TIME Magazine on pastor's wives

HELP WANTED: Pastor's wife. Must sing, play music, lead youth groups, raise seraphic children, entertain church notables, minister to other wives, have ability to recite Bible backward and choreograph Christmas pageant. Must keep pastor sated, peaceful and out of trouble. Difficult colleagues, demanding customers, erratic hours. Pay: $0.

That's how one article in TIME magazine starts. It isn't a recent article, but I just stumbled across it and wanted to share it with you.

We all know that being a PW makes for a unique life. No other wife's life is exactly the same as those of us who are married to the pastor.

One of my favorite aspects of the article is its' emphasis on how the Internet can bring PWs together into a network of shared advice and support that never existed for past generations. That's really what CLUTCH is all about.

You might not know it, but CLUTCH is read by PWs in more than 20 countries every single week. We'd like to grow our readership too, so that more and more young PWs can be blessed and share their blessings back with us. So why not let your fellow PW friends in on the secret?

Read the full article by LISA TAKEUCHI CULLEN here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1604902,00.html#ixzz1Dm0BROEe. Then, maybe come back here and tell us what you thought about it?

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what makes a church healthy?

A few days ago, beliefnet.com published an article about a recent study of 32,000 congregations, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to conduct. The article, "Methodists Study the Hallmarks of Healthy Churches" shares some of the study's conclusions. They were careful to point out that there is no guarantee that the study's findings can apply to any other denomination, but it's likely that there is plenty of crossover.

Top two challenges churches are facing:

• economic pressure of the cost of the infrastructure, which is increasing at a rate that is greater than the giving
• a creeping crisis of relevancy, (the number of) young people not growing as a percentage of the participants

The article says that the study found four "key areas that fuel vitality:

• small groups and programs; 
• worship services that mix traditional and contemporary styles with an emphasis on relevant sermons; 
• pastors who work hard on mentorship and cultivation of the laity; 
• and an emphasis on effective lay leadership.

These four factors 'are consistent regardless of church size, predominant ethnicity, and jurisdiction,' the study concluded. "

Interestingly, the study also found that "it did not matter whether ministers held seminary degrees; whether pastoral ministry was a first or second career; or how long the minister had been engaged in pastoral ministry."

In other words, effective pastoral ministry results from following a calling, not from pursuing a career.

© CLUTCH, 2010 unless otherwise sourced.
Use allowed by express written permission only.
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the danger within

I’ve been reading a thread on one of my homeschool forums about googling people, and how easy it is to find out all about someone. Cyber stalkers are real and prevelant today, and the internet makes it easy for real stalkers to locate just about anyone. I love Facebook, and being able to keep in touch with old friends; but I’ve heard how employers and potential employers are using it against people. I even heard a story about a woman’s insurance claim being denied because of photos she had posted on her FB site. I also have a friend whose husband reconnected with an old girlfriend via Facebook, and now he has left his wife and their children for this old flame.

The world is so much smaller now than it used to be. And that’s a good thing. Technology allows us to spread the gospel in new and different ways, and to reach people that could never be reached before. Does your church have an active website? It should—not only for the benefit of communicating with your own church members—but for communicating your church and its mission to the world.

However, technology can be a powerful weapon in the hands of Satan. As with every good thing in this sinful world, it has it drawbacks. We must guard ourselves and our families from its dangers. We don’t often think about the dangers and perils that are lurking within our own living rooms. We use BSAFE in our home as a internet filter to protect ALL of us from dangerous websites. Internet pornography use and addiction is rampant, ESPECIALLY among pastors! Ladies, talk to your husbands today about it, and continue to pray for them daily to withstand these evil temptations. Discuss and pray together also, about how you can guard your children, and teach them how to protect themselves.

What are some measures that you have taken to protect yourself and your family from the dangers of internet?

© CLUTCH, 2010 unless otherwise sourced.
Use allowed by express written permission only.
Tweets, trackbacks, and link sharing encouraged.

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