Why would the work of Dr. Kenneth Bailey ’55, who died nearly 10 years ago and retired 20 years earlier, matter today? The title of this year’s W. Don McClure Lecture, “The Life and Thought of Presbyterian Missionary and New Testament Scholar Kenneth E. Bailey,” points to two answers. As a scholar, Bailey produced a…
Sourcing and Sustaining Lay Leadership
Since graduating from seminary in 2011, one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced as the pastor of a small, rural congregation is recruiting, retaining, and replacing leaders within the church. At Nixon United Methodist Church, we have a practice of rotating new leaders out of leadership after three years. This policy has been challenging to…
Disability Inclusion in the Church
When you think of disability inclusion in the church, what comes to mind? Is it a row of occupied wheelchairs in the back of the sanctuary? Is it a youth volunteer with Down syndrome? Is it a ramp or an elevator? Disability inclusion can look like a lot of different things. And while the specifics…