In “The Art of Leading Change: Ten Perspectives on the Messiness of Ministry,” Mike Bonem learns from religious and secular business leadership–as well as from artists–to inform his thoughts on church leadership and change. Change is inevitable, yet our approach to engaging change will determine how well we deal with the “messiness” of ministry.
Foraging invites us into a relationship of gift to gift, abundance to abundance. In theological terms, foraging invites us to move from dominion to stewardship, and from stewardship to relationship and reciprocity. For in the end this world is God’s garden, and it is a gift and a grace—and a delicious taste—just to be a part of it.
Nearly six years after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, we can say that we are now experts in disaster response. We demonstrated this in the disasters that have followed since then. Nothing is the same. We are no longer the same. But we are stronger, more resilient…more sensitive. So we keep healing, we keep loving, and we keep dreaming.
A casi seis años de la tragedia, podemos decir que somos expertos en respuesta a desastres. Lo demostramos en los desastres que precedieron. Ya nada es igual. Ya no somos iguales, somos más fuertes, más resilientes… más sensibles. Así que seguimos sanando, seguimos amando, seguimos soñando.
As we learn to adapt in a post-pandemic world, the tools we learned during the pandemic can continue to be useful to us. Having the opportunity to participate in memorials and funerals online is important for processing grief in a new way.
Falling—experiencing failure, grief, loss, and despair—is a fact of life for us, as it was for Jesus’ early followers. However, hope inculcates the ability to get back up, again and again. And where there is hope there is resilience. In this way faith, resilience, mental health, and the post-resurrection experience are inextricably connected.