Pastors may struggle with suicidal thoughts. September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness and provide support to individuals who may be struggling with their mental health. While it might come as a surprise to some, it’s important to acknowledge that even individuals in high-stress and emotionally demanding professions can experience suicidal
Christian leadership demands flexibility, responsiveness, and above all, resilience. As the church enters a season of significant transition, the role of pastors and leaders becomes increasingly complex, requiring additional strengths and skills to navigate the unknown future. Start with some of our most popular resources and offerings designed to cultivate resilience in pastors and Christian
Catch the final episode in this season of Transforming Engagement, the Podcast, where we’ve been considering Church After Mars Hill and using The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill as a case study. We’ve considered a number of aspects of that story: Patriarchy and mutuality. Whiteness and diversity. Violent imagery and peace making.
We’re joined this week by father-daughter team, Dr. Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer, co-authors of A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing. Their book was inspired by the events at Willow Creek Church, prompting them to explore toxic church cultures and the need for change. They
In this episode of “Church After Mars Hill,” host Joel Kiekintveld is joined by Dr. Chelle Stearns to focus on the intersection of art, expression, and theology within the modern Western church. Many churches invest heavily in elements like worship teams, video production, and visual presentations. However, this often lends itself to one-way communication,
In this episode, we explore a new perspective on church with Dr. Dwight Friesen, who asks us: “How do I start where I am? Wherever I am, how do I discover being church here?” Instead of viewing church as a megachurch attracting distant members, we shift our focus to being church in our own
As we continue to examine the case study that is Mars Hill Church, we’re asking a couple of questions in this conversation: First, how do we create faith communities that know what abuses of power look like and call those behaviors out? And second, how do we build environments that seek to be psychologically healthy for everyone?
We invite you to download Resilience: People, a Self-Facilitated Retreat Guide. This is not another daily devotional to add to your list of things to do. It is a flexible, self-paced mini-retreat that can be done on your own time, at your own pace, wherever you are. You can do this on your own or
Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll was known to portray Jesus as a warrior or an “ultimate fighter” in his teachings. He wasn’t the only one. In the Western church, our society’s obsession with violence and militarism has found its way into our theology in subtle – and not so subtle – ways. But
As a leader, you need to reflect on your own story to create healthier relationships with yourself, God, and the people you serve. We’ve assembled over 30 of our favorite articles, podcasts, and books that can give you further insight into exploring your own story and how it informs the ways in which you interact