Pastor's Pen - May 2019

May will be an amazing month. First of all, if you have not met the co-moderator of the General Assembly, please come to church on Sunday, May 19. Cindy Kohlmann will be bringing us the Sermon and we will be sharing in the worship service together. It is not every day that churches get to hear the co-moderator of the General Assembly preach in their congregation.

What a gift it will be to hear what news she brings us from the larger denomination and the vision, mission and hope she will share with us. The newsletter as well as the internet has wonderful articles about her and the denomination and all the wonderful work they are doing. Let’s support her by being present on May 19.

There is a book that the denomination is recommending for all churches to read. It is entitled, Neighborhood Church (Transforming your Congregation into a Powerhouse for Mission) by Krin Van Tatenhove and Rob Mueller. I encourage you to read it along with me and see where the denomination predicts churches to move in the future.

I will be attending an Interim Pastors conference the second week in July at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center. At that conference are all pastors who are serving as interim pastors in various congregations. I look forward to learning much and bringing back all I learn to the congregation. The following books must be read by the beginning of the conference in July:

1) Christianity After Religion (The end of church and the birth of a new spiritual awakening) Diana Butler Bass

2) Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times (Being calm and courageous no matter what) by Peter Steinke

3) One Family’s Story (A primer on Bowen Theory) by Michael Kerr, MD

4) Transitional Ministry Today (Successful Strategies for Churches and Pastors by Norman Bendroth

5) A Failure of Nerve (Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix) by Edwin Friedman

6) Canoeing the Mountains (Christian Leadership in uncharted territory) by Tod Bolsinger

7) The Way of Conflict (Elemental Wisdom for Resolving Disputes and Transcending Differences) by Deidre Combs.

Please join me with my reading if you are interested. I would love dialogue partners along this journey.