William B Kincaid

Come Again to the Circle features the wisdom and reflections of forty diverse Christian leaders from around the US. These leaders are working to faithfully facilitate the conversations that broke open during the pandemic and to leverage the learnings from the era of COVID for what lies ahead. Their stories, perspectives, and actions will provide reference points and first steps for congregations discerning the commitments and contours of their own futures. COVID-19 pulled the curtain back on the realities in the church and the broader society. Grief and massive uncertainty of recent years especially have created a pervasive, albeit misguided, nostalgia that has sent many congregations scurrying to return to the congregational life of pre-March 2020. At the same time, many people are evaluating the value added by their church participation and whether and how they will resume their religious activities. Come Again to the Circle focuses on the church transcending COVID, on being the church beyond COVID rather than a church defined by it. These leaders name themes, opportunities, and strategies to show us the way.

A critical presidential election looms before us. Whether you love Donald Trump or despise him, most everyone agrees that he masterfully keeps people and the country off-balance. His acerbic rhetoric, divisive priorities, and erratic leadership foster further division and widespread anxiety. That causes some Americans to go in search of any candidate who can defeat him in the upcoming election. For others, though, Trump's brash style, anti-establishment platform, hardline policies, and ""Make America Great Again"" promises are reasons to support him and work enthusiastically for his reelection. Letters to the Church seeks to help compassionate, thoughtful Christians regain our bearings and find our voice and courage for honest, hopeful conversations in this de-centering era of Trump. These conversations will help recenter the church for faithful discernment, courageous imagination, and constructive engagement in the broader community. By doing so, the church can renew its own life and model what conversation and participation can look like in a time otherwise characterized by extremism, suspicion, fear, and gridlock. Geared for use by both individuals and church study groups, the letters are organized into three sections: ""What We are Experiencing Now,"" ""What We Hope For,"" and ""What We are Called To.""

A critical presidential election looms before us. Whether you love Donald Trump or despise him, most everyone agrees that he masterfully keeps people and the country off-balance. His acerbic rhetoric, divisive priorities, and erratic leadership foster further division and widespread anxiety. That causes some Americans to go in search of any candidate who can defeat him in the upcoming election. For others, though, Trump's brash style, anti-establishment platform, hardline policies, and ""Make America Great Again"" promises are reasons to support him and work enthusiastically for his reelection. Letters to the Church seeks to help compassionate, thoughtful Christians regain our bearings and find our voice and courage for honest, hopeful conversations in this de-centering era of Trump. These conversations will help recenter the church for faithful discernment, courageous imagination, and constructive engagement in the broader community. By doing so, the church can renew its own life and model what conversation and participation can look like in a time otherwise characterized by extremism, suspicion, fear, and gridlock. Geared for use by both individuals and church study groups, the letters are organized into three sections: ""What We are Experiencing Now,"" ""What We Hope For,"" and ""What We are Called To.""

What is your hope for your first five years of ministry? Thousands of people graduate every year from seminaries and divinity schools in the United States and immediately encounter a whole range of possibilities, issues, and decisions. Many new pastors experience stymied creativity, an endless list of tasks, the intransigence of church systems, personal and professional isolation, and the pressure that comes with dealing with the expectations of other people. As a result, many do not remain in ministry. How new pastors navigate the transition into ministry can determine their temperament and patterns for the rest of their pastoral careers. In Like Stepping Into A Canoe, Kincaid seeks to help new pastors stay connected to their call, to understand change and transitions, to value both restlessness and resilience, and to find fulfillment in the early years of their ministry. Kincaid's five practices of nimbleness correspond to the common transition into ministry issues: For the stymied creativity, the practice of curiosity. For the barrage of tasks, the practice of clarity. For the intransigence of church systems, the practice of agility. For the isolation and loneliness, the practice of proximity. For the expectations of others, the practice of temerity. ""If you are a student graduating from seminary . . . you need a companion. I have one to suggest. Take Bill Kincaid along with you Read this book and keep it close at hand. Share and discuss it with your friends, colleagues, and mentors. Kincaid will help you cultivate the curiosity, clarity, agility, proximity, and temerity it takes to flourish in ministry. He is a wise and generous guide."" --Craig Dykstra, Duke Divinity School ""In a previous era, pastors could afford to put off bold leadership moves in their congregations until several years into their calls. Today, though, things move more quickly. . . . For recent graduates who find this prospect both exciting and daunting, William Kincaid is a wise and humane guide. This book will inspire faithful courage for new pastors as well as those undergoing significant transition in their ministries at any stage."" --Robert Saler, Center for Pastoral Excellence at CTS ""Bill Kincaid offers a wise and insightful guide for new pastors as they transition from seminary into their ministries. This book is a delightful, dynamic combination of savvy analysis, poetic prose, fresh theological connections, rich metaphors, and vital narratives that unpack the importance and nuances of 'nimbleness' in ministry. . . . I intend to give this book to every young pastor with whom I serve."" --Kim Gage Ryan, Bethany Fellows and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Pastor ""Bill Kincaid brilliantly targets a pivotal time in the life of all new clergy that is often overlooked--the time immediately after seminary graduation when the student becomes clergy. Kincaid offers wisdom in this 'threshold' that is very timely. Our world needs theologically reflective leaders with keen self-awareness and deep spiritual wells."" --Isabel N. Docampo, Perkins School of Theology/SMU ""Had this book been written twenty years ago, it would have saved my colleagues and me many inelegant overturned canoes, but now that is written, every seminary graduate would be wise to read and internalize it when the time comes to approach the water's edge and step boldly into the wondrously buoyant beautiful call of parish ministry."" --Libby Davis Manning, Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program William B. Kincaid is the Herald B. Monroe Associate Professor of Leadership and Ministry Studies at Christian Theological Seminary (Indianapolis, Indiana) where he also has served as Interim Dean and Interim President.

