by: Rev. Anna Golladay I was in St Louis, MO this past weekend when I learned of a small UCC congregation in Holly Hills. Grace United Church of Christ was …
Is Your Congregation Welcoming New Members in Old Ways?
Diana Butler Bass, one of our favorite teachers, speakers, and authors here at Convergence, has long said that we need to rethink how we form spiritual communities. Old models insisted …
Are Your Governing Documents a Blessing or a Headache?
by: Gregg Carlson Convergence has spent the last decade learning from and working alongside local congregations. We have also discovered that some of the things that worked prior to 2020 …
Is Your Congregation Stuck As You Imagination the Future?
‘What is the world that you would bet on in the year 2070?” I asked the two hundred people from First United Methodist Church participating in a Futures Lab on …
Do We Shift? Or Do We Abandon?
For the first time in I-can’t-remember-how-long, the internet is galvanized behind something as a massive team. In an effort to thwart the dumpster fire that is Twitter, more than 10 …
What Is the Essential Work of Congregations?
My grandfather, Rev. Dr. James McCormick, is a retired minister in the United Methodist Church. He spent a lifetime serving congregations as a pastor and as denominational staff. I was …
Is It Time To Change the Questions You Are Asking About Your Church?
I was recently asked by my pastor, Melanie Vaughn-Colwell of Oakhurst Baptist Church, to be part of a conversation sermon. This is where two or more people sit in front …
Holy, Holy, Holy
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. And chances are pretty much every Christian church will be singing the same hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy. So let’s talk about the story behind this …
Are You Ready For Change?
by: Rev. Laura RobinsonUCC Local Church Pastor & Convergence Team Member I spent time last week listening to the conversations that arose out of the “Can the Church Change?” Summit. …
Queerness is Not Criminalized by God
By: Rev. Anna Golladay I reside in Tennessee. My state offers some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. It is diverse and energetic, all guided by a deep …