Leadership
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First Year as Co-Pastors: How’s It Going?
A year has passed since this picture was taken. I look at myself in this picture who is still an associate pastor and see a person who has no clue what lies ahead of her as a co-pastor. I had no reason to not assume that my role as a co-pastor would be any different…
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The Golden Calf and Letting Go
They gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come on! Make us gods who can lead us. As for this man Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t have a clue what has happened to him.” (Exodus 32.1) I’ve preached and led a few workshops that loosely encompass the theme of…
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In the Middle: Intersection between Age & Wisdom
Photo by Dan Meyer I am a member of the Committee to Review Biennial Assemblies. This committee was tasked to research and suggest changes to the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. We surveyed hundreds of past General Assembly commissioners and staff, asking them what message would they like to convey to this…
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Non-Geographic Presbyteries & the Issue of Diversity
Rev. John Vest, a member of the Mid Council Commission, recently wrote a blog stating his views about non-geographic presbyteries: “After much conversation and reflection, I changed my mind and embraced the concept of non-geographic presbyteries as a potentially energizing and catalyzing change to our existing way of being Presbyterian, which I do not think…
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Hey PCUSA, Stare Death in the Face!
Originally post on 2 Friars and a Fool on June 20, 2012 . . . In 1982, Steven Callahan set out to cross the Atlantic Ocean in his boat, Napoleon Solo. As he planned his trek, there was a 2 percent chance of a gale at that time of year. Callahan was mentally and physically…
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Building a Plane While Flying
Originally posted on The Presbyterian Leader on June 14, 2012 . . . Growing up, I used to hang out with my dad at the airport. This wasn’t the kind of airport that you go to when catching a flight. This was a small airport where airplanes were built and tested. My dad was a mechanical engineer…
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What Came First – the Mentor or the Mentee?
Originally posted on The Presbyterian Leader on May 30, 2012 . . . Last week, I was at the Korean-American Clergywomen Conference at San Francisco Theological Seminary. For the past twenty-one years, this group of women have been meeting to provide support, advocacy, and resources for each other in a world where they receive few to none.…
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A Moderator’s Instruction Manual
Originally posted on The Presbyterian Leader on May 17, 2012 . . . Depending on your presbytery, the job of the moderator can vary. However, we are living in a time when most of our presbyteries are facing some serious challenges: financial, church dismissals, staff restructures, struggling congregations, and more. In many cases, it has…
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The Accidental Leader
Originally posted on The Presbyterian Leader on May 3, 2012 I call myself an accidental leader, not because I don’t feel that I possess the necessary skills, temperament, and experience, but because I came about being a leader quite on accident and not by choice. I think many of us have had that experience sitting…
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Urban Ministry: Making the Switch
It seems that parish ministry is a challenging line of work these days, whether you are in a rural, suburban, or urban context. Parish ministry gets even more interesting if you are serving a church that is considered a new development, a redevelopment, or in transition of figuring out what their future is. At some…
Still Waters 