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Where I started

I grew up in a conservative context and attended a Baptist Bible college—back when it was quite literally named Baptist Bible College.

Bible colleges tend to differ from other theological institutions in one key way: they are shaped by a strong missionary perspective. The college I attended focused on training missionaries to share the gospel overseas, as well as pastors and ministry staff for local Baptist churches.

There are parts of that world I’ve left behind.

But one thing has stayed with me:

the clarity of purpose.

Clarity we don’t talk about anymore

In that context, there was very little confusion about what ministry was for.

If a group of students went out into surrounding neighborhoods to knock on doors—and that did happen—everyone knew exactly what it meant to “share the gospel.”

More importantly, everyone knew what counted as transformation.

We were trying to move someone from point A to point B:

From no profession of faith
to a clear, identifiable profession of faith

That clarity drove everything—alignment, collaboration, urgency, and shared effort.

Substack Conversation archives

What changed

In the nearly twenty years I’ve spent in mainline Protestant contexts, I’ve often found the opposite dynamic.

There is far less agreement on what the gospel is—or what it means to share it.

This isn’t primarily a theological critique. It’s a practical one.

When you can’t name the transformation, you can’t organize around it.

And without that clarity, it becomes much harder to align people, energy, and resources toward a shared outcome.

The problem with vague outcomes

Too often, especially in mainline settings, we default to language like:

• “finding community”

• “gaining a greater sense of purpose”

These are not bad outcomes.

But they are also not unique to the church.

People can find community at CrossFit.
They can find purpose volunteering at an animal shelter.

If our outcomes aren’t distinct, our work becomes indistinct.

What clarity looks like

The point here is not to settle the theology of evangelism.

The point is simpler—and harder:

What transformation are you actually aiming for?

After someone engages your ministry, what is different in their life?

One ministry I work with, , names this clearly. They exist to help worship leaders get off the treadmill of chasing Sunday after Sunday—and toward a vision rooted in Psalm 1:

A leader planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in season,
not burning out,
prospering in what they do

That’s a defined transformation.

When I work with pastors, churches, and nonprofits, I’m trying to help leaders move from feeling like they’re banging their head against a wall to becoming leaders with clarity, energy, and forward momentum.

Start smaller than you think

Clarity doesn’t require grand ambition.

In fact, it often requires restraint.

Not:
“We’re going to solve world peace.”

Not even:
“We’re going to feed the entire community.”

Maybe it’s:

“We want to make sure kids come to school on Monday with a full stomach.”

Or:

“Every child in our county has food for the weekend.”

Clear. Concrete. Actionable.

Why this matters for Substack Seminary

This is the kind of clarity we’re working toward in Substack Seminary.

Not just naming problems—but defining transformation.

Because if you can’t name the change,
you can’t build toward it.

If you’re trying to get clearer about what your ministry actually does—and what difference it makes—this is the work.

Join us.

Do more than read along from the sidelines

Become a Substack Seminary paid subscriber to join the conversation.

Our rollicking weekly livestream (hosted by , with co-hosts , , and occasional Substack Seminary Participants), goes in depth on all things ‘Future of Church’ and ‘Cage Free Ministry’

We’re even starting a denomination.

Join live Thursdays at 3:30pm Eastern (we read comments in real time) and get the recording in your inbox on Friday.

Bring your own questions - and where your ministry is ‘stuck’.

Subscribe now

If you’re already a paid subscriber, enjoy the Conversation archives…

Substack Conversation archives

In Week 2, Q2 of ‘Sustainability’ at Substack Seminary:

Describe the person your ministry is for—demographics, spiritual location, hunger, obstacles, even a name. What do they need that they can’t find anywhere else?

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The question we’re asking

This week in Substack Seminary, we’re wrestling with a simple but uncomfortable question:

Who is my ideal client?

In many mainline church contexts, the instinct is to be inclusive and welcoming. That instinct is good. It reflects something essential about the Christian message.

But it often leads to a problem.

When inclusion becomes ambiguity

Too many churches try to be all things to all people.

And in doing so, they end up saying nothing clearly to anyone.

The message becomes a kind of religious-sounding gobbledygook—language that feels spiritual but doesn’t actually connect.

Not because the intention is wrong.
But because the audience is undefined.

Substack Conversation archives

How we were trained

This isn’t accidental.

Many of us were trained this way.

I remember in seminary being coached to strip prayers of anything that might be offensive or misunderstood.

You’ve heard those prayers:

“To all that is holy…”
“To the divine we pray…”

They’re technically inclusive.

But they’re also forgettable.

Because the goal wasn’t clarity.
It was avoidance.

What clarity actually requires

The goal is not to offend.

The goal is to know who you are speaking to.

Even in preaching, one of the most consistent pieces of guidance is this:
preach to a specific person—even if they’re imagined.

Because specificity creates resonance.

The same is true in ministry, communication, and leadership.

You have to be clear:

• Who are you trying to reach?

• Who will benefit from what you offer?

• Who might not?

• What are their struggles?

• What are their desires?

Clarity about your audience is not exclusion. It’s effectiveness.

Why this matters now

In a time of institutional decline and limited capacity, churches can’t afford to be vague.

Trying to reach everyone usually means reaching no one.

But when you name your audience clearly, something shifts:

Your message sharpens.
Your energy focuses.
Your impact deepens.

