Disciples Church Extension Fund (DCEF), which oversees New Church Ministry (NCM) on behalf of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), announces the leader of NCM will step down at the end of January.
Continue reading “NCM leader accepts new post; interim to serve transition”
Understanding God and the church at the Water the Plants Prayer Summit
In her teaching on the spiritual discipline of prayer at the recent Water the Plants Prayer Summit, Rev. Dr. Martha Brown, a member of the Board of Directors for Disciples Church Extension Fund (DCEF), recounted the story of Jacob to both returning and first-time attendees of the Water the Plants initiative’s prayer-focused virtual event. As Rev. Dr. Martha told it, after stealing his brother’s birthright, this patriarch of the Israelites fled for the land of his mother’s brother, where he married and had children. For years, Jacob worked for his uncle, accumulating wealth and servants. Eventually, he decided to return home, sending his family, maids, and animals ahead of him. Along the way, Jacob found himself alone on the banks of the Jabbok, a tributary of the river Jordan. There he wrestled with a man until daybreak, when Jacob asked for a blessing, asked God for His name. This, Rev. Dr. Martha reminded those in attendance, was a moment of prayer.
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Finding a path to God with Ekklesia Global
Michelle Beech lives and works in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In her words, that’s not where she’s from, but that’s where God has her now.
Due to her father’s career as a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), she’s lived all over the United States. So it’s fitting that her new community of faith, Ekklesia Global, has people joining their video calls from across the country and across the world.
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What a congregation for those impacted by incarceration can teach the church about welcoming all
Rev. Dr. Louis Threatt never thought he’d be a pastor.
But that changed when he became a prison chaplain in North Carolina, where he noticed a disconnect between church and prison.
In a recent video call with New Church Ministry, Rev. Dr. Louis tells us that there’s both a lack of prison ministries and congregations doing prison ministry well.
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Navigating death, intimacy, and the palpable nature of online church with Rev. Orlando Scott
New Church Ministry’s interview with Rev. Orlando Scott started later than expected.
As a chaplain at Northside Hospital in Lawrenceville and Duluth, Ga., he had just spent time in comfort care with a dying patient and her boyfriend, who had been brought down from another floor. Rev. Orlando is busy turning on lamps in his office to improve the dull clinical lighting and apologizing for his tardiness when he joins our video call.
Even though we ask if he wants to reschedule, Rev. Orlando replies that it isn’t a problem, this is everyday life for him and his colleagues, including the intern who pops into the room to confirm his patient’s death.
Continue reading “Navigating death, intimacy, and the palpable nature of online church with Rev. Orlando Scott”