Many pastors sense that the church they were trained to serve and the church they encounter each day are two different universes. Things change. Change is part of life. Yet change in the church over the last two decades has been phenomenal. Even disorienting. Some of us adapt to change easily. For others, it’s really…
Category: Ministry
What is a MAPS? God’s Directions Through an Aptly Named Degree
In the 2004 classic National Treasure, main character Benjamin Gates discovers a secret invisible map on the back of a rather meaningful piece of paper, the Declaration of Independence. At Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, the meaningful piece of paper that is the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies, or MAPS, degree may likewise contain a hidden…
Rachel Held Evans and Grace
My wife, Erin, and I first became aware of Rachel Held Evans when we were serving in Florida. As we were working with youth from a number of churches, one of the teenagers asked us to read something called A Year of Biblical Womanhood. It struck us as an odd request – odd enough that…