Since people attend church only a few hours a week, I try to invest some of my time with them where they spend much of their time: at work.
In the early years of my ministry, I'd visit farms in the community where I served. It was fairly easy to spend a few minutes with agricultural folk. I'd wait at the end of the turn-row. When the farmer pulled up in the tractor, he'd shut it down for a few minutes' ...
I began pastoral ministry in 1963. I was 23, fresh out of seminary, and assigned to a church on the wrong side of the street in a Southern California community. I was given practically no chance of pulling my little charge out of the doldrums. But I had learned from my heritage how important it was to love people.
So I did.
I called in their homes, paid attention to their children, visited the sick ...
I love artists. I always have. I cannot imagine a world without the beauty, perspective, and sheer joy artists bring. I use the term artists for those who create videos, design the stage, dance, write, sing, paint, play an instrument, mix the sound, and contribute overall ideas. They're all artists.
Those who provide leadership to arts ministries have two primary goals: to lead artists in creating ...