Go Out Into All the World
How Schools Attract Those Who Would be Doers of the Word
by Kenneth Briggs

They are supposed to hear the call and answer “Here am I”—but, if they do, where are you? And how do they know you want them?

Intolerable Promise
Yearning for the Way It's Supposed to Be
by Cornelius Plantinga Jr.

Calvin Theological Seminary's new president explores the need for—and value of—hope, a vital ingredient in the understanding of the Hebrew word shalom, or peace.

Teens Teaching Teachers
The Lessons of Listening to the Young
by Melinda R. Heppe

When trained theologians live, work, pray, and play with teenagers for a month, it's not just the teenagers who are transformed. Are your school’s classes communities of transformation?

Focal Point: Do You Talk Seriously to Teenagers?
by William R. MacKaye

In theological language ordinary people understand.

Soundings: Ask Them, Read Them All

Mark Isaac, a Gen-X pastor of the Mennonite Bethren, suggests asking young people in the church to lead. Dean Hempelmann, a Missouri Synod Lutheran educator, finds In Trust useful in framing discussions.

Spirit Matters: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
by Melinda R. Heppe

Science and art, mind and spirit meet in living bodies: your own, the church's, even your board's. Knowing, exploring, and celebrating what enlivens you is a necessary piece of trusteeship. Associate editor Melinda Heppe peels back the layers in more than a metaphorical way and suggests that what isn't found is the substance that enlivens the body.

Balance Sheet: Are There Any Good Guys in a Bad System?
by Marjorie Kelly

In the midst of widespread shock over the current crop of business scandals, the founder of Business Ethics magazine wonders at our naiveté and her own. Is “Corporate Social Responsibility” an oxymoron? Who makes money for your school—and how?

Field Notes: Students Younger But No More Diverse
by Barbara Saunders

It is a truism that there is no such thing as a typical seminarian. Brand new college graduates are heading toward theological education in increasing numbers. At the same time, recruitment of minorities seems to have stalled. What do you know about the makeup of the student body in the seminary that you serve, and how would you change it?

Toolbox: Meeting the Seminary’s Main Body
by Rosemary Bray McNatt

If students were no more than your school’s products-in-process, it would still be wise for trustees to get to know them. In fact, though, students are central to the school’s life, and they can give those responsible for governance a view of the institution that nobody else can. How does your board interact with your student body—formally or informally, as a group or individually, at study, prayer, or play?

Changing Scenes: U.S. Unchurched Said To Be on the Increase

Ups and Downs
The number of Americans expressing no denominational affiliation is going up while the long slide in Canadian church membership appears to have halted and may even have begun to reverse. In both countries a strong sense of spirituality is noted by researchers.