ministry
My dad’s old Bible offers more questions than answers
What can I learn from what he underlined—or didn’t?
What comes after clergy self-care?
I didn’t need more candles or journaling. I needed solidarity with others.
Ministry and other difficult jobs
Pastors face intense challenges—though not necessarily unique ones.
Teaching ministry students to ask beautiful questions
Narrative practice offers an excellent resource for the work of pastoral care.
Getting ultrareal about the church
Ultrarealism, a concept I learned from distance running, begins by seeing things as they really are.
The well-credentialed pastor
My friend doesn’t want a PhD. He’s getting one anyway.
A clergy mental health crisis
The stress of the past few years has brought many to the breaking point.
The sacred relics of a lifetime of ministry
Marilyn wasn’t sure she could stomach the sight of a truck carting 56 years of her husband’s work to the dump.
by Jon Mathieu
Ministry with the grieving
Twenty of us gathered to talk about having a job that requires us to weep with those who weep.
Pastors, like everyone else, need paid family and medical leave
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I was shocked to find I had no paid leave or legal job protection.
by Amy Ziettlow
The unexpected gift of missional friendship
I was a United Methodist pastor. He was a campus minister with Cru.
Looking back at my ministry from hospice care
My feet hurt. To distract myself, I'm recalling my professional failures.
by Karl Travis
COVID and the faithful risks pastors have taken
This is a high-stakes time. Some churches need to take more creative risks than ever before.
Four ways faith leaders can shift to trauma-informed ministry
When everyone is traumatized, caregiving takes on new dimensions.
When the best of times and the worst of times coincide
At St. Martin-in-the-Fields, we’re living through beautiful, nightmarish days.
by Samuel Wells
Beginning to learn to be a pastor
Shortly after his ordination, a home visit unexpectedly throws a new pastor in the deep end.
The dirty work of ministry
What two drastically different messages from parishioners taught me
by Samuel Wells
Shaping a place where people can become more like Christ
Scot McKnight looks to Paul to define the pastoral task.
by Zen Hess
My Muslim friend Ali and my Christian commitment to his life of faith
How American hostility toward Muslims has shaped my pastoral vocation
These UMC deacons are more like doulas than circuit riders
How Sacred Stones Ministries is bringing new ministry models to birth
by Eric Smith