-talkin-bout-a-reformation/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/are-we-talkin-bout-a-reformation/ The more I reflect on the state of the the church in our world today, the more I believe we are in a period that historians of the future will define as the second great reformation.   FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-04-16T03:23:34+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/an-odd-and-wondrous-calling/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/an-odd-and-wondrous-calling/ Several FTE Congregational Fellows and staff will be attending the Northwest Festival of Preaching later this month, where both Lillian Daniel and Martin Copenhaver will be preaching. In preparation for the Festival, FTE gifted me with a copy of “This Odd and Wondrous Calling,” by Daniel and Copenhaver... When I reflect on the churches that encouraged my growing faith, FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-04-10T12:41:41+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/foot-washers/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/foot-washers/ There are times when I really miss being a parish pastor, like this week. When I was a parish pastor, especially during Holy Week, being a bit busier, folks ask, “how do you do it”? Honestly, not to minimize the work of those still doing those things this week, it really wasn’t so bad. However, I really don’t miss Maundy Thursday that much. I was always a bit uncomfortable. When liturgical renewal came upon the church, suddenly those of us who were non-Anabaptists went about trying to wash feet. It was not a pretty sight. As a properly trained and educated liturgical leader, I tried my best to capture that spirit. But it never really seemed to work. To recruit potential “washees” I would use all my influence, leaning on some youth, other dedicated leaders of the parish, a few who were just “good sports”, and good friends and family members. And when they came forward that night for the washing, an amazing thing would happen. FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-04-06T22:03:53+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/on-this-dark-friday/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/on-this-dark-friday/ I came across the following poem while reading Daniel Pink’s new book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. It is the opening of the first verse of “Sext:” You need not see what someone is doing to know if it is his vocation, you have only to watch his eyes: a cook mixing a sauce, a surgeon making a primary incision, a clerk completing a bill of lading, wear the same rapt expression, forgetting themselves in a function. How beautiful it is, that eye-on-the-object look. As we receive application after application for fellowships this year, I wonder about the faces and lives and stories behind them all.   FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-04-02T16:20:15+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/talk-deeply-be-holy/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/talk-deeply-be-holy/ For the past week, one of the Top 10 most popular stories on The New York Times website has been “Talk Deeply, Be Happy?” This article highlights a recent study published in the journal Psychological Science that found that people who spend more of their day having deep discussions and less time engaging in small talk seem to be happier. Overall, about a third of all conversations measured in the study were ranked as substantive, while about a fifth could be considered small talk—yet the happiest person in the study reported that almost half of their conversations were substantive, while only about 20% of the unhappiest person’s conversations were. Because of my role in the Calling Congregations program at The Fund for Theological Education, both the content of this article as well as its lasting popularity throughout a busy news week   FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-03-31T12:26:15+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/a-living-witness/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/a-living-witness/ Last weekend the Society for the Study of Black Religion (SSBR) convened in Atlanta for its annual conference and to celebrate the organization’s 40th Anniversary. Emerging out of the racial, religious and political ferment of the 1960s, SSBR has long sustained a dual commitment, first, to create spaces for black scholars often marginalized in the broader academy, and second, to cultivate a critical engagement with the particular complexities of religious experience in the African Diaspora. Fittingly, the West African symbol of Sankofa—the image of a bird both facing forward and looking back—was employed to mark the occasion. FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-03-29T19:36:15+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/electronic-erosion/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/electronic-erosion/ In a recent edition of the UK periodical Standpoint, writer Lionel Shriver bemoans the spiritual cost of the electronic gadgetry which have insinuated themselves into our lives in ways that leave us feeling as if we can not live without them (http://bit.ly/bNU3Qp). She writes, The more gadgets promise to do for us, the more complex they grow, and thus the more fragile and the more likely to fail. Given the frequency with which whole businesses are paralysed due to some obscure IT crash, the Malfunction Tax surely costs Western economies billions per year. So maybe they should print warnings on digital packaging, just as on ciggies: "Do not purchase unless able to spare time and hair-tear when device craps out." All this newfangled junk costs us in spiritual terms, too, if only because we don't understand it. I don't mean we don't know how to "right click" to retrieve a menu, I mean we don't understand it...Since every new thingamajig may capriciously go on the fritz but only after having insinuated itself