Why this matters for Substack Seminary

This is the kind of work we’re doing in Substack Seminary.

Not just thinking about ministry in general—
but getting clear about who we’re called to serve.

Because calling without clarity leads to frustration.
But clarity creates traction.

If you’re trying to name who your work is actually for—and how to serve them well—this is the space to do that work.

Join us.

Do more than read along from the sidelines

Become a Substack Seminary paid subscriber to join the conversation.

Our rollicking weekly livestream (hosted by , with co-hosts , , and occasional Substack Seminary Participants), goes in depth on all things ‘Future of Church’ and ‘Cage Free Ministry’

We’re even starting a denomination.

Join live Thursdays at 3:30pm Eastern (we read comments in real time) and get the recording in your inbox on Friday.

Bring your own questions - and where your ministry is ‘stuck’.

Subscribe now

If you’re already a paid subscriber, enjoy the Conversation archives…

Substack Conversation archives

Kicking off Quarter 2: Sustainability

• This week we came live on Wednesday - because Cathie and Sierra were both in North Carolina!

• We started with defining our individual ministry and names.

• As Cathie pointed out, your ministry name is not the name of the church you serve (like St. John’s or Grace Church).1

• Your individual ministry is about who you are, what you do, who you serve, and how you bring people closer to God—it prevents us from being over-invested in a single location.

  

Ministry Identities and Structures

• Sierra is actively grappling with separating her identity from her roles, recognizing that her local church, the new denomination, and her personal ministry are all separate things.

  • She bought the domain for her denomination, New American Orthodox, after Cathie encouraged her to create that separation.

  • Her local church is St. Jacob’s: a place to wrestle with God, and her Substack, The grappling with God, aligns with that branding but serves a different audience.

  • The goal is to formalize these separate entities so they are sustainable and don’t solely depend on Sierra.

• Loren is exploring different names to capture his work:

  • His current podcast is Future Christian.

  • He bought the domain for New Era Pastor, a name suggested by a colleague, which speaks to operating “on the edge of institutional bounds” (also, Taylor Swift!)

  • His blogging site is The Church Nerd.
    
    

• Cathie organizes her multiple efforts under her “umbrella ministry”:

  • The main ministry is Free Range Priest.

  • Sub-ministries include Substack Seminary and Trexo (a “gym for your soul”).

  • She holds the domains Trexo.church and Substackseminary.org.

  • Her service to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is structured as a contract with Free Range Priest, clarifying that it is St. Paul’s ministry, not Cathie’s.

Naming our ministry and how it forms us

• Defining our ministry clearly helps set boundaries, stating what we are not doing—like fixing the boiler or being constantly stuck in budget meetings.

• Loren shared the story of the drummer who lost his hearing as an analogy, illustrating that our core purpose must transcend any specific church job, so we’re not lost if we lose a position.

• We discussed the frustration over the ease of getting ordained online, which Cathie and Sierra agree devalues the formation, preparation, community support, accountability, and licensing required for professional ministry. Cathie compared this specialization to medical specialization.

Should your ministry be your website?

• Cathie is focused on organizing all ministry efforts into one place and creating a network to connect people across different channels.

• Sierra noted that her Substack content creation is “haphazard” but admitted she could combine her efforts more.

• On the Substack vs. Website debate, Sierra finds traditional websites easier for practical information (like service times), while Cathie suggested ways to structure Substack to serve that function. Loren emphasized the importance of recognizing tool trade-offs and focusing energy where it counts.

• Cathie believes 21st-century ministers need technical skills and an interactive online platform to engage people outside their hyper-local area, especially as church attendance declines.

• Sierra doesn’t like streaming full church services but sees value in sharing sermons online to serve her “outlying congregation”. She celebrated the internet’s ability to connect and build niche communities with very little effort.

  

V. Substack Seminary Retreat

• We plan to hold an online, half-day retreat this summer - looking at dates

• We hope this online retreat (and Cathie and Sierra’s visit) will be a precursor to an in-person retreat in the near future.

• Anyone planning to join Substack Seminary in Quarter 3 is welcome to sign up for the retreat when it happens.

• We look forward to seeing everyone’s responses to this week’s discussion!

Ready to be all-in?

Upgrade to the Founder level (‘Enrollment’) and become a Substack Seminary Participant, and join the year-long development, networking, and training community for ministers.

We take on one theme per Quarter and admit new enrollees four times a year on rolling Quarters (so if you start at Q2, you’ll get Quarters 2, 3, 4, then 1, and so on…)

During the Quarters - we’ll have weekly topics, homework, check-in with your ministry partner(s), and chats.

When the year is through you’ll have built your own roadmap for your ‘Cage Free’ ministry - and be part of a community that’s building the Future of Church - together.

Subscribe now

Why we’re asking this question

This week in Substack Seminary, we’re wrestling with a simple question:

What’s in a name?

In most organizational development work, naming comes last. You focus on mission, purpose, and structure first—then worry about brand identity.

That’s usually good advice.

But I’ve started to wonder if, at least in ministry, that order might be incomplete.

Names as stories

In The Stories Congregations Tell: Flourishing in the Face of Transition and Change, the authors argue that congregations are guided by the stories they tell about themselves—both explicitly and implicitly.

That shift matters.

Because if ministries are shaped by their internal narratives, then names are not just labels.

