How my ministry became 'Cage Free'
I walked into a little church one Easter Sunday...
It was Easter Sunday, 2016
I was scheduled to supply at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salisbury, NC.
I knew from the minute I walked in that this was a special place: a small church with a big spirit. I loved the time I spent there.
Afterwards the senior warden called me. “We’re looking for a new vicar, and we want you to be that person.”
But I had just started a new ministry - I had just gone ‘Free Range’. Precisely because I knew the struggles that congregations - and clergy - were facing.
I said no.
But still … I felt something very holy about serving alongside them.
So I proposed another possibility to St. Paul’s:
what if we designed a new way to serve ministry together, that best supported everyone sharing the Gospel with minimal stress?
Over a decade has passed since then.
And along the way, we’ve worked out what I call ‘Cage Free’ ministry - a way to get to the most important parts of ministry - prayer, worship, formation, hospitality - with as little institutional ‘overhead’ as possible.
We’ve figured out 5 steps to Cage Free Ministry with a congregation (paid subscribers, see below)…
Join us for Q2 of Substack Seminary. A place where innovative ministers - lay or ordained, serving in a traditional congregational setting or setting out on their own as entrepreneurial clergy and faith practitioners -
can find a community for ministry development, training, and support.
It’s where ‘Cage Free’ ministers of all kinds feel less alone.
You’re not weird - you’re early. And now you’re right on time.
Join Substack Seminary - a year-long development, networking, and training community for ministers.
