As First Christian Church (FCC) in Glendale, AZ reflected on their congregation’s future, they weren’t alone. With Disciples Church Extension Fund (DCEF), they discussed selling their building to fund a relocation to the West Valley area. After years of conversations, the congregation realized they no longer had the capacity needed for a feasible relocation. Instead, […]
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For members of First Christian Church in Winder, GA, issues surrounding mental health are personal. Shawn Smith formed the church’s Mental Health Initiative committee after her son Candler, who grew up at First Christian, died by suicide in 2017. Talking about the challenges her son faced was a healing process, Smith says. “I looked at […]
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For the first time, the 2019 General Assembly Worship Committee announced a call for sermons to identify new voices for the Church’s biennial gathering. The idea came from first vice-moderator and chair of the committee Rev. Beau Underwood. “There are so many good preachers out there that we just haven’t heard of,” Underwood said. “I […]
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For leaders at the Center for Faith and Giving, stewardship is about far more than raising money to pay the bills or develop a project. “It’s about living the vision,” says Rev. Bruce Barkhauer, minister for faith and giving. Since 2010, Barkhauer has worked to engage our Church in conversations about transformative generosity and stewardship. […]
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The Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School devotes its efforts to the enormous challenge of moral injury facing veterans and their loved ones. In her 2013 book Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War (co-authored with Gabriella Lettini), Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, founding director of the Center, defines the concept this way: “Moral injury […]
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Submitted by Rev. Alan Dicken Religion and politics – two things you are not supposed to talk about at dinner. And yet, it is always important to know how your faith informs the rest of your life. Deciding to follow Jesus means following Christ in the classroom, at work, and in the community. Now more […]
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Last month, Reconciliation Ministry partnered with three other ministries to offer two webinars on issues impacting the Church and the world. The first webinar, “Embracing the Call: Putting Out the Welcome Mat,” was presented by Reconciliation Ministry, Disciples Refugee and Immigration Ministries, and Disciples Immigration Legal Counsel. In this discussion, leaders discussed what being a […]
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The “One Bag of Tea, One Conversation, One Relationship” initiative grew out of Minister of Reconciliation Rev. April Johnson’s own experiences. After 10 years of offering anti-racism trainings, Johnson saw that many participants had never talked about racism in any intentional way. Moreover, trainings were often held in groups of people who had never met […]
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We have heard from several regions, congregations, and even our own general ministries, about a high number of e-mail “spoofing” incidents. At first glance, the e-mail you receive from a trusted leader appears to be legitimate. Here are some tell-tale signs that an email is spam: The actual e-mail address and the name do not match […]
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Following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, in 2014, a new conversation to engage Disciples in advocacy surfaced a need for connection. The efforts to network for Standing Rock protests and other crisis led to the creation of Disciples Public Presence. Disciples Public Presence is a movement. After its beginnings in March […]
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