as indispensable, you've just handed another inanimate chunk of plastic the power to make you cry. I had coffee with a friend this morning who shared a story of accidentally backing over her Blackberry on a Sunday afternoon, leaving her “disconnected” until Monday morning. She described feeling lost and fearful,   FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-03-26T15:47:15+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/im-so-sorry-i-missed-your-call/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/im-so-sorry-i-missed-your-call/ That was the opening line for three cell phone calls I made on my first day working at FTE as Director of the Leading Generations Initiative. I was wrapped up in orientation to FTE and to the office, and wasn’t with my cell phone to pick up any calls. It is a good idea to do my job, after all! The neurotic part of me thinks: what if I had missed THE CALL? I’m not advocating people stick like glue to their phones; a recent poll found that quite a few iPhone users sleep with their phones next to them on their pillows (People! Really?). I’m also not advocating taking phone calls in the middle of ordering food or at a meeting. I just think sometimes we run the risk of missing what’s important FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-03-23T22:05:39+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/compelling-questions/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/compelling-questions/ Our doorbell rang at a little after nine last night. It had the same effect that a ringing phone has in the middle of the night. The three of us who were still awake looked at each other with a mix of confusion and concern. The man on our doorstep, a stranger, was holding some cash and lists of names. When I opened the door, he immediately began to put my anxiety at ease, giving me his name, telling me where he lives, and launching into his story. The story was of how his nephew was tragically struck and killed only a few blocks from our home, that the driver had not been identified, but that he suspected someone who lived in a nearby house that was known to all as a drug house. The tragedy left his family more than bereft; amidst the chaos in the economy, they have no money for a funeral for the boy. So he turned to his neighbors for support. He wondered how much I could offer. He was passionate about the injustice. He was deeply sad about the loss of his nephew. And he was sorry to even have to ask for money. As I went back inside to look for my wallet – because I felt compelled to help him – my wife stopped me. She pointed to a story in a local neighborhood news piece about a recent scam whereby men were knocking on doors and asking for money for the funeral of a son, a nephew or another family member who had been struck by a local drug dealer. FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-03-19T22:08:45+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/in-honor-of-her/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/in-honor-of-her/ When the National Congregations Study was released last year, I was struck by one particular finding: the number of women in senior leadership positions has remained essentially flat over the last ten years. During that same time period, the percentage of women in seminary has reached almost 50%, and in some settings has surpassed that number. For many denominations and independent churches, women have been eligible for ordained pastoral leadership for almost 40 years. Granted, for some traditions women are not eligible for such an office. It is also worth noting that some traditions have welcomed women as pastors for generations. So for those where the change seems to be well-integrated, I wonder what’s going on. Why are so few women in senior leadership positions? FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-03-13T22:19:15+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/calling-congregations-to-vocation-care-practice/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/calling-congregations-to-vocation-care-practice/ FTE Calling Congregations is prototyping a new, intergenerational congregational model for exploring vocation care with five gracious, courageous congregations across the country.* In Notice, Name, Nurture: A Season of Vocation CARE (or VoCARE), we suggest “the Vocation Question” is this: “Who am I created by God to be and how, then, am I to live; what am I meant to do?” Yes, but what is vocation care? Hanging around the copier in our office one day, I chanced upon an excerpt from Called by God: A Theology of Vocation and Lifelong Commitment by Francis Nemeck, O.M.I. and Marie Theresa Coombs, a hermit. What I read struck a resonant chord, one that sounded especially true for our work with the role congregations play in God’s call. The authors understand how complicated call and vocation are to grasp, and (mercifully) offer a framework that might just do what is needed. FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-03-02T22:11:46+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/hope-and-hard-times/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/hope-and-hard-times/ As the church turns its eyes to a new decade, hard times and hope compete for attention, gifts and resources from all of us. The hard times are real and pervasive. Continued financial pressures challenge seminaries and students alike. Many schools are struggling, restructuring and reimagining their futures. Many young people who aspire to serve the church and academy look at the long road ahead and wonder if they have the faith and support to invest their futures in following God’s call. Local congregations strive to stay true to their particular missions in the world while also facing the intense challenges of diminished financial resources. FTE "On Call" Blog 2010-02-08T20:37:27+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/jesus-and-the-next-generation-of-leaders/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/jesus-and-the-next-generation-of-leaders/ The congregational development model Jesus follows in the gospels to prepare the next generation of leaders can be stated this way—a long conversation, on the way together, as life happens, between meals. It’s a simple pattern, so lacking in complexity as to go unseen. It’s also hard to imagine that conversation can be so important (think of Mary and Martha). But this is the way Jesus cared for his own vocation and those who would follow him. That’s it. And it worked. FTE "On Call" Blog, Young Pastors Blog 2009-11-23T20:33:43+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/wearing-two-hats-engaging-the-questions/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/wearing-two-hats-engaging-the-questions/ I spent the past weekend wearing my other hat, that of an Episcopal priest in the diocese of Atlanta.  