Stories

Congregations

January 9, 2024

As more pastors age and retire, churches appear to be facing a succession crisis, a study says

Recent research released by Barna Group reveals a demographic trend that may not bode well for the stability of congregations. As a significant percentage of...

November 24, 2020

John Swinton: Helping Christians with mental health issues starts with better language

  In the pandemic, churches may find that more and more congregants are struggling with mental health issues, but Christians haven’t always been the best...

June 25, 2019

How we read the Bible as a post-evangelical church

By Steve Watson

  Roger stood before our quarterly gathering of church leaders wearing faded jeans and a button-down shirt suitable for the gardening and other activities that...

June 11, 2019

Nuns & Nones brings together religiously unaffiliated young adults and Catholic sisters

By Yonat Shimron

  The air was thick with ash from raging wildfires last November when five millennials with no fixed religious affiliation moved into a Roman Catholic...

January 23, 2018

Robert Saler: ‘Why don’t I get a vacation, too?’ How to talk about clergy sabbaticals

By Robert C. Saler

  One of my favorite jokes, particularly during the period when I served in a parish, tells of a pastor who is in her office,...

March 22, 2016

A Minneapolis congregation finds new life through the ancient practice of keeping Sabbath

By Jeff Strickler

  When the Rev. Kara Root came to Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church in 2008, the congregation wasn't exactly desperate. "They were already past desperate," Root...