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…
Author: ptsblog
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…
Opening A New Chapter—A Second-Career Student’s Story
Just as she reached retirement, Wendy Farone, Ph.D., discovered a call to something new. She hesitated to pursue it at first, thinking to herself, “I’m retired! I’m 65; many pastors are retiring from ministry at this age, and I’d be just moving in.” Wendy’s pastor, however, reminded her that “God doesn’t call you because you’re…