Conversations
April 1, 1996
THE AUTO: HERE TO STAY
At a retirement celebration, well-known church consultant Lyle Schaller was asked what his career failings had been. The question seemed inappropriate; but as Schaller thought about it later, he came up with four. One that stood out: Not convincing church leaders that the automobile is here to stay.
Many churches still assume a small, village-parish model in which people hear the church bells and walk from their farms to church. Yet today, most people drive by several churches before they reach their congregation of choice. What does that reality mean for your church?
CASTING OUT FEAR
Tom Osborne, longtime football coach at the University of Nebraska, writes, "Fear is a tremendous detriment in coaching or any other endeavor. So many times coaches think of all the bad things that can happen. We fret about the reaction of the public if we lose. Pretty soon we get stilted in what we're doing as a coach.
"But if my primary goal is to serve and honor God, I'm able to do what I think I need to do and then accept the consequences in relatively good grace by knowing I have served him. Then I measure success by how faithful I've been in honoring and serving God, not by wins and losses. A very freeing attitude!"
D.MIN. DOMINANCE
The number of students enrolled in Doctor of Ministry programs has mushroomed in the past twenty-five years: from 325 (in 1969) to 6,738 (in 1990). One board member of a prominent seminary told Leadership he envisions a two-year M.Div. degree—give people the theological basics and plunge them into ministry—and then the D.Min. as a degree essential for most positions.
MAINTAINING SPIRITUAL VITALITY
Leadership recently asked contributing editor Fred Smith: How do you maintain the spiritual ...
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