They are identity-forming tools.

Names help a community “identify and clearly articulate who they are and are not, and how their organizational past, present, and future link together in their context.”

Substack Conversation archives

Why this matters now

We are in a moment of profound transition—especially within the church.

And in moments like this, clarity matters more than ever.

The authors note that “storyline consistency is an important hinge” for flourishing in times of change.

A name won’t solve everything.

But it can anchor a ministry’s identity when everything else feels unstable.

A good name holds the story together.

Reality and aspiration

There’s another tension the book names that’s worth holding onto.

The stories congregations tell “speak to both reality and aspiration.”

That’s the balance.

A name should:

• reflect who you actually are

• while also pointing toward who you are becoming

Dream—but stay grounded.

Don’t let aspiration outrun capacity.
And be honest about whether your structure can sustain the identity you’re claiming.

A simple framework

If you’re trying to name a ministry, this framework is helpful:

• Descriptive-empirical: What is going on?

• Interpretive: Why is this going on?

• Normative: What ought to be going on?

• Pragmatic: How might we respond?

If you can answer those questions clearly, you’re already close to a name.

The deeper point

The authors write that “stories are the currency of congregational flourishing.”

I’d push that just one step further:

Names are the currency of your flourishing.

Because a name doesn’t just describe what you do.

It tells people who you are—and who you’re becoming.

Why this matters for Substack Seminary

This is the kind of work we’re doing in Substack Seminary.

Not just building projects—but naming them.
Not just launching ideas—but clarifying identity.

Because in a time of transition, clarity about who you are—and who you are becoming—matters more than ever.

If you’re working on something new, or trying to name what God is calling you into next, this is the space to do that work.

Join us.

Ready to be all-in?

Upgrade to the Founder level (‘Enrollment’) and become a Substack Seminary Participant, and join the year-long development, networking, and training community for ministers.

We take on one theme per Quarter and admit new enrollees four times a year on rolling Quarters (so if you start at Q2, you’ll get Quarters 2, 3, 4, then 1, and so on…)

During the Quarters - we’ll have weekly topics, homework, check-in with your ministry partner(s), and chats.

When the year is through you’ll have built your own roadmap for your ‘Cage Free’ ministry - and be part of a community that’s building the Future of Church - together.

Subscribe now

The quiet bias in funding

I was recently talking with a nonprofit leader whose work is closely tied to churches.

She’s applying for a major grant. The challenge is that the funder has a long history of supporting established, legacy organizations.

At one point, I said—only half joking—
why does this funder keep investing in organizations committed to maintaining the status quo?

She laughed. Then agreed.

Institutional gravity

What’s at work here is something like institutional bias—or what I’d describe as institutional gravity.

Funding tends to flow toward what already exists.

Not necessarily because it’s most effective.
But because it’s familiar. Recognizable.
Considered Less risky.

Established organizations have:

• name recognition

• infrastructure

• a track record

But they also often carry inertia.

They are slower to adapt.
Less flexible.
More invested in maintaining what is than exploring what could be.

The irony no one names

Here’s where it gets more complicated.

An established organization she was in conversation with suggested they might contract with her to help lead the very work she was proposing—if they received the grant funding.

In other words:

The innovative work would still be done by newer leadership.
But the funding would flow through an older institution.

It’s not malicious.

But it does raise a question:

Why not fund the work where it is actually happening?

Why this matters here

Substack Seminary exists in that space of emergence.

We’re not a legacy institution.
We’re not trying to preserve an inherited model.

We’re trying to make sense of what comes next—and help others do the same.

We may not be able to change how grant systems operate overnight.

But we can help you think clearly, act faithfully, and build something real in the middle of it.

If you’re working on something new—and finding that existing systems don’t quite know what to do with it—you’re not alone.

Join us.

Do more than read along from the sidelines

Become a Substack Seminary paid subscriber to join the conversation.

Our rollicking weekly livestream (hosted by , with co-hosts , , and occasional Substack Seminary Participants), goes in depth on all things ‘Future of Church’ and ‘Cage Free Ministry’

We’re even starting a denomination.

Join live Thursdays at 3:30pm Eastern (we read comments in real time) and get the recording in your inbox on Friday.

Bring your own questions - and where your ministry is ‘stuck’.

Subscribe now

If you’re already a paid subscriber, enjoy the Conversation archives…

Substack Conversation archives

Picking up from last week

Last week, I wrote about how we can’t imagine the future alone—drawing on insights from the book Imaginable: How to Create a Hopeful Future by Jane McGonigal.

The core idea from that blog, based on her book is this:

Imagination doesn’t fail because we lack ideas. It fails because we lack the right people.

If you missed that piece, it’s worth going back—because what follows builds directly from it.

Clarity without movement

One of the hardest moments in ministry isn’t confusion. It’s clarity.

You see the shifts.
You understand the limits.
You can name what needs to change.

And yet—nothing around you seems to move.

That right there is what’s so hard. You see things so clearly, yet others do not…

The missing piece

In Imaginable, McGonigal describes how our relationship to the future depends on more than calling or urgency.

It depends on belonging—meaning, finding a group of people who can understand, support, and encourage your imagination.

This is especially important for pastors and church leaders, as your church community may not initially be that community where you find belonging.

The point is this—many leaders don’t lack vision.
They lack a community that shares it.

