Would you name a church, “Child Church”?? Depends on your context.
The context of a church’s ministry/mission can be delineated into two categories:
Immediate: The local community in which a particular congregation exists.
Larger: The wider influences in which a congregation exists, like time in history, region, country, etc.
We’ve looked at larger context the last few [...]
Continue reading about Name a church “Child Church”?: Context 4
A well known adage in real estate: “The three most important aspects of real estate are: location, location, location.” One could also say, “The three most important aspects of doing church today are: context, context, context.”
Why? And what is context?
Context:
Immediate: The local community in which a particular congregation exists.
Larger: The wider influences in which a [...]
Today is the last interview with Albuquerque pastor Trey Hammond, in which Trey describes his congregation’s interest in Celtic spirituality and evangelism. The interview is 5 minutes long, and beneath the interview, I review a book Trey mentions, George Hunter’s “The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West Again.”
“The Celtic Way of [...]
Continue reading about Trey Hammond Interview 3: Celtic Evangelism
In my last class in my Doctor of Ministry program, Dr. Gary Simpson challenged us all to think through what is our “public theology”? I wrote on my Facebook update the next day—”Stephanie is confused about her public theology. More reading is in her future.” When I told Gary that this was my update for [...]
Continue reading about Public Theology: Trey Hammond Interview #2
Today we look at Interview #1 with Rev. Trey Hammond of La Mesa Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque, NM. I found Trey’s experience fascinating. He (and the church he pastors) face the adaptive challenges of a predominately white, middle-class, educated congregation which longs to have a ministry within their changing community context.
The church has discerned three [...]
Continue reading about Social Capital: Interview 1 with Trey Hammond
Many of you know I attended the “Transformational Summit” for my denomination in January in Louisville, KY. One night at dinner, I had the priviledge of sitting next to Jim Spain, a Commissioned Lay Pastor in the Muskingum Valley Presbytery in Ohio (in my tribe, PCUSA). I’d never met a CLP* before, so this alone [...]