Tag Archives: Mainline Decline

Lessons I Should Have Learned in Divinity School: Leadership in the Midst of Sunset

Posted on August 30, 2019 by smaxreisert

Thirty years ago (it’s hard for me to believe), I started divinity school.  On my three-year journey to a Master of Divinity degree, I took a great range of church-related/ministry-related courses—theology; ethics; Hebrew Scriptures; New Testament; Greek; church history; pastoral … Continue reading →

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The Dreaded Funeral and Its Dreadful Portents

Posted on March 22, 2019 by smaxreisert

It doesn’t happen often, thank goodness, and less often than it happened in my first years at Old South: leading a funeral/memorial service for someone I’ve never met. In the almost fifteen years of serving Old South, I occasionally discover … Continue reading →

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Can I Ban Remember When?

Posted on June 19, 2018 by smaxreisert

Like any church with a lot of long-time members, and certainly like any church that is the midst of the Mainline decline, it’s a fairly common occurrence to hear the construction “remember when” at the start of a sentence or … Continue reading →

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When the Message Is Not Enough

Posted on May 2, 2015 by smaxreisert

When I arrived at Old South Church about a decade ago, I was fortunate to have found a church home that, though it had never had a female pastor, was well-acquainted with the leadership of women. The organist/music director was … Continue reading →

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Did the Dinosaurs Know that Extinction Was on the Way?

Posted on August 9, 2013 by smaxreisert

Maybe I just need a vacation, but I’ve been wondering and thinking a lot about the sense I have that my profession, as a clergyperson, is not long for this world. Not in Maine, anyway. A long time ago, I … Continue reading →

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