By Mark D. Roberts – When I first heard the theme of The Fellowship Community’s 2017 National Gathering – “Deep and Wide: Making Missional Disciples” – I said to myself, “Excellent. Just what we need. Right on........."

By Mark D. Roberts – When I was a boy, I yearned to find buried treasure. I knew from familiar tales of pirates that gold coins and rare jewels were buried all over the place.

By Alex Absalom – What is success for your church? I once asked this of an old-school church leader, who promptly spluttered and spat a mouthful of tea back into his cup and saucer.

Our 222nd General Assembly recently concluded in Portland. Our Fellowship Community was represented with a booth and volunteer staff, figuratively and literally holding a place at the table for evangelicals.

This one is for preachers and for those who love and pray for them. If you are like most preachers I know, you have spent significant time recently staring at the books on your shelves, the bird on the branch out your window…

From the Opening Worship Session of our 2015 National Gathering here is Jeff Meyers on “The Unbearable Rightness of Being.“

From the One Big Idea Session of our 2015 National Gathering here is Thomas Daniel on “Digging Wells”. The Church in North America has become associated for what (and who) we are thought to oppose. How do we seek to shift the narrative to what we are about? We will take some time to explore…

From the Going Deeper Session of our 2015 National Gathering here is Scott Sunquist on “Mission: Why We Need to Understand the 20th Century.“  History is very important. Our involvement in mission needs more than zeal and conviction; we need an understanding of recent history and how mission has been accomplished with and in spite…

From the One Big Idea Session of our 2015 National Gathering here is Mike Breen on “Presbyterians Doing Mission in the 21st Century?“ Why are Presbyterians so well equipped to do mission in the 21st century? The answer is that the unique history and theology of the Presbyterian Tradition offers an unrivalled opportunity to take…

This year’s devotional, “To You Is the Song” is based around a beautiful poem by Eileen Berry. We follow the texts of the Revised Common Lectionary from the First Sunday of Advent through the Day of Epiphany, bringing together personal reflections, hymns, and prayers along with full color original art. This year’s devotional also includes…

By Travis Fletcher – I’d like to try to connect something which is often benign at best (a presbytery meeting) with a vision for something that gets me excited: mission. Several years ago in a little town in southwest Colorado, I was sitting in a presbytery meeting at a local church. The church was located…

Paul Detterman, National Director – Two weeks ago I looked across the aging sanctuary of what was once the second largest church in our denomination. Now it has an expressway in the front yard and a significantly smaller congregation spread across 31 zip codes. But the story of First Presbyterian Church San Diego has nothing…

by Paul Detterman, National Director – “There is a reason God gave us two ears and only one mouth…”   Much in the flurry of mainstream and social media over the past several days proves the enduring wisdom of that old saying, and of the truth of its biblical counterpart, “There is a time to keep…

My friend recently told me about a writing assignment given to his 6th grade daughter. She was asked to write an essay based on a before & after story from her life. She thought and thought, wrote and erased, and thought some more. He asked her what was giving her so much difficulty. She answered,…

By Karen Ballard – A group of awesome women that meets together weekly has been working their way through the book, The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life. It has encouraged all of us to look deep at who we are, what drives us, and who we want to be according…

By Joan Gaines – “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I…

By Paul Detterman, National Director – This Sunday, followers of Jesus throughout the world will celebrate his resurrection. In the affluence of North American congregations, it’s not only the central celebration of the church year but it is also a great day for florists, department stores, and itinerant brass players. The trouble is, Monday morning…

Dr. Marilyn Borst is Associate Director for Partnership Development with The Outreach Foundation and a member of North Avenue Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. She serves on the Presiding Board of The Fellowship Community. I spend quite a bit of time on airplanes and I have noticed that an increasing number of travelers don serious headsets…