Episode 32: Must ministers be married? Out of prison and into pastoral care. A congregation that grows its own ministers.

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This episode picks up the "Sacred Calling" special series that covers the "minister shortage" among Church of Christ congregations in North America. We ask: Does a tradition that claims to believe in the "priesthood of all believers" (1 Peter 2:5) really have a minister shortage...or a shortage of imagination? The six guests in this episode all dared to think outside the box when it comes to who is a minister. Segment One features three ministers (Danny Dodd, James Kinnaird, and Zack Martin) who never married or whose marriages ended (thus interrupting their ministry careers). Does the Church of Christ culture have a hard time with ministers--and members--who are not married? If so, why? Segment Two features a woman (Adrianne Thompson) who earned a graduate degree in Christian ministry...while in prison. She shares how God worked through both her education and life experiences to prepare her for a ministry that looks a lot like Jesus. Segment Three features a minister and his wife (Dr. Steven and Cynthia Guy) who made it their mission to make members into ministers at every congregation where they served over 50 years.
Read the full archive of The Christian Chronicle’s recordings, reports, and stories in the “Sacred Calling” series at christianchronicle.org/sacredcalling.

Segment One: Must ministers be married? (Danny Dodd, James Kinnaird, Zack Martin)

Read Calvin Cockrell’s Christian Chronicle report on the challenges and obstacles facing ministers who are not married

Segment Two: From prison to pastoral care (Adrianne Thompson)

Listen to Episode 3 of The Christian Chronicle Podcast, featuring an interview with Ted Parks on his report on Christian ministry graduates at Debra Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville, Tennessee

Read Ted Parks’s Christian Chronicle report on Christian ministry graduates at Debra Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville, Tennessee

Link to the LIFE Program at Lipscomb University

Segment Three: Congregations can home-grow their own ministers (Dr. Steven and Cynthia Guy)

Read Christian Chronicle report on Dr. Steven Guy’s efforts to raise up and train ministers in his congregations over the last 50 years

Link to Myrtle Beach Church of Christ

Link to Myrtle Beach School of Preaching and Biblical Studies

View the full archive of stories at christianchronicle.org

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This episode brought to you by the Doctor of Ministry program at Freed-Hardeman University. Learn more and apply for free at fhu.edu/chronicle.