By Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development Editor’s Note: Over the next several months, we’ll continue to share insights we’ve gleaned from Vibrant Faith’s Creating a Culture of Calling Initiative, a Lilly Endowment-Funded Initiative. When I was in college and STILL not sure what I wanted to major in, my high school pastor just …
By Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development Seven of our Vibrant Faith coaches are in the process of closing our three years of work with the 24 “Calling Congregations” that have been part of our Lilly Foundation-sponsored Creating a Culture of Calling research project. The coaches are finishing with focus groups, discovering stories of …
By Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development In 2017, Vibrant Faith began working with 24 churches from seven different denominations to help them embed and explore the theological idea of CALLING in their church life and congregational culture. This work was funded through a grant by the Lilly Endowment, and we were privileged to …
What We’re Learning: Creating a Culture of Calling Read More »
By Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development It’s finally happening, isn’t it? Church leaders who’ve been leveraged by Covid-world restrictions that have decimated their “normal” discipling ministries are pivoting to help FAMILIES better-practice their leadership role in the faith formation of their children and youth. At my own church, I’ve seen the delighted thanks …
By Rick LawrenceExecutive Director At the dinner table a few nights ago, my wife, my 18-year-old daughter, and I were talking about “white privilege”—a volatile term that has been around for awhile, but grabbed the spotlight in 2020. After my daughter offered her own take on the built-in advantage white people enjoy in our culture, I …
Over and over, church leaders report that a daunting source of tension between church members is their vastly different reactions to the Black Lives Matter movement. In his coaching work with congregations around the U.S., Reachable Reconciliation founder Fred Oduyoye is helping leadership teams surface these tensions, talk about them, then move past them together. To learn …
By Dr. Nancy GoingDirector of Research & Resource Development “Hybrid Faithful Living” is a phrase that my very observant colleague, Angela Gorrell, professor at Baylor’s Truett Seminary, uses to describe contemporary life in her book Always On: Practicing Faith in a New Media Environment. Today, our Covid-norm means we live on-screen and in-person in a hybrid way, …