Where burnout actually begins

Burnout is rarely about workload. People will work long and hard when there is energy and momentum towards a hopeful future.

But, when you feel like you are carrying all of that yourself? Well, that’s absolutely a recipe for burnout

Holding urgency no one else feels.
Seeing limits no one else names.
Trying to move something that isn’t ready to move.

Clarity without belonging is not sustainable.

What we’re trying to build

If your calling has outgrown your current community, there are only a few real options:

• Find others already doing the work

• Step into a different community

• Or begin to build one

Not later.
Now.

This is why Substack Seminary exists.

Not as content, but as alignment.
Not as ideas, but as shared imagination.

If your calling has outgrown your current community, the answer isn’t to shrink your vision. It’s to find the right people.

That’s what we’re trying to build here.

Join us.

OPENING: We’re Live - From a Car in South Dakota and an office in North Carolina

Cathie and Sierra discuss that next week is Holy Week, which means — as every minister knows — that April seems a long way away. But it’s not.

“That’s a really good reason to sign up for Substack Seminary now — because it’s about to get really intense with Holy Week, and then it’s Easter, and then ministers all over the world will lie down for a little while... and then we’re going to start this thing.” — Cathie

The Church is in crisis - and money is at the center of It

The uncomfortable truth churches are collapsing not because of a lack of faith, but because of a lack of sustainable financial models.

• Baby Boomers are the backbone of congregational giving - and they are aging out

• Even a thriving church has a decade at most before its primary givers are gone

• The endowment trap: Cathie tells the story of a Kansas church with $3 million sitting in the bank while their dream project (a school for underserved kids) died for lack of willingness to use it - and the congregation slowly followed

“If the church dies and you still have all that money in the bank, what are you doing with it?”

Cage Free Ministry — rethinking ‘bi-vocational’

The word ‘bi-vocational’ needs to go (when it means ‘you’re not getting paid for your ministry’.

• Ministry isn’t a job — it’s a vocation. You can’t clock out of it

• “Cage Free” ministry (task-based contracts, multiple contexts) is actually less risky than a single-congregation call right now

• Cathie’s model: paid for specific, agreed-upon work at a congregation AND online, while remaining a priest with every fiber of her being

“Cage Free. Because you just deserve to get paid.” — Cathie

Sierra adds the generational lens: millennials are reshaping what commitment looks like - and the subscription model may be exactly the right framework for the next generation of ministry relationships.

You Can’t Imagine the Future Alone

We talked about Loren Richmond, Jr.’s recent blog for Substack Seminary, based on Jane McGonigal’s book Imaginable: “You Can’t Imagine the Future Alone.”

• The future of the church won’t be figured out in isolation

• The most meaningful things in life are the relationships we build

• Substack Seminary exists to be those people for innovative ministers — the ones in the trench with you

“We’re not islands. We’re not alone. The most meaningful things are the relationships we have with each other.” — Cathie

What Substack Seminary actually is (more than a networking group)

Substack Seminary is:

• A covenant Christian community for ministers thinking outside of the institutional box.

• A think tank: bring your business plan, your fears, your bad ideas, and your good ones

• A collaboration incubator — Cathie, Sierra, and Loren literally met online and built something together. More of that is the goal!

• An accountability structure — someone to say ‘you’re doing better than you think’ AND ‘wait, are you sure about that?’

Loren does something like what BNI and other business networking groups do — but shaped around ministry, covenant, and the Gospel.

What’s new in Q2 — Sustainability as the theme

Q1 taught them a lot. Q2 is building on it:

• Theme: Sustainability - the scary, necessary, urgent thing

• Homework: Yes, there is homework (Sierra’s fault, apparently)

• Partners: Members will be paired with one or two others for deeper conversation across the quarter

• Live streams: Ongoing, with the possibility of featuring your ministry, your struggles, your wins

• Big news: Cathie and Sierra are meeting in person for the first live stream of Q2

The weirdos table has seats

Substack Seminary calls itself ‘the home for orphaned weirdo pastors’ - tongue in cheek, but also kind of accurate. Ministers are a particular kind of strange, and that’s a feature, not a bug.

• Q2 starts April 13 (the Monday after Easter Monday)

• Price goes up April 3 (yes, that’s Good Friday — purely calendrical, apologies)

• Limited to 10 enrolled members

• Sign up at SubstackSeminary.org — choose the Enrolled (Founder) level

• Already a paid member? It should prorate — if not, reach out directly

Blessed Holy Week to all of you. Walk through it. Don’t rush past it. And then — come join us on the other side.

Subscribe now

On belonging, calling, and why imagination fails in isolation

I recently finished the book Imaginable: How to Create a Hopeful Future by Jane McGonigal. It’s not a religious book, but it names something I see all the time in ministry—and frankly, in my own life.

The book is about imagination. Not in a vague or inspirational sense, but as a discipline. McGonigal argues that our ability to picture a different future—clearly, concretely—is one of the most important drivers of change.

That part wasn’t new to me.

What was new, or at least what I needed to be reminded of, was this:

imagination doesn’t fail because we lack ideas. It fails because we lack the right people.

That hits, doesn’t it…

McGonigal describes four ways we relate to the future: calling, belonging, hope, and power.

Most of us, especially in ministry, tend to fixate on calling.

