Carol Howard Merritt
Pastoral care: How much is too much?
I served two small congregations who wanted a lot of pastoral care. Which was good, because I love people, and I love visiting with them.
...Why we need to support new churches for the long run
I was at a meeting recently where the pastor of a traditional church was complaining about having to support a new church development for more than three years.
So I asked him:
...Chipping away
I stood before the pile of clothes, holding each piece and asking myself, “Does this give me joy?”
...Money advice from a scrapper
Recently a friend came to me for financial advice. I was stunned, because... well... we don’t have money. We have a home. We have equity. We have retirement savings....
Why we don't like Donald Trump and what that means for the church
So, I realize I’m using the Royal "We" here. Obviously, some people like Donald Trump, because he’s polling quite well....
Misfits in the suburbs
"Why go to the city?" asked one of Bec Cranford-Smith's seminary professors. "There are enough new churches there."
Five liberal excuses to do absolutely nothing
The person has been robbed and beaten. He’s bleeding on the side of the road. Unlike the Good Samaritan, we step over him. But we have really great reasons for why we do it.
...In Chattanooga, learning to love
Just as it is the cable news network’s job to keep the fear-mongering ratings up, it is the job of religious leaders to remind us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. It is our job to make sure that we keep up our interfaith dialogue. It is also our job to inspire people to forgive.
Missteps in church planting
As I sat in a circle of church planters discussing ministry, a stream of confession emerged: "I've made a lot of mistakes."
First rule of stewardship planning? Have fun
There is a prevalent idea in culture that pastors are money-grubbers. I think I have met one of those. Maybe. But, for the most part, we hate asking for money. The majority of church budgets go to salaries, and we feel bad about that, even if we make less than a third of the average person in our congregation. So we can get embarrassed during stewardship time.
There is more than one history in the South
I often worship and preach in a sanctuary without windows. Renaissance Presbyterian Church is an African-American congregation in Chattanooga, Tennessee....
Happy hundred, Grace Lee Boggs
When I was a young seminarian, I was fascinated with Grace Lee Boggs’ life and work....
Just buy the book already
The Internet loves to disdain the celebrity Christian....
Church with a clean slate
"Co-creating is a lot of fun," says Jenn DiFrancesco. She and her Slate Project colleagues don’t show the same sort of weariness church planters often display a couple years in.
Reorienting grief
When we talk about grief, we often speak of it in terms of letting go, moving on, and getting over it. People want to know when they will be back to normal. But the loss of a loved one is not a bump in the road that we go over and then the pavement is smooth again. Grief fundamentally changes who we are.
Deconstructing patriarchy, one ritual at a time
I love weddings. I even like the parts pastors aren’t supposed to enjoy—the flowers, dresses, hair, and make-up....
Competition, coattails, and colleagues
I was talking about an author I admire and Brian, my husband, asked, “Her writing’s great and all, but who’s she bringing up?”
...
Innovation’s midwives
SFTS understands that the church is in the midst of a transformation. Its new center aims to meet new challenges—and to welcome institutional change.
The fear of irrelevancy
I went on a walk along the bay in Rhode Island. It was the path I took daily, so I was sure footed and looking at the horizon, until I almost stumbled upon an animal corpse....
Sipping tea with the crone
“Oh my,” he said, dabbing a sponge to my face and looking at my skin as if it were a national disaster. “We have got to find a way to get rid of those fine lines.”
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