Jun 19, 2022 |
Stop Confirming Teenagers to Membership. Start Confirming them to Mission! Mark D. Hinds Remember when Jesus called his disciples and how he baptized them and appointed them as junior community members? Then when the disciples turned thirteen, he convened a crash...
Feb 27, 2022 |
Amidst struggles and challenges, on-going illness and exhaustion, uncertainties and longings for normalcy, the Advocate turns an eye toward kindness and neighborliness as acts of justice and change. Inspired by the marking of Mr. Rogers Day on March 20, we explore...
Dec 1, 2012 |
By: Diana Butler Bass, Christianity after Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening. HarperOne, 2012. Church membership continues to plummet in America. Yet interest in the soul is rising. What’s behind this spiritual but not...
Dec 1, 2012 |
By: The deep anxiety in our society (that now readily spills over into violence) reflects a loss of confidence in trends that seem to have been interrupted and broken, a disruption that is powerfully symbolized by 9/11 and the loss of our illusion of invulnerability....
Dec 1, 2012 |
By: Change is a comin’. How do you deal with change? There are lots of changes coming our way and we have to adapt or not. What is new and innovative in the church in Christian education or faith formation? What is change? Is change doing things differently and...
Dec 1, 2012 |
By: It seems that at every conference I attend these days we are talking about “The 21st Century Church” and how to be the church that reflects the realities of today’s culture. Some people want to skip the theory to discover the next...
Dec 1, 2012 |
By: For many years the focus of children’s ministry has been on engaging the Bible in new and inviting ways. We’ve looked for curriculum resources that have bright engaging illustrations, multi-sensory ways of learning, and easy to follow instructions for...
Dec 1, 2012 |
By: On a regular September afternoon in Trenton, NJ, loud joyful sounds of teenagers and children filled the room of our church’s afterschool program. I methodically counted my volunteers in order to most effectively distribute my helping hands, when suddenly a...
Dec 1, 2012 |
By: There is something nice and neat about a can of Pringles. They stack so perfectly into that round can, and the taste and shape are entirely predictable. A bag of Chex Mix, however, has variety in taste, shape, texture and look. When you put your hand in that bag,...
Dec 1, 2012 |
By: Through college and seminary, I spent numerous years volunteering as a youth minister and in 2007 took a job in Bonn, Germany as the associate pastor for youth for an international congregation. This unique position afforded me the opportunity to work with some...