We ask:

• What is God asking me to do?

• What problem am I meant to address?

• What future am I supposed to help create?

And for many pastors and leaders, those questions are not abstract. The challenges are real, visible, and pressing.

But there’s a second dimension that often goes unnoticed:

belonging.

Belonging, in McGonigal’s framework, is about whether you are connected to others who see the same future you do—who are working toward it, who recognize the problem, who share the urgency.

Without that, something subtle but significant begins to happen.

You can have clarity of calling and still feel disconnected from the future.

You start to sense that others aren’t as invested.
That the change you see isn’t shared.
That the work ahead is yours alone to carry.

And over time, that gap creates strain. It creates fatigue. It creates exhaustion.

Not because the calling isn’t real.
But because it isn’t held in common.

There’s no one to walk alongside as you take that journey of faith.

What struck me most is how practical her conclusion is.

If your sense of calling outpaces your sense of belonging, you have a few options:

• Begin to form that community yourself

• Find others already working on the problem

• Or Step into a different community that recognizes the work

Even one or two people aligned around the same future can change your sense of what’s possible.

Trust me on that.

But also, consider that it raises a harder question—not about imagination, but about reality:

What happens when your calling outgrows your community?

I don’t think the answer is to work harder or wait longer.

I think it has something to do with finding the right people.

That’s what we’re trying to do here. Stay Tuned…

If you are serving in a church sustained more by memory than momentum, this conversation is for you.

Substack Seminary exists to help pastors and church leaders think clearly about capacity, sustainability, and leadership in a post-growth church.

If you’re tired of being told that bigger is the only faithful option, and you want language and frameworks for leading well within real limits, this is the space for you.

Join us.

I. Now enrolling for Q2 of Substack Seminary

• A. What is it?

  • An experimental, entrepreneurial space to reimagine and reinterpret ministry in the 21st century.

  • Described as a networking, support, and training group - a “clubhouse” for ministers who don’t fit the institutional mold, even if currently serving within it.

  • Referred to as “a place where you’re not weird, you’re early” and a “home for orphaned pastors.”
    
    

• B. Program Structure

  • A year-long program divided into quarters.

  • Each quarter is a short, intense period (about seven weeks) focused on a theme and weekly topics, followed by a time off.

  • People can enroll at the start of any quarter (e.g., Q2, Q3, Q4, Q1 for a full year).

  • Q1 was the first quarter; Q2 will have more structure, homework, and interaction to “stretch people from where they are.”

II. Theme for Q2: Sustainability

• The main theme for Quarter 2 is sustainability, focusing on “A business model for your ministry.”

• Key questions to be discussed include:

  • What do you charge for your ministry?

  • How can your ministry be sustainable for your life and the ministry itself?

  • What is the transformation or “good news” you are hoping to bring to people (What’s your ‘why’?)

III. Expected Outcomes and Benefits of Substack Seminary

• A. Expected Outcomes for Members

  • Developing a roadmap and framework for their own ministry.

  • Networking and community with like-minded ministers, leading to potential collaborations and bartering for services.

  • Training and being challenged to bring their vision to fruition.
    
    

• B. Personal Benefits Shared by the Hosts

  • Loren Richmond, Jr. shared that the program helped him find clarity on what he wants and doesn’t want to do (e.g., realizing he doesn’t want to be a solo lead pastor, but is still excited about pastoral care).

  • Cathie Caimano emphasized the goal of helping “orphaned ministers find their way back to ministry joy”—releasing stress from institutional collapse, money worries, and overwork to focus on what they are called to do.

  • The community addresses the sense of loneliness in entrepreneurial ministry.

IV. Ministry Identity and Naming

• The conversation shifts to the importance of naming one’s ministry (the starting point for Q2).

• A. The Power of a Name: A ministry’s name is both descriptive and prescriptive, guiding actions and shaping the story.

• B. Personal Examples of Prescriptive Names:

  • Cathie Caimano’s ministry, Free Range Priest, came from a nickname that shaped her unique relationship with her church (serving as a consultant rather than a traditional rector).

  • Loren Richmond, Jr. was called a “new era pastor.”

  • Other Substack Seminary members’ names: Sierra Ward: St. Jacob’s Church (where they wrestle with God), Richard Hussong: No Lost Sheep, and Thea Curry-Fuson: She Believes.
    
    

• C. Ministry vs. Church: It is crucial for ministers to understand “you are not your church” and that their ministry has its own mission, distinct from any single congregation they may serve.

V. Challenging the Institutional Model

• Substack Seminary is seen as a space to discuss how to build something new and is a “laboratory for what is being born into the future of church.”

• A. Institutional Critique: The old model of church is described as “not working” and sometimes “structured against growth,” often leading to pastors being underpaid and overburdened with administrative tasks.

• B. Reclaiming Focus: The hosts advocate for “getting rid of the stuff,” such as unnecessary and time-consuming board meetings, to focus instead on living life with God and each other in community.

• C. Equipping Others: The role of the minister is seen as an “connector and a developer” who equips the congregation to use their God-given gifts for ministry in the community, rather than being the sole provider/performer of ministry.

VI. Enrollment for Q2

• Quarter 2 of Substack Seminary, focusing on sustainability, starts April 13th.

• Enrollment is at the “founder level” (called Enrollment) for $600 a year.
  
