I meant to drop you a note after the Easter, 1996 issue of Let’s Talk. It’s when the Advent 1996 edition arrived that I realized I have been negligent. I am referring specifically to the Leon Rosenthal article, “The Foundation: Finding Unity as Biblical People of Promise.” Considering the wretched history of Christian-Jewish relationships, our […]

While pondering the idea of what are important ministerial character traits my first pastor Judith Boggs came to mind. A story I read in the Reader’s Digest years ago describes the role she played in my life: A mother was putting her two-year-old to bed and as she left the room he pleaded with her […]

When asked to reflect on what makes a healthy pastor, my initial thought was to create a check list–exercise, rest, good nutrition, massage, time off, time for family and friends, prayer time, study, spiritual direction, time for fun, therapy when needed and physical checkups. But what is foundational to doing all those things and even […]

Have you ever had that nightmare where you’re about to walk into the sanctuary to perform a funeral and you realize that you know nothing about the deceased or his or her family and you don’t know what to say in your homily? We all have dreams of inadequacy like this. But what if the […]

A generation has come and gone since Joseph Sittler wrote his essay on the “Maceration of the Minister” in his book, The Ecology of Faith: The New Situation in Preaching (Fortress, 1961; reprinted in Grace Notes and Other Fragments, Fortress, 1981). Much has changed in the Church in 36 years, but it still stings to […]

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you… These familiar words of Paul to Timothy are a Scriptural example of what has been going on for centuries since in the church: the mentoring process in […]

There are two very important potential resources for growth and support for professional leaders in ministry. The first exists within the congregation and is called in many cases the mutual ministry committee. This committee is often not highly visible within a congregation but is an important communication bridge as it seeks to work in a […]

In Let’s Talk, Volume 1, Issue 4, Philip Hefner addressed the question, “How is the Church Necessary for Salvation?” by describing the church as God’s well of possibility.” I found his description not so much objectionable as tame, perhaps because it lacked a specific reference to the death-embracing and death-defying sacrament of regeneration. The word […]

How inspiring it can be to behold a minister in God’s Church who has both an office of authority and the character to exercise that office with integrity. How discouraging it is to watch someone from whom we expect so much, who has lost, or never possessed, the personal qualities it takes to care for […]

In all the hustle and hassle that makes up the first call, we still have time to complain. In meetings, on the phone, at lunches, where two or more recent graduates are gathered, we grouse. The common cry is “They never taught us about that in seminary!” This lament is applied to annual budgets, personalities […]