Congregations in a New Religious Landscape with Rev. Tim Shapiro

What if the future of faith communities isn’t about holding on tighter, but about opening our hands?

In this episode, Rev. Tim Shapiro, President of Indianapolis Center for Congregations, joins Rev. Lisa Greenwood and Rev. Dr. Gil Rendle in exploring Gil’s recent monograph, Reimagining and Remapping the Religious Landscape. Together, they explore a gentle, brave question: How do we create congregations where people’s real lives and stories get to shape the tradition, rather than the other way around?

They talk about the quiet power that emerges when leaders trade control for curiosity, when agenda makes room for agency, and when the community becomes a place where everyone is invited.

Listen and imagine what might grow when we simply trust the Spirit to move through the people already in the room.

Guest

Tim Shapiro is the president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations. He began serving the Center in 2003 after 18 years in pastoral ministry. For 14 years, Tim served Westminster Presbyterian Church in Xenia, Ohio. Tim’s interest in how congregations learn to do new things is represented in his book How Your Congregation Learns. After his extensive work on the Center’s Sacred Space initiative, Tim co-authored the book Holy Places: Matching Sacred Space with Mission and Message. He has also authored several articles, including Applying Positive Deviance and A Congregation of Theological Coherence.

Links

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