  
  

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Conversation between Cathie Caimano and Sierra Ward

Sierra is the pastor of St. Jacob’s ( ) and the founder of the New American Orthodox denomination.

• Orthodox: The denomination emphasizes “right belief” informed by an Eastern Orthodox framework. This centers on the idea that God is not distant, but is already close, interested in reconciliation, healing, and restoration, in contrast to a Western focus on appeasing God through purity rules.
  
  

• American: The “American” aspect is an embrace of the present-day context, which includes the freedom to challenge the status quo and a commitment to being defined by what the church is, rather than what it is not (i.e., not anti-Catholic).
  
  

• New: The denomination is “new” because it is a “lab” that is intentionally forward-looking, seeking restoration and new life, rather than merely going back to the “old old.” The newness also allows for agility without the “heavy administrative bureaucratic structures” of mainline denominations.
  
  

• Core Practices & Vision: New American Orthodox is committed to celebrating women in ministry and views all human beings as the image of God. Its unique “faith thread” involves weaving together Christian and Jewish traditions (like incorporating Old Testament festivals such as Shavuot) and American cultural touchstones (like incorporating Juneteenth) to deepen engagement with God’s story.
  
  

• Structure: While currently small, the long-term vision is to be an “association” that can be replicated in other communities, rather than just Sierra’s local church. Sierra views the process of establishing boundaries and doctrine as messy, requiring formalization from others—like Martin Luther needing a Melanchthon—but finds current oversight and support through a local ministerial association and Substack Seminary.

Outline of the Conversation

Introduction to New American Orthodox

• Cathie Caimano and Sierra Ward live between Quarters of Substack Seminary.

• Sierra is returning as a guest practitioner for Q2.

• Cathie introduces the topic: Sierra’s denomination, New American Orthodox, and the meaning of its name.

The Impetus for Starting a New Denomination

• Sierra felt “unhomed” and unrepresented in previous church experiences.

• Desire for a church that celebrates women in ministry and affirms all as the image of God.

• The conviction that there is an “empty space” and room for “another way of being.”

• Vision for replication to build something helpful for future generations, not just a local congregation.

• Comparing the process to Martin Luther, a “crank” who started a new path unintentionally.

Deconstructing the Name

The “Orthodox” Part (Right Belief):

1. Inspired by the Eastern Orthodox belief that God is close, interested in healing, restoration, and reconciliation.

2. A rejection of the Western church’s tendency to focus on appeasing God.

3. Reading the Bible with the framework that God is already present and humanity has wandered away.
   
   

The “American” Part (Context):

1. Acknowledging the American tradition of challenging the status quo.

2. Not defined by what it is “not” (e.g., not anti-Catholic), but by its American context.

3. Recognizing that parts of Eastern Orthodoxy may not fit their current context (e.g., Sierra is a woman).
   
   

The “New” Part (Forward Movement):

1. New because it is unseen and looking forward to resurrection and new life.

2. Embracing a reforming idea, but not simply trying to revert to the “old old.”

Discussion on Institutional Structure and Boundaries

• Cathie expresses concern about the word “denomination” implying institutional bureaucracy and “red tape.”

• Sierra embraces the idea of setting boundaries and “policy” (like the intent of Leviticus) to define core beliefs (e.g., for women in ministry).

• Plans for ordination and new churches are in development; the current model is more of an “association.”

• Sierra sees herself as a pioneering “crank” who needs collaborators (”a Melanchthon”) to formalize the ideas.

• Unique practices include weaving together Christian and Jewish tradition, such as celebrating the festival of Shavuot and incorporating the American holiday Juneteenth.

• The value of being a “lab” that can pivot without bureaucracy.

Conclusion and Substack Seminary Promotion

• The need for oversight is currently fulfilled by a local ministerial association and Substack Seminary.

• Substack Seminary provides support, training, and community for ministers doing innovative, “orphan weirdo” ministry.

• ‘You’re not weird - you’re early. And now you’re right on time.

• Next quarter starts on April 13th.

Reflection on Substack Seminary’s First Quarter:

• Cathie asks Sierra for feedback on the first quarter of Substack Seminary: what was good, what could be better, and what is she looking forward to in Quarter Two.
  

The Experience of Ministry and Solitude:

• Sierra shares that as a verbal processor, t…

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Passion is never the problem. Capacity is (Part 2).

Around the same time as that board training, sociologist Ryan Burge released more data on Mainline Protestant churches.

The short version is sobering: many congregations are financially propped up by baby boomers. As that generation ages and dies, decline is likely to be sharp—not gradual.

This isn’t cynicism. It’s demographics.

We confuse longevity with faithfulness

I say this as someone who believes deeply in the church. But I’ve also become convinced that something doesn’t need to live forever to be faithful.

I’ve helped launch multiple startups. I’ve led one that didn’t last.

In each case, passion was abundant. Calling was sincere. People prayed hard and worked long.

What we confused was passion with sustainability.
Faith with capacity.
Hope with a plan.

Mission validity does not automatically produce structural viability.

And spiritual language cannot compensate for the absence of time, money, or shared leadership.

What I would do differently

If I were leading a church heavily dependent on aging donors and volunteers, I would:

Build an endowment and have bold legacy-giving conversations — immediately.

Bring in building renters to offset fixed costs, charging realistic rates.