The diocese held its annual council, a gathering of lay and clergy representatives who meet each year to hear reports, give presentations, and pass legislative business on behalf of the mission and ministries of the close to 100 parishes that comprise this region of central and north Georgia.  Our special guest this year was the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, who just over three years ago became the first woman to be elected to that office. Bishop Katharine brings to her position an unusual array of gifts and graces, many of which have been highlighted in the media.  She’s a woman!  She has a PhD in oceanography!  She flies her own airplane!  She climbs mountains!  She runs five to eight miles a day!  By most anyone’s definition, her accomplishments are impressive, even daunting, but FTE "On Call" Blog 2009-11-10T20:22:05+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/seminaries-long-to-be-bigger-in-thought-vision-heart-and-less-bound-by-task/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/seminaries-long-to-be-bigger-in-thought-vision-heart-and-less-bound-by-task/ Last week at the Calling Congregations conference in Atlanta, people spent more than four hours (in three sessions) talking about something they really cared about with other people who also cared. It was kind of luxurious—no problem to solve, no personnel issues or budget revisions, just time for going as deeply as you wanted to go. Reading the notes from the sessions on theological education and spiritual formation, it sounds like that group touched near the heart: “We confessed the tendency of some of our institutions to be hijacked by scarcity and political battles, and noted that not only are congregations and theological education institutions in tension—and that distracts us—but that there should be a greater tension, actually, between all the manifestations of the church—the body of Christ—and those aspects of the culture that would undermine it.  How do we liberate theological education from capitalism?  Preserving the powerful essence of the Christian gospel is what theological education is, at its best, all about—not simply preserving institutions.  Seminaries want to be bigger in thought, vision, heart: less bound by tasks.” What does this say to you? FTE "On Call" Blog 2009-10-20T20:18:03+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/all-or-nones/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/all-or-nones/ In a recent edition of the magazine Culture (PDF - 822kb), Christopher McKnight Nichols notes the rising trend in the U.S. of those who some sociologists are calling “Nones.” These are people who profess no religious affiliation.  Nichols is quick to point out that this is not necessarily the end of religion in the U.S. as we know it.  Instead, it marks yet another change in the flow of a river that has coursed through the American psyche and spirit since our founding.  This latest move, he argues, is not so much a rejection of religious belief as it is a rejection of those institutions and traditional forms which have governed or managed religious practice.  The phrase “spiritual but not religious” can be found on car bumpers from Berkeley to Celebration City.  One way of framing this might be to say that just because I reject the food you offer does not mean I’m not hungry. FTE "On Call" Blog 2009-10-16T20:15:52+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/memories-and-revelation/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/memories-and-revelation/ Memorial Day weekend was, in our family, more importantly, the occasion of the oldest grandson’s high school commencement. Relatives from both sides traveled from four cities to celebrate, to visit and to reconcile: remarried parents saw each other for only the third time in nearly 25 years. And all was well, thanks be to God. Even the very 18 year-old grandson, nephew and big brother survived the festivities with grace and gratitude. Our families were tied together long before my sister and her husband were married: we all grew up in the same congregation. We aligned with a tradition known for its strict adherence to one truth and its intolerance for alternative points of view; the truth was, after all, set out in the Bible which anyone could read. (No need for theological education here.) Our particular congregation, however, was renegade and reviled as heretics. We were branded as liberal. FTE "On Call" Blog 2009-09-26T15:23:59+00:00 http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/remind-me-why-did-i-want-to-do-this-again/ http://www.fteleaders.org/blog/entry/remind-me-why-did-i-want-to-do-this-again/ This morning I arose hoping for a refreshing moment and by noon that moment found me. I was grading students' quizzes from my morning Greek course, when I received an email announcing a new post on Dr. Emilie Townes' blog, One Black Woman Thinking Theologically. It was not, however, her new blog entry that caught my attention. It was an earlier post titled, "Collegial Scholarship," which drew my gaze… FTE "On Call" Blog, Nurturing the Next Generation of Scholars 2009-09-21T14:05:07+00:00