What is your hope for your first five years of ministry? Thousands of people graduate every year from seminaries and divinity schools in the United States and immediately encounter a whole range of possibilities, issues, and decisions. Many new pastors experience stymied creativity, an endless list of tasks, the intransigence of church systems, personal and professional isolation, and the pressure that comes with dealing with the expectations of other people. As a result, many do not remain in ministry. How new pastors navigate the transition into ministry can determine their temperament and patterns for the rest of their pastoral careers. In Like Stepping Into A Canoe, Kincaid seeks to help new pastors stay connected to their call, to understand change and transitions, to value both restlessness and resilience, and to find fulfillment in the early years of their ministry. Kincaid's five practices of nimbleness correspond to the common transition into ministry issues: For the stymied creativity, the practice of curiosity. For the barrage of tasks, the practice of clarity. For the intransigence of church systems, the practice of agility. For the isolation and loneliness, the practice of proximity. For the expectations of others, the practice of temerity. ""If you are a student graduating from seminary . . . you need a companion. I have one to suggest. Take Bill Kincaid along with you Read this book and keep it close at hand. Share and discuss it with your friends, colleagues, and mentors. Kincaid will help you cultivate the curiosity, clarity, agility, proximity, and temerity it takes to flourish in ministry. He is a wise and generous guide."" --Craig Dykstra, Duke Divinity School ""In a previous era, pastors could afford to put off bold leadership moves in their congregations until several years into their calls. Today, though, things move more quickly. . . . For recent graduates who find this prospect both exciting and daunting, William Kincaid is a wise and humane guide. This book will inspire faithful courage for new pastors as well as those undergoing significant transition in their ministries at any stage."" --Robert Saler, Center for Pastoral Excellence at CTS ""Bill Kincaid offers a wise and insightful guide for new pastors as they transition from seminary into their ministries. This book is a delightful, dynamic combination of savvy analysis, poetic prose, fresh theological connections, rich metaphors, and vital narratives that unpack the importance and nuances of 'nimbleness' in ministry. . . . I intend to give this book to every young pastor with whom I serve."" --Kim Gage Ryan, Bethany Fellows and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Pastor ""Bill Kincaid brilliantly targets a pivotal time in the life of all new clergy that is often overlooked--the time immediately after seminary graduation when the student becomes clergy. Kincaid offers wisdom in this 'threshold' that is very timely. Our world needs theologically reflective leaders with keen self-awareness and deep spiritual wells."" --Isabel N. Docampo, Perkins School of Theology/SMU ""Had this book been written twenty years ago, it would have saved my colleagues and me many inelegant overturned canoes, but now that is written, every seminary graduate would be wise to read and internalize it when the time comes to approach the water's edge and step boldly into the wondrously buoyant beautiful call of parish ministry."" --Libby Davis Manning, Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program William B. Kincaid is the Herald B. Monroe Associate Professor of Leadership and Ministry Studies at Christian Theological Seminary (Indianapolis, Indiana) where he also has served as Interim Dean and Interim President.

