By Laura Stephens-Reed The most vital skill to cultivate in congregations is curiosity. That might seem like a strange claim to make. After all, the gospels tell us that the two greatest commandments are to love God and then to love neighbor. Matthew 25 calls us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit … Continue reading
By Laura Stephens-Reed For a long time there has been commonly-held wisdom about church size dynamics and the role of the pastor at each church size: The family size church has fewer than 50 people, with most of them related to one another. This congregation experiences little numerical growth because it is difficult for visitors … Continue reading
By Laura Stephens-Reed Over the course of their vocational lives, many pastors find themselves charged with leading a church staff. This is not only true for senior pastors, but associate pastors can also function in the same way within their more specialized ministry areas. The supervisory role is challenging. Most pastors enter ministry expecting to … Continue reading
By Laura Stephens-Reed In A Path to Belonging: Overcoming Clergy Loneliness, leadership specialists Mary Kay DuChene and Mark Sundby raise the red flag that loneliness among clergy, a stress response to not having adequate levels of social connection, is epidemic. This was true before the pandemic, but our need to distance ourselves physically during the … Continue reading
In many churches, this is the time of year when annual reviews of staff take place. For some pastors, these conversations are the only times they hear what is and isn’t working from their congregants’ point of view. That makes reviews somewhat nerve-wracking for clergy. They wonder: What surprises await me when that conference room … Continue reading
By Laura Stephens-Reed A few years ago, I was a regular guest preacher at a church in the city where I lived after the minister there had submitted his resignation and as the church awaited the arrival of an interim. On the first of those Sundays, a woman stood up during the announcement time and … Continue reading
October 1, 2019 Contact: Scott Hudgins (336) 759-3456; shudgins@cbfnc.org WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina is honoring the legacy of Jack and Mary Lib Causey of Statesville by creating a new fund to support the strengthening of congregational leadership. The Jack and Mary Elizabeth Causey Fund for Congregational Leadership will be utilized for … Continue reading