Ministry Matters - The church is a (family) system, part 2 | The door to the house

How can we learn to embody healthy triangulation? The church is a (family) system, part 2 by Amanda Rigby & Elizabeth Watters   When the church is at its best, the invitation extended to us is to engage in close, meaningful relationships—holy friendships, you might say—with people we might otherwise never know… people we might not otherwise have a desire to get to know. In a time when polarization rules the day, the church has the potential to offer a counter-witness, one that asks us to set aside party affiliation and class and race to gather around a feast table together. Read here

Am I hearing with joy what God is saying to us today? The door to the house: proclamation and response by William McDonald   The Lord is about to speak a word into your preoccupied, overscheduled life. God will not wait for you to become calm and serene, as if you were alone on a mountaintop, the alone seeking the Alone. Instead, you are here, in this gathering of preoccupied selves, all asking that we might hear a word from the Lord. Read here

How can we seek healing for all creation as kin and fellow creatures? On earth as in heaven by Julianne Snape   I once imagined Jesus' relationship to the soil, water, fruits, and creatures as wielding power over these created elements to perform miracles. But, upon further reflection, this is not how Jesus relates to power or others. In his life and ministry, Christ gives power to others, not over them. And he partners with creation for the healing of our world. Read here

What's on your desk?   What books have shaped your ministry most? What biblical commentaries and tools do you keep coming back to? We want to know! Help us support clergy who are just beginning their ministry by sharing your opinion on the resources that matter most. Let us know here!

The good shepherd and your sermon this Sunday Help in curating worship for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Inviting kids to lead in worship this week