Content of the pastorale

The main thread of the pastoral was lead by my old colleague here, Samy Fouachon, and by a professor from the faculty at Aix-en-Provence, Yannick Imbert, and centred on two books of Harry Reeder : "From Embers to a Flame" and "The Leadership Dynamic".

Harry Reeder is a PCA minister and I have reviewed the "Embers to a flame" book in the past, so I don't think it's all that useful to go back over that. A search will bring up my thoughts, I'm sure.

Another session gave an overview of the ministry in a Marseille church where a serious decline that threatened to be terminal brought the need for a rethink of the patterns and ministry of the church. It made a good study, both for those things that have worked well (more flexible pastoral accompaniment, focused BIble Study courses rather than institutionalised times and days for this, that and the other, use of social media, etc) and for those things that have not been mastered (financial security by disciplined, principled giving, serious implication of every member, etc...)

Very thought-provoking.

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