Have explicit conversations about the future—not vague hope-talk.

Draw clear lines about when we pull the plug.

That last one matters most.

In hospital chaplaincy, I see what happens when families don’t talk about limits. They carry unbearable weight because no one gives permission to say, enough.

Churches do the same thing.

They keep going—not because it’s wise, but because stopping feels like failure.

It isn’t.

Sometimes closing—or consolidating—is the most faithful move available.

Not because the mission didn’t matter.
But because it mattered enough to tell the truth.

Substack Seminary exists to help leaders navigate these endings faithfully—not reactively.

.

If you are serving in a church sustained more by memory than momentum, this conversation is for you.

Substack Seminary exists to help pastors and church leaders think clearly about capacity, sustainability, and leadership in a post-growth church.

If you’re tired of being told that bigger is the only faithful option, and you want language and frameworks for leading well within real limits, this is the space for you.

Join us.

Participants:

Substack Seminary: Week 5

Theme: The Institutional Church and its relation to individual ministries.I. Introduction and Setting the Theme

• Welcome and introduction to the Substack Seminary weekly questions.

• Introduction of Sierra Ward as the guest practitioner, discussing the theme of the quarter: the ins…

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Passion is never the problem. Capacity is.

I recently sat in on a board training for a newly forming nonprofit. It was early—very early—in its life. The mission was good. The people were earnest. There was genuine passion in the room.

And yet, the longer the conversation went on, the more alarm bells started going off in my head.

A few days later, in a one-on-one with the board chair, I said something that felt almost taboo:

You might need to shut this down.

I didn’t expect to say it out loud.

When passion outruns capacity

The issue wasn’t vision or values. It was simpler—and harder to admit.

The board chair is leaving.

In this case, the board chair is also functioning as executive director. They carry operations, relationships, public visibility, and day-to-day decision-making. There is no redundancy. No staff ED. No one else positioned to absorb that weight.

When the chair leaves, the executive function leaves too.

The response was familiar: We should add more board members.

That’s not wrong. But recruiting and onboarding takes time. Which means new members would arrive just as the current leader walks out the door.

That’s not succession.

That’s a leadership cliff.

Structure is not capacity

Nonprofits—and churches—often confuse structure with capacity.

We assume that if we fix the org chart, the work will continue.

But titles don’t answer emails.
Committees don’t manage partnerships.
Passion doesn’t replace executive labor.

Time is the hidden antagonist.

Creating a fundraising committee doesn’t help if there isn’t a viable donor list.

Creating an evangelism team doesn’t help if there are no relationships with unchurched people.

Creating a savings plan doesn’t help if you’re bleeding red monthly.

If nothing materially changes—money or people—the likely outcome isn’t growth.

It’s burnout.

Sometimes stopping is stewardship

Sometimes the most responsible advice isn’t push harder or believe more.

Sometimes it’s pause.
Sometimes it’s close.

That isn’t failure.
It’s stewardship.

Something does not have to live forever to have been faithful.

God may perform miracles.
But God also invented math.

Substack Seminary exists for precisely these conversations — the ones where discernment matters more than optimism.

If you are leading something that feels one leader away from collapse, this is the space to think honestly about it.

Substack Seminary exists to help pastors and church leaders think clearly about capacity, sustainability, and leadership in a post-growth church.

If you’re tired of being told that bigger is the only faithful option, and you want language and frameworks for leading well within real limits, this is the space for you.

Join us.

Substack Seminary - Week 5: It’s your turn!

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Right now, most churches are saying some version of this: we need to grow to survive.

But when growth becomes the condition for survival, churches are pushed into a posture of desperation rather than discernment.

Every organization—and every church—has the same basic limits.

Capacity is made up of three things:
time, money, and people.

When churches begin to believe they must grow to survive, they often stop asking what faithfulness looks like within those real limits.

Growth or viability?

Instead of asking, How do we grow?
we might need to ask, How do we stay viable?

For many churches and nonprofits right now, viability matters more than growth.

Not because growth is bad—but because growth that outpaces your time, your people, and your money eventually breaks the system.

When growth becomes a theological problem

We often treat growth as a sign of divine favor.

But sometimes chasing growth assumes the future depends on us—

our energy,
our cleverness,
our ability to do more with less.

I’d argue the opposite.

Faithfulness looks like honoring the capacity you actually have.

Being faithful within your real budget, your real volunteers, and your real time is far more realistic—and far more sustainable—than chasing growth that exhausts people and empties accounts.

Viability is not giving up

Viability isn’t resignation.
It’s stewardship.

It’s choosing:
sustainability over spectacle
presence over pressure
depth over scale

And maybe, in this moment, the most faithful thing a church can do isn’t to get bigger—

but to get honest about its time, its money, and its people,
and learn how to live well within them.

This kind of discernment—choosing viability over spectacle, faithfulness over frantic growth—is exactly the work of Substack Seminary.

Substack Seminary exists to help pastors and church leaders think clearly about capacity, sustainability, and leadership in a post-growth church.

If you’re tired of being told that bigger is the only faithful option, and you want language and frameworks for leading well within real limits, this is the space for you.

Join us.

Questions for the week:

1. How is your ministry agile? (How can it easily change and adapt to changing circumstances?)

2. How is your ministry networked? (How are you connected with other ministries, and are you avoiding working in a silo?)

