by Greg Anderson I love to learn. This was not always the case. As a younger minister, I was naïve enough to think I had most of it figured out and did not really need a bunch of other perspectives to influence the surety of my insights. How very wrong I was, and how I […]
by Shannon Rains The start of the school year typically brings a flurry of activity in our church’s education ministry. Leading education has many challenges, and recruiting is one of the most critical, yet dreaded, tasks. If I ask any team of ministers about the biggest struggle in their ministry, someone (probably the children’s […]
Authors : Shannon Rains
by Scott Laird If you have been reading the Christian Chronicle lately you have noticed the preacher shortage in our fellowship. Individual congregations can make a difference in this struggle. Since 2000 the Great Falls church of Christ in Great Falls, Montana, has worked with nine men and their families to prepare them for […]
Authors : Scott Laird
by Jordan McDonald I don’t know if I’m young or old anymore. I turn 30 today and in one sense feel as though life has passed me by, in another sense I feel like I’m just starting. I have been in formal leadership roles since I graduated from college. Even so, last year while […]
Authors : Jordan McDonald
by Becky Burroughs “A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn.” Helen Keller Born in 1880, Helen Keller, author, political activist, and lecturer, was the first person born blind and deaf to earn a Bachelors Degree. Her exquisite ability to adapt set her […]
Authors : Becky Burroughs
by Jon Anderson If your extended family is anything like mine, you have some members on the far right, politically speaking, some on the far left, and everything in between. And, over the past several years, the differences seem to have intensified, straining our relationships. In many ways, the family is a microcosm of a […]
Authors : Jon Anderson
By Grady King There is a tendency to think that your congregation is the only one going through some challenging things. This sense of isolation opens the door for discouragement, even feeling overwhelmed. If you identify with these feelings, you are not alone. We, in HOPE Network (HN) lead with listening as we engage […]
Authors : Grady King
by Ann McMurray Last year, a national Gallup poll showed the political divide in this country “drifting further and further apart,” concluding, “This confirms the fundamental foundation for any analysis of U.S. politics – the fact that individual’s political identity is highly correlated with their views of social and policy issues, resulting in substantial differences […]
Authors : Ann McMurray
by Pat Bills Someone asked my (late) friend Landon Saunders if he was afraid of dying. His response was classic: “If I am honest I am a little afraid of dying… but I wouldn’t mind missing the next election!” My hunch is if we took a poll in our churches many would feel the same […]
Authors : Pat Bills
by Gena Granberg When I moved from the South to the Northwest in 2021, I felt firsthand the tensions surrounding politics. Events made me not just hesitant, but almost fearful, to address any political topic. Yet as a Christian, I believe we bring insight and attitudes that could—and should—leaven our emotionally charged context. As the […]
Authors : Gena Granberg
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