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Emerging Spirit executive director Keith
Howard blogs on the Emerging Spirit website about the inevitability of
change--it is coming, like it or not, so we had better be prepared.
"Change happens," he writes.
"That's not the question. How are we going to respond - that's the
spiritual issue. Will we welcome change or cultivate denial?"
"If God is on the loose - as I am
fond of saying - who knows what might lie ahead? Might there be joy,
discovery, new life even for those of us with creaking knees and delusions
about how much we actually do have 'under control.' If that is change
knocking at the door, should we answer with a welcome or pretend we're not
home?"
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Author Diana Butler Bass writes about
the recent discovery by Willow Creek that their programmatic approach to
connecting with seekers was not actually very successful in nurturing
disciples. Rather, as Butler Bass found in her research on small- and
medium-sized churches, "Programs don't make Christians. Practices
do."
"Congregations that intentionally
engage Christian practices are congregations that experience new
vitality..." she writes. "A vital congregation is one where all
people--including the pastor--are growing members of an organic community
of spiritual practice."
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more
Looking for an attention-grabbing tool
to invite your neighbours to your Christmas services?
Starting in November, Emerging Spirit
will offer United
Church congregations
a special Christmas postcard they can use to let their neighbours know more
about their ministry and invite them to join you at one of your Christmas
services.
A professionally designed template for
these cards will be available for free download on www.emergingspirit.ca.
This template can be modified to include
information from local congregations and then taken to a local printer.
Arrangements are currently being explored for those who may not have access
to such quick printing services. More information to follow.
Watch www.emergingspirit.ca
for information and ordering details.
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Leadership expert Anna Christie offers four
steps on how to receive criticism, which is a vital skill for those in
leadership. Christie writes, "Good leaders know and understand which
emotions are getting triggered when receiving feedback, where these
feelings come from, and how to work toward healing them."
Pastor Michael Jacob Kooiman questions
the vague
mission statements many churches write and wonders if we might be able
to do better. "How did we arrive at a place where rather than describe
who we really are (or hope to be), we give people 500 words of sleep
aid?" he asks.
Gaye Sharpe ponders some of the lessons
learned from entertainer and activist Raffi about what
it means to honour children and what this might mean for the church.
"To be a ‘child honouring’ church would mean making
decisions about leadership, building, outreach, budget, and program through
the lens of how it would impact children," she writes. "Not only
the children within our congregations, but also the children in our communities,
near and far."
There are many more provoking and
helpful topics covered on the Emerging
Spirit blog. Please stop by and join in the discussion with your
comments.
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more
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Emerging Spirit News
