Resource Search Results

Two Pastors on Leading by Giftedness and Stewarding Diversity

Kizombo Kalumbula and Artie M. Lindsay Sr. helped found a church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, modeled on leading by giftedness. Gradually Tabernacle Community Church realized that their natural diversity was a gift from God meant to be stewarded during “such a time as this” in American culture.

Conversation | April 11, 2023

Kizombo Kalumbula and Artie M. Lindsay Sr. on Work and Worship

Valuing diversity in worship includes but goes beyond multiethnic considerations. It also means helping people of different ages, abilities, and vocations see themselves as living out their part to usher in God’s shalom. Two pastors offer practical insights for congregations interested in work and worship.

Conversation | March 27, 2023

LaTonya McIver Penny on Inclusion in Black Churches

The common thread in LaTonya McIver Penny’s pastoral and professional lives has been God’s calling to help faith communities, especially Black churches, become more inclusive. Learn why she sees inclusion as broader than welcoming people with cognitive or physical disabilities.

Conversation | January 31, 2023

Two Pastors on God at Work in Ordinary People and Places

Moses Chung and Christopher Meehan cowrote the book "Joining Jesus: Ordinary People at the Edges of the Church." They hope these stories will give people and congregations hope, encouragement, and imagination to see what God is already doing in their neighborhoods.

Conversation | January 23, 2023

Katie Ritsema-Roelofs on Intentional Work for Intergenerational Worship and Community

In this episode, worship planner and musician Katie Ritsema-Roelofs shares about the importance of thoughtful and intentional ways the whole congregation can join in the formational work of intergenerational, corporate worship.

Audio | Podcast | December 05, 2022

Kevin Secundino on Knowing You’re Not Alone

Participating in Calvin University’s Ministry Leadership Cohort and doing a summer ministry internship at his church taught one pre-med student a lot about God’s promises. You can apply some of what he learned to your own congregation.

Conversation | December 05, 2022

Demythologizing Freedom and the Beloved Community: A Practical Theology

This Recording from the African American Religious Autobiographies Seminar, held in July 2022, highlights the psychological and spiritual profiles of key religious anti-racist figures from the 19th and 20th Century, using practical theology and psychohistory.

Video | November 09, 2022

Navajo Burials and Christian Hope

The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated death-related issues in the Navajo Nation. Even so, affirming all that's good about "walking in beauty" gives Navajos on the Jesus Way a bridge to comfort people bound by fearful Navajo taboos about death.

Article | December 01, 2021

Angelique Havenga and Marnus Havenga on Lament, Community, and Ubuntu in the Dutch Reformed Church of Stellenbosch, South Africa

In this episode, pastor-theologians Angelique and Marnus Havenga share with Maria Cornou about what they are learning about pastoring and serving the community as a whole in the Dutch Reformed Church, located in city-center of Stellenbosch, one of the most unequal towns in the country of South Africa.

Audio | Podcast | April 05, 2021

Lee Hardy on Housing, Justice, and Worship

Completing a grant project on faith communities and affordable housing convinced Lee Hardy that justice and worship are internally linked. That’s why he says worship services should include housing justice, and Christians and congregations should advocate to change unjust systems.

Conversation | March 01, 2021

Faith Communities and Safe Dwelling Places

Philosopher and author Lee Hardy noticed derelict buildings near his church for decades before realizing that faith-based communities have valuable resources to address the affordable housing crisis.

Feature Story | March 01, 2021

Teacher-Scholar Panel: Community and Social Justice Themes

2019 Teacher-Scholar Vital Worship Grant recipients talk about their projects and the implications for those projects for gathered worship.

Conversation | July 08, 2020

Matthew Watson and Justin Fung on Neighborhood Spiritual Histories

Both church planters and established congregations can explore spiritual histories of their church neighborhoods. This helps them better communicate the gospel in the places where God calls them to serve.

Conversation | April 03, 2020

When Local Churches Learn and Worship Together

Four congregations in Durham, North Carolina, discovered that planning worship, learning, and reflecting together helped them be better witnesses in their East Durham neighborhood.

Feature Story | November 26, 2019

Georie Bryant and Reynolds Chapman on Prayer Walks

Sometimes Christians worry that praying in public will be embarrassing or offensive. Four congregations in Durham, North Carolina, organized a prayer walk that connected with neighbors.

Conversation | November 26, 2019

Mary L. Cohen on Prison Choirs That Churches Can Start

Churches can use this community/prison choir model to embody and invite people into restorative justice. It can help us develop our awareness of our common humanity and help people see God’s love within each of us.

Conversation | August 12, 2019

Worship and Christian Community Development

2019 Calvin Symposium on Worship | Seminar

Audio | April 12, 2019

Four Practices for Life-giving Community

2019 Calvin Symposium on Worship | Workshop

Audio | April 02, 2019

Isaac Wardell on Rethinking Calling and Vocation

Not everyone feels called to their job or experiences it as way to use their gifts to accomplish great things for God. There is a more satisfying way to think about how God calls each of us.

Conversation | April 18, 2018

Isaac Wardell on Bringing Work into Worship

Daily work, paid and unpaid, consumes our lives, energy, and minds—even when we are in church. Here are ways to plan worship so people see themselves and their work as instruments of God.