by Rev. Dr. Timothy Leitzke, Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Valparaiso, Indiana In May our cohort delved into demographics and immigration. The former topic is dear to me as my city struggles to acknowledge its demographic realities; the latter is dear to me as my congregation hosts ESL classes, and the students are, one way or…

by Tim Knauff, Senior Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Valparaiso, Indiana My congregation, Christ Lutheran in Valparaiso, has granted me a sabbatical — what a gift! The word “Sabbatical” is from the same root as “Sabbath” — time away, time devoted, holy time spent connecting with God, self, and others. I am profoundly grateful for the…

by Brent Wright, Chaplain, Community Hospital East, Indianapolis Seven years after my time in the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program, I’m no longer a pastor. What does that say about the program? As with all meaning-making, it’s worth further investigation. When I joined the second cohort of the WPLP at the end of 2010, I was…

by John Campbell, Senior Pastor, Terre Haute First Baptist Church, Terre Haute, Indiana Sunday morning, I, with so many others, will gather at the Lord’s table to share in a simple meal. Bread and cup. Flesh and blood. Communion. Gathered at this table, we Christians celebrate the reality that the Word became flesh and dwelt…

by Lori Bievenour, Senior Pastor, St. Peter’s United Church of Christ, Carmel, Indiana Ministry is fantastic… and exhausting.  As I look ahead to my 16thyear with the same congregation, I am struck by the dynamic nature of ministry… even in the same setting/location and with the “same” people.  Ha!  We all know that the people in our congregations…

by Mark Havel, Pastor, Cross of Grace Church, New Palestine, Indiana I often lament the cultural, racial, ethnic homogeneity of my congregation’s setting and of my congregation itself, as much as I love what we’re up to. I serve alongside the very “white” people of Cross of Grace Lutheran Church, in the cornfields of New…

by Jared Kendall, Associate Pastor, Fishers United Methodist Church, Fishers, Indiana “Churches are the last place-based institutions left in Indianapolis.”  So said Indianapolis City Planner Brad Beaubien as he described the changing neighborhoods of Indianapolis.   My community, like so many others, is also experiencing deep, community-impacting change.  For us, change is taking on the form of new…

by Rev. Dr. Andy Kort, Senior Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Bloomington, Indiana In our recent time together, David Brooks shared a quote that has stayed with me when thinking about community well-being. He said, “You can’t only clean the part of the pool you are swimming in, you have to clean the whole pool.” The…

by Aaron Ban, Pastor, St. John’s United Church of Christ, Chesterton, Indiana I am guilty of a mild form of celebrity worship.  I grew up watching The PBS Newshour, and so I have gotten to know David Brooks on my TV screen for years.  After meeting him at our March session of WPLP, I told…

by Jerry Ingalls, Lead Pastor, First Baptist Church, New Castle, Indiana In their 2013 book, Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us about Surviving and Thriving, the authors Bob Burns, Tasha D. Chapman, and Donald C. Guthrie testified: Lilly Endowment, Inc., an Indiana-based foundation concerned about the health of the church, has been exploring this question…