Where Sex Trafficking Occurs in America
Modern-day slavery, also referred to as “trafficking in persons,” or “human trafficking,” describes the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Trafficking in persons is estimated to be one of the top-grossing criminal industries in the world (behind illegal drugs and arms trafficking), with traffickers profiting an estimated $32 billion every year. Read More
Help For Your Church to Navigate LGBTQ+ Issues with Grace & Truth with Caleb Kaltenbach [Podcast]
Across the country, the LGBTQ+ issue is on the doorstep of the church. In this unSeminry podcast Rich Birch talks with Caleb Kaltenbach, an author, former pastor and founder of The Messy Grace Group about how to navigate these situations with both grace and truth. Read More
4 Questions to Ask the Pastoral Search Team -- If You Dare
There are questions every pastoral candidate ought to ask a search committee or hiring team when evaluating possible relocation, and then there are the questions every pastoral candidate ought to really ask. Read More
New Patterns in Ministry Training [Podcast]
How ministers are trained has radically changed over the past few decades thanks mainly to the rise of digital training. In this podcast Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe discuss these changes and where they might be headed. Listen Now
Small Groups Anonymous
Why the best church small groups might take their cues from the Twelve Steps. Read More
What the Church Has to Learn from Alcoholics Anonymous
The following is offered for your study only because it was written and presented by Samuel M. Shoemaker, a minister of the Gospel, a world-recognized Christian intellectual and an early friend of Bill W. and Dr. Bob. If you find it helpful, the next time somebody wants to change the program or its' purpose to further their ends, fell free to quote Dr. Shoemaker from the following or Bill W. who said "Sometimes the good is the enemy of the best." Read More
Also see the Wikipedia article "Sam Shoemaker" and AA's "A Biography of Sam Shoemaker." Shoemaker is primarily remembered for his work with AA. But he also ministered to young people. He encouraged them to believe in Jesus as much as they understood him, noting that as their understanding grew so would their faith and as their faith grew so would their understanding. He also encouraged them to read the New Testament and for 30 days live their lives as if everything that they had read was true. During that time a number of young people became believers. Shoemaker would have an influence on my life through his book, How to Become a Christian (1953), which I ran across in my parish church library. He has had a profound influence on a number of my friends through AA and the Twelve Steps. I worked with alcoholics in my earlier career and I have personally witnessed the effectiveness of AA in helping them maintain sobriety.
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