In Finding Voice, Kincaid employs an often used but somewhat elusive metaphor, "voice," as a way of speaking of pastoral identity and contends that a lively, imaginative pastoral voice emerges from a thorough grasp of context, theology, pastoral roles, personal journey, and systemic dynamics. Designed as a text for the field education, contextual education, and supervised ministry experiences of seminary students and others preparing for congregational leadership, Finding Voice examines in depth how people are experiencing each of these constituent parts of pastoral voice at their student ministry sites not only to learn about each of the areas, but also to recognize and understand what is being called forth in the students as they engage these five key experiences and begin to visualize their future ministry. The book further explores the opportunities created when the five aspects of pastoral identity are in conflict with one another. In the absence of any one of these or the imbalance of them, pastoral voice gets skewed, and vibrant, effective ministry is undermined. Finding Voice urges students to begin now, with field education, to engage a practice of ministry that is imaginative, courageous, nimble, and faithful.

In a time when spiritual hype is rampant and modern Pharisees sometimes seem to drown out all other voices, the quiet, reflective messages of William Kincaid offer a refreshing journey for the soul. His relaxed, conversational style will engage readers, and the insights of this master preacher into both scripture and modern life will leave them thirsting for more. Virtual Incarnation? is a superlative collection of sermons -- it is don't-miss reading not only for ministers and teachers, but also for personal worship and devotions. This is intelligent preaching. With refreshing theological, biblical, and psychological content, Kincaid's sermons are a mixture of keen human observation and faithful reflection. Albert M. Pennybacker Former Associate General Secretary National Council of Churches What makes a good preacher, like a good poet, is the unforeseen image or phrase that catches us by surprise and causes us to look at our life from a different angle. In sermons we hope for everyday things rendered extraordinary by a word that speaks beyond itself. In this collection, you will find such words that can bring us closer to the presence of God. Kincaid speaks in plain prose that is grounded in the poetry of the soul. Malcolm L. Warford Professor of Ministry Lexington Theological Seminary Elegant in their simplicity, poignant and pointed in their relevancy to human experience, Kincaid's sermons demonstrate homiletical excellence worthy of emulation. They are well reasoned, biblically grounded, pertinent to faith development, and always connected to the Christian's concern for justice. I gladly recommend them for spiritual nourishment and as models of the best in contemporary preaching. Nancy Jo Kemper Executive Director Kentucky Council of Churches William B. Kincaid III has been the pastor of Woodland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lexington, Kentucky, since 1997. A graduate of the University of Kentucky and Lexington Theological Seminary, Kincaid has previously served four other Kentucky congregations. He is the author of And Then Came The Angel (CSS) and regularly contributes sermons to Biblical Preaching Journal and Lectionary Homiletics. Kincaid is also a contributing editor for the journal Great Preaching Texts.

I have heard Bill Kincaid preach. After reading this book of sermons I am of the opinion that he has defied the axiom that sermons that preach well don't read well, and sermons that read well don't preach well. The sermons in this volume read well and at the same time make me wish I had preached them. They... will stimulate new thinking about the meaning and significance of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. As a pastor I often ask myself what "new" thing can be said about them. These sermons answer that question with a contagious power that will make anyone who loves preaching look forward to the chance to preach during the first seasons of the church year. Jan G. Lin Professor, Lexington Theological Seminary Author of What Ministers Wish Church Members Knew, Living Inside Out, and The Jesus Connection The biblical texts of these sermons are familiar, but don't expect the same tired old treatment of them. Kincaid brings freshness to these lessons and produces sermons that are powerful and insightful... a wonderful blend of scholarship and spirituality. Read them and learn. Read them and worship. Gary W. Kidwell Editor, Biblical Preaching Journal Vice President, Board of Church Extension (Disciples Of Christ) Sermon titles include: How Unexpected Can Christmas Be? (Matthew 24:36-44) Room for Questions (Matthew 11:2-11) Been There, Done That (Matthew 2:13-23) You May Have to Die First (John 1:29-42) How Much Sin Is Too Much? (Matthew 5:13-20) How Long Should We Stay? (Matthew 17:1-9) William B. Kincaid III serves as minister of Woodland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Lexington, Kentucky. He holds degrees from the University of Kentucky and Lexington Theological Seminary. Rev. Kincaid's sermons, stories, and articles have appeared in Biblical Preaching Journal, The Christian Ministry, and Lectionary Homiletics.