Blog Archives

Who decides if you are a Christian?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

Recently I was a guest on HuffPost Live with Rev. Paul Raushenbush, HuffPost Senior Religion Editor and two other authors. (You can watch the segment here. I come in around 19:00) We discussed the coming out of NBA player Jason Collins and the conversation turned to…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Christianity, congregation, dialogue, faith, Jason Collins, Jesus, spiritual formation
Posted in Religious News Voices

Underestimating staff burnout

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — 1 Comment ↓

You don’t think your staff are stretched thin? Don’t think you are above burning out? Have you checked the health of your organizational staff? Perhaps you underestimate the power of staff burnout in your congregation or organization. It’s real and…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Church Leadership, congregation, congregations, leadership, senior pastor, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice, staff leadership
Posted in Leadership

Why is it called Maundy Thursday?

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

Today is Maundy Thursday — no, not Monday Thursday, which would be an interesting concept: society could work Monday through Thursday, with Fridays off! Some Christians misunderstand that this day is only a “Catholic” celebration. Christians both ancient and modern…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Baptist, Baptists, Christianity, Maundy Thursday for Baptists, prayer, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, worship
Posted in Spiritual Formation

Poll: Most Americans feel connected to local church

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

In an age where cries from denominations about declining membership and church participation, a new poll offers some encouraging news on American’s feelings towards their congregation. A Rasmussen poll found that 54% of American adults feel at least “somewhat connected” to their local…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Christianity, Church, Church Leadership, community, congregation, congregations, faith, Formation, leadership, ministry, missional, outreach, Politics, Relationships, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice
Posted in Leadership

By way of ashes

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Julie Pennington-Russell — No Comments ↓

I was 24 and living in Mill Valley, Calif., when I first encountered Ash Wednesday. The Christian liturgical calendar had figured not much at all in my Southern Baptist experience to that point. But one February morning in 1983, spurred…

Tagged with: Ash Wednesday, Christianity, Church, Jesus Christ, Lent, prayer, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, worship
Posted in Blog Posts, Ecumenical Leaders, Ministry, Religion, Spiritual Formation, Worship

Lessons From Stone Mountain

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Julie Pennington-Russell — 4 Comments ↓

It all started with my teeth. A couple of years ago I was reclining in the chair of my dentist, Dr. Uetsuki, waiting for the nitrous oxide to kick in. “Are you doing anything special for New Year’s?” he asked…

Tagged with: challenges, faith, Formation, Gratitude, living in the moment, mental health, ministry, nature, new year, obstacles, overcoming, paying attention, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Stone Mountain, sunrise, worship
Posted in Faithful Living, Grief, Health & Wholeness, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Ministry, Spiritual Formation, Worship

Legacy

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Ircel Harrison — No Comments ↓

As the president of the United States enters into his second term, there is much discussion among the “talking heads” about legacy. What will President Obama seek to do that will assure that he is remembered in the years to…

Tagged with: congregations, Relationships, spiritual formation
Posted in Faithful Living

What’s your story?

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Ircel Harrison — No Comments ↓

After I watched the Heisman Trophy presentation on ESPN last Saturday night (my selection did not win, by the way), I stayed on the channel and saw the documentary “You Don’t Know Bo” about athlete “Bo” Jackson. Although I was…

Tagged with: faith, hope, spiritual formation
Posted in Faithful Living

The edgy Christian media startup you need to check out

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

More and more, Christian media outfits try to create their own social media platforms to get noticed. However, a new edgy social media startup, “Sogo” is taking a different route on social media to get their message out. Sogo describes…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Brian McLaren, change, dialogue, faith, Formation, missional, social media, sogo, spiritual formation, Spirituality, Steve Knight, Tripp Hudgins, what is sogo
Posted in Technology & Church

What do you get when you focus on conflict? More conflict!

Posted on November 19, 2012 by George Bullard — No Comments ↓

I’m sure you have probably heard the old adage that says Baptists are like alley cats. You know what you get when cats fight an alley on Saturday night? More cats. Conflict is similar to this because the more you…

Tagged with: Baptist, Baptists, certification, chruch planting, Church, churches, conflict, congregation, Congregatons, denomination, denominations, experts, George Bullard, God, health, Henry Kissinger, mediation, Oval Office, Richard Nixon, spiritual formation, staff, strength, training, vibrancy, vitaility, White House
Posted in Church Starts, Leadership, Ministry