This year 185 people gathered in Omaha as we rounded out a three-year cycle on discipleship with the theme Discipling by Design and a concentration on four areas of ministry in which every church is already engaged: worship, community, mission and leadership. The intent was to assist those present in making these things more intentionally disciple-making. Presenters were all LCMC pastors and la [...]
LCMC, along with many other church bodies, is constantly encountering congregations and pastors in transition. I’ve been dealing with many of these congregations during my tenure as Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry and seeing first-hand the challenges they face, the perils and pitfalls that often befall them, and the great promise that awaits them if and when they successfully move through a period of transition! ... [...]
Part of my role as Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry includes dealing with pastors and congregations in the call process. As I prepared my Call Committee Workshop I came across a very helpful article by Lavern Brown on the advisability of interim pastors. I have found that many congregations neglect the essential work of dealing with the transitional issues that arise after the resignation and departure of their pastor. I offer ... [...]
Did you know that Thanksgiving sometimes comes in October? Well, not the official Thanksgiving, but elements of thanksgiving have found their way into October in many congregations, because the second Sunday in October has been designated as Clergy Appreciation Day, and some congregations observe this spirit of Thanksgiving all month long! [...]
Our Annual Gathering is a great time to renew friendships, catch up on one another’s lives and ministeries, and, as was the case last year, thank others for their faithful service to Christ. Last year we began what we hope will be an annual event when we recognized significant ordination anniversaries. Leadership Magazine recently reported that of every twenty pastors who begin ministry, only one retires from ministry, ... [...]
It’s been two years since LCMC held a national Leadership Conference, and May 3rd will be here before you know it. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to be together and learn how better to serve Christ and His church! iFollow: Life Together in the Way of Jesus will be held at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, near Columbus, Ohio, May 3-6, 2015. The Ministry Board of LCMC has been hard at work preparing this ... [...]
It’s a work in progress, but I’m planning to put together a group of regional Call Committee Coaches to assist local congregations when they’d like a little help with the call process. If you’re interested in learning more, or have ideas that I should incorporate into a training session, please email me at steve@lcmc.net. [...]
Are you tired of bleak, gray, polar vortex days?! Exhausted after shoveling mountains of snow and jump-starting your car?! Then plan now to make the trek to sunny southern California for this year’s annual leadership event, hosted and planned by Mount of Olives Church in Mission Viejo, California. Pastor John Steward and his team have planned an exciting, challenging and practical two-day conference to keep us going into all the ... [...]
Dear Friends in Christ, I am thrilled to introduce myself as the new Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry in LCMC! I was born in southern Minnesota and was raised in Staten Island, New York. I finished high school, college and seminary in Minnesota. Along the way I attended Lutheran Bible Institute (LBI) in Seattle, Washington; toured with a Youth For Christ International singing team in southeast Asia and the U.S.; and ... [...]