More than 25 CBF ministers attended the Festival of Homiletics, May 14-18,in Atlanta. Quickly, let me share my take away from being with a host of CBF ministers as well as ministers from a number of other faith traditions as we explored “Transformational Preaching at the Crossroads:” Continue reading →

Christmas Eve at Spring Creek, a wonderful evening. Preston Clegg raised a thoughtful question for us all asking with John the Baptist, “Are you the one, or should we look for another?” Arnold Rawls sang “O, Holy Night,” and as he sang the young lady in front of us wiped a tear from her cheek … Continue reading →

 My friend, Keith Herron, an artful pastor himself, reminded me of this remarkable quote by Eugene Peterson, from his book Subversive Spirituality, page 244. He discovered it again in a Door interview! “Being a pastor is an incredibly good, wonderful work. It is one of the few places in our society where you can live … Continue reading →

by Steve Graham on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 While the hot was clinging to folks in Atlanta, I was at the Glen Workshop in Santa Fe, where the air was cool and easy to the touch, for a week with writers, songwriters, poets, painters, and some would-be theologians exploring faith and art around the hopeful theme of … Continue reading →

I’m looking forward to the gathering of peer learning group conveners on Wednesday of next week at the kick-off of this year’s General Assembly in Charlotte, NC. These conveners are doing a magnificent job convening groups across the country. Pam Durso, director of Baptist Women in Ministry, will address this group. In addition, we will … Continue reading →

A minister knows only too well that the minister is a person who grieves. The challenge is that most often the grieve work a minister must do takes place at the same time the minister is serving people during their own particular grief. I was moved by this thoughtful word from Courtney Krueger, pastor of … Continue reading →

A hallmark of Hardy Clemon’s pastoral leadership was his role as team leader.  As a firm believer that “no matter the size of the congregation, it takes more than one person to pastor it,” Hardy developed a sense of team ministry in each church he served.  He recognized early on that the more a staff … Continue reading →

Early in our journey toward the celebration of Christ’s birth day, I am reminded of just how important the lighting of the candles in the Advent wreath have been for me throughout the years. Each candle has given me a moment to pause and reflect, to grow confident through waiting, to prepare myself for God’s … Continue reading →