J. David Schmidt is a church consultant and President of
J. David Schmidt and Associates. From his vantage point of working with
many hundreds of churches all across the United States and the world he
notes some emerging and waning themes in organizational life. We are
living in a time of transition.
Ministry and mission are not done in a vacuum. They
are always carried out in specific context and affected by local,
national and increasingly, global contextual factors. Understanding the
context of ministry is not optional for 21st century leaders. While we
know a great deal about the inside of congregations, church leaders
often have limited understanding of the external factors that are
reshaping mission and ministry.
The Morton Salt Company began using a girl with an umbrella on their
round, blue salt containers in 1914. Today, 88 years later, the phrase
"when it rains, it pours" continues to remind us of the philosophy of a
generation that felt if you got one problem, you were going to get even
more.
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