Was my faith strong enough to do this? What about my experience? Will 22 years of living in the suburbs have prepared me at all to live in a city? Have mission trips, Vacation Bible Schools, Montreat conferences, and countless Bible studies prepared me to live into this experience in the way it deserves?
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2017/06/featured-sdj-faith-form.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2017-06-22 07:48:272017-06-19 18:53:27Instilling a Love for the Church
These simple, powerful steps transformed our family life, and we didn’t even need to buy a curriculum! Suddenly, all the things we were already doing – sharing, reading, talking, praying and even the “good night kiss” – became part of our family faith formation. Soon I began to wonder: if this works so well in our home, what about in our church?
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2017/06/featured-karen-ware.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2017-06-20 07:34:402017-06-20 18:47:12The Blessing that Changed My Life and My Church
In the end, I made myself believe that serving was the only way that I would learn more about myself, grow spiritually, and get closer to God. Then, I burned out.
At our worst, the Church becomes a museum, desperately trying to save relics for people to fondly gaze at – but not participate in. At our best, however, the Church is a living time machine, bringing lessons from the past and hope from the future and molding it into the present.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2017/06/featured-lecrae-fam.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2017-06-14 10:34:112017-06-14 16:54:30A Living Time Machine
When my first child was born, my husband orchestrated what has become one of the most significant faith-sharing events for our family. Unbeknownst to me, he asked friends and family to write letters to our child about her baptism.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2017/01/featured-baptism-letters.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2017-06-12 07:22:152017-06-11 10:22:35Love Letters: The Intentional Practice of Remembering Baptisms
If we become more aware of the way our brains learn and remember and if we are able to make some shifts in what we teach and how we teach, we may have a greater likelihood of being agents of transformation for those who participate in our ministries.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2017/06/featured-brain.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2017-06-06 19:00:542017-06-07 14:16:47Why We Should Pay Attention to Brain Research
During the month of June, the NEXT Church blog will visit various people who are involved in faith formation personally, professionally, and perseveringly. We hope that the posts help you consider how your faith has been formed, and how your faith has formed you.
Societally and denominationally there are many places in which the thought of racial reconciliation is celebrated. Our hope is that NEXT Church can be something different.
These days I go to conferences looking mainly for inspiration, which is a lot more fun and has turned out to be thoroughly worthwhile. In the case of NEXT Church National Gatherings, I’ve found inspiration not only in the usual places — worship services and plenaries and workshops — but in the conversations and in the solitary wanderings through a strange city and even in that most-Presbyterian of places: the hotel bar.
When we discovered that we were, in fact, all white, some uncomfortable questions arose. Immediately we were face to face with the ongoing, glaring sin that we all live with in the Presbyterian Church: we are whiter than God would have us be.
Instilling a Love for the Church
/0 Comments/in Christian Education /by Linda KurtzWas my faith strong enough to do this? What about my experience? Will 22 years of living in the suburbs have prepared me at all to live in a city? Have mission trips, Vacation Bible Schools, Montreat conferences, and countless Bible studies prepared me to live into this experience in the way it deserves?
The Blessing that Changed My Life and My Church
/2 Comments/in Christian Education /by Linda KurtzThese simple, powerful steps transformed our family life, and we didn’t even need to buy a curriculum! Suddenly, all the things we were already doing – sharing, reading, talking, praying and even the “good night kiss” – became part of our family faith formation. Soon I began to wonder: if this works so well in our home, what about in our church?
From SERVING to Serving
/0 Comments/in Christian Education /by Linda KurtzIn the end, I made myself believe that serving was the only way that I would learn more about myself, grow spiritually, and get closer to God. Then, I burned out.
A Living Time Machine
/0 Comments/in Christian Education /by Linda KurtzAt our worst, the Church becomes a museum, desperately trying to save relics for people to fondly gaze at – but not participate in. At our best, however, the Church is a living time machine, bringing lessons from the past and hope from the future and molding it into the present.
Love Letters: The Intentional Practice of Remembering Baptisms
/0 Comments/in Christian Education /by Linda KurtzWhen my first child was born, my husband orchestrated what has become one of the most significant faith-sharing events for our family. Unbeknownst to me, he asked friends and family to write letters to our child about her baptism.
Why We Should Pay Attention to Brain Research
/2 Comments/in Christian Education /by Linda KurtzIf we become more aware of the way our brains learn and remember and if we are able to make some shifts in what we teach and how we teach, we may have a greater likelihood of being agents of transformation for those who participate in our ministries.
Faith Formation, Forming Us
/0 Comments/in Christian Education /by Linda KurtzDuring the month of June, the NEXT Church blog will visit various people who are involved in faith formation personally, professionally, and perseveringly. We hope that the posts help you consider how your faith has been formed, and how your faith has formed you.
Sustained Radical Racial Reconciliation
/0 Comments/in National Gathering, Theological Reflections /by Linda KurtzSocietally and denominationally there are many places in which the thought of racial reconciliation is celebrated. Our hope is that NEXT Church can be something different.
Finding Inspiration
/0 Comments/in National Gathering /by Linda KurtzThese days I go to conferences looking mainly for inspiration, which is a lot more fun and has turned out to be thoroughly worthwhile. In the case of NEXT Church National Gatherings, I’ve found inspiration not only in the usual places — worship services and plenaries and workshops — but in the conversations and in the solitary wanderings through a strange city and even in that most-Presbyterian of places: the hotel bar.
Race, Relationship, Repentance
/in National Gathering /by Linda KurtzWhen we discovered that we were, in fact, all white, some uncomfortable questions arose. Immediately we were face to face with the ongoing, glaring sin that we all live with in the Presbyterian Church: we are whiter than God would have us be.