Decision-Making for Productive Change by Priscilla Hammond
Priscilla Hammond
September 25, 2019
When change “just happens,” it never happens to move the organization’s goals forward.
When change “just happens,” it never happens to move the organization’s goals forward.
“Today, patience is one of the greatest gifts we can give others.”
Isn’t it true that life will not always turn out the way you want? Maybe you don’t get the promotion you think you deserve or you are struggling with your health. Maybe your marriage doesn’t turn out the way you imagined even though you feel you have worked hard for it and done everything you possibly can. The truth is that we
I grew up in a faith community where abuse was not spoken of, where sex was a taboo topic in any context. So as one can imagine, my understanding of sexual abuse was quite simplistic well into adulthood. How could a man or woman of God do such horrific things? I confess that it was easy to feel smug
It is with great joy and thanksgiving that we celebrate Kim Reisman’s 5th anniversary as Executive Director of WME. What a blessing she has been to our mission and ministry! God has used her in marvelous ways to continue the witness and work of WME. Her passion for Christ, her love for people, her vision, teaching, preaching and organizational gifts
“We are all being formed by something.”
C.S. Lewis argued that before writing a story, two elements must be considered: desire and duty. The story begins with the Author’s desire. Something captures the author that he or she needs to get out. Before the writing process begins, however, the story should be considered for its value as well. So consider the would-be storywriter from two angles: the
How do we know when an organization isn’t healthy?
People sometimes ask me for advice on how to get more young adults to come to church. Frequently, their church is warm and friendly, but is made of up older and/or elderly adults. They sometimes speak passionately about their desire to see their church not die off as members age. These conversations usually occur with church leaders in parts of
Ask the Spirit to show you what God sees when he looks at you. God instructed Samuel to look past appearances and directly into David’s heart. What did Samuel see when he did this? How would you describe your heart to someone who was interested in knowing you at that level?
Methodists are good at counting. The numerous records that have been kept over the years of “conversions,” “probationary members,” and the like, are a goldmine for historians. This penchant for noting numbers remains in our DNA today. “How many members?” and “How many in active attendance?” are the two primary questions asked when one evaluates the strength of a local
It is no revelation that the United Methodist Church is facing an uncertain and problematic future.The second largest Protestant denomination in the United States is deeply divided over human sexuality and as a result it is divided over its language in the Book of Discipline (the denomination’s manual on agreed-upon life together) and is divided over decisions made by the Judicial Council, several Annual Conferences, and Boards of Ordained Ministry regarding human sexuality. In response, the Council of
I believe that God wants us to enjoy our everyday lives. John 10:10 says that Jesus came to us so we may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, until it overflows). But it seems that far too many people who say they believe in Jesus are not enjoying their lives. Now, it is not only
Recently, I heard a church leader describe the instinct to “drop Facebook napalm” in an online debate. What a great image. Our cultural currency right now isn’t the American dollar or the speculative Bitcoin: it is outrage. Outrage is addictive, and it’s so easily justified: we sanctify it with the word “prophetic” or the word “faithful.” God calls us to
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…” – Isaiah 61:1 “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He
I’m at just about the halfway point of renewal leave (i.e. Sabbatical). I took my first church job in 1997, and ever since then, I’ve worked in the church. A couple of them were part-time, and then I took my first appointment at a pastor in 1999 to three small United Methodist Churches outside of Cleveland, MS. In other words,
Over the last 75 years, researchers at Harvard have tracked the lives of 724 men.* These men were children when the study began. For 75 years, they’ve been tracking these lives to record the state of their home life, work, health, outlook. Some men in the study became rich and famous. One became President of the United States. Others fared poorly. Boiling
Henry H. Knight III’s John Wesley: Optimist of Grace is a book I would like to get into the hands of as many Wesleyan Methodist pastors and lay leaders as possible. Knight has written a remarkably accessible and concise introduction to John Wesley’s life and theology without sacrificing precision and nuance. As the subtitle suggests, the core theme of this book
Children Adrift: The Old Testament Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed
There is a prayer that I recently discerned to pray: God, may all your plans for me be successful. The rationale behind this prayer is that I want to position myself and do everything that is in my power to let God fulfill his plans in my life. Notice that I did not say “my plans,” but God’s. This is
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