by Matt Cook | Feb 22, 2021 | healthy congregation, hope, Transitions
In the 1950’s a somewhat morbid experiment was conducted by a professor at Johns Hopkins University named Curt Richter. He put wild rats in a container of water and forced them to swim as long as they could before drowning. Most of the rats swam for only a few...
by David Hull | Feb 19, 2021 | healthy congregation, healthy ministry
Researchers at Harvard University recently completed a study of the factors that lead to a healthier, longer life. Using life-style questionnaires and medical records of 123,000 volunteers, they determined that the presence of five healthy habits in a person’s life...
by Matt Cook | Jan 13, 2021 | Best Practice, healthy congregation, healthy ministry
“Religion in our time has been captured by a tourist mindset.” (Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction). I love to travel. There are few things I enjoy more than picking somewhere to go, figuring out the most interesting places to experience,...
by Steve Scoggin | Nov 2, 2020 | coronavirus, healthy congregation
For seven months we have been running a race with no clear beginning or end. Unlike a natural disaster which has clear pre-warning, impact and recovery phases, a pandemic is different with no clear warning, impact or recovery in sight. This indefinite uncertainty has...
by Bill Wilson | Nov 2, 2020 | healthy congregation
In recent years, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) has become a highly visible part of our culture, and generalized trauma has emerged as a consistent issue for clergy and churches. The majority of Americans have experienced a significant trauma in their life and...
by Michelle Snyder | Jul 23, 2020 | Adapting, healthy congregation
Resilience is a buzzword that gets thrown around a lot these days. Lectures, TED Talks, Brené Brown, Oprah, Sheryl Sandberg… it seems everyone is inviting us to pursue resilience as a key to joy, fulfillment, and growth. I don’t disagree. But what’s the pathway to...