3. How is your ministry technology-based? (How is technology at the center of organizing, administrating, and sharing your min…

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Substack Seminary - Week 4!

So far, we’ve looked at the landscape of institutional collapse. We’ve located where our ministries sit: inside, outside, or alongside the mainline denominational church. We’ve considered the importance of staying connected.

This week: What does the new system actually look like?

1. The connection between the first century church and the 21st century church.

2. The one thing everyone is looking for is it what we have to share.

3. The ‘bulletin effect’.

1. The first century and the 21st century

The first century church and the 21st century church have more in common than either has with the 20th century church.

First century church:

• Few buildings dedicated to worship

• Clergy served multiple communities

• House churches, letters sent/read to keep connected, organic leadership

• Agile, networked, technology-based (for their time)

• People belonged to multiple faith communities

• Ministry happened wherever people were

21st century church:

• Few(er) buildings dedicated to worship

• Clergy increasingly serve multiple communities (by necessity)

• Online communities, blogs, Substacks, podcasts, books keep us connected to the faith

• Agile, networked, technology-based

• People belong to multiple faith communities (online and in-person)

• Ministry happens wherever people are

What the first and the 21st century churches have in common is AGILITY.

This is where your ministry is - or can be.

It can feel very ‘outside the box’ when compared to 20th century institutional ministry - and it is!

But the ‘box’ is more of anomaly than the way we are called into ministry today.

2. The one thing everyone is looking for is the best thing we have to share.

Last fall, I went to our diocesan convention.

For those unfamiliar: it’s a 1-2 day gathering of all clergy and congregational delegates within the geographic boundaries of the diocese. Technically, it’s our “congress”: elected representatives coming together to guard and guide the mission of the church.

I was sitting in my exhibitor booth (wearing my Free Range Priest t-shirt), and between hugs, my ministry colleagues poured their hearts out.

Here’s what I heard:

• “I don’t serve in a traditional congregation anymore and I struggle with what it means to be a minister. I feel so lonely.”

• “I’m the rector of a ‘successful’ congregation but no one can see the cracks or how hard I’m working to keep everything together.”

• “I have no prospects for a paid position and no idea what I’m going to do.”

• “I’m a member of X congregation, but I haven’t attended in a long time” (some were delegates representing that congregation!)

• “We can’t find a priest.”

• “There’s too much politics at church.”
  

‘I feel alone.’


I heard this over and over again.

We were in a convention center with thousands of people, representing a hundred communities, sitting through worship and prayer, sharing meals - and over and over, people told me how disconnected they felt.

From their spiritual lives. From their callings. From each other.

This is what institutional collapse looks like from the inside: We’re not functioning like the body of Christ.

But here’s what I kept saying to people who told me their stories:

The place of stress, frustration, and loneliness you’re in right now is exactly where God is calling you to build the future of church.

Because the one thing everyone is looking for is BELONGING.

Not belonging to an institution. Not belonging to a building or a program.

Belonging to a community. Being known. Being seen. Being part of something larger than ourselves.

This is what the Gospel offers. This is what church has always offered at its best.

And ironically, the institutional structure that was supposed to facilitate belonging has become the thing that’s preventing it.

The church of the future is NETWORKED.

It is where our ministry can reach beyond the silos that keep being reinforced by the old system and serve God with others who:

• Belong to a different denomination or tradition

• Belong to another congregation

• Don’t formally belong to any church!

It’s where we can find be in this space together and be honest about where we are in our ministry - where we’re struggling, where we’re rejoicing - without a sense of competition or fear of judgment or sense of failure in front of others.

We’re all on the same team - team Jesus.

Finding one another in the midst of great change all around us is crucial for our ministry. And the Future of Church.

3. The ‘bulletin effect’

I don’t hate worship bulletins - but I am perplexed by how something:

• so complicated

• that takes so much energy, time, and frustration to put together

• and is such an environmental waste - we use it for an hour then throw it away!

could still be so beloved by so many.

Maybe perplexed is not the word. It’s more curiosity - and fascination.

I’m starting to see the worship bulletin as a microcosm of what we’re struggling with in the denominational church:

Following an ancient faith that is surrounded by an outdated structure.

I think we get them confused sometimes. It can feel like the ‘stuff’ of church - the bulletin being a prime example of that ‘stuff’ - is itself a rite. That this is something we need to hold onto - literally - because it ties us to the church, to our history and our beliefs.

In many ways this makes perfect sense. I believe we are deeply grieving the real or imagined denominational church of the mid-20th century.

And I think all our looking back and holding on is killing us. It’s robbing our energy and our mission.

I think the antidote is to reach farther back - all the way back to the Acts of the Apostles.

To how the church began. Its energy and purpose and wild faith in the risen Christ.

Then bring it back to the future and see how we keep hold of what is the truly precious parts of what we carry with us, and we carry it more boldly into today’s world.

The bulletin is a great place to start. It’s the cutting edge of mid-20th century technology.

What would the cutting edge of 21st century technology look like as a way to support and guide our common worship?

The future of church is TECHNOLOGY-BASED.

We can find ways to connect today’s technology with the ancient faith. We’re doing it already - being on Substack.

We don’t have to take people’s bulletins away from them (I gave up trying long ago…). We don’t have to take anything away from them.

But we can build something new. Something that reaches people not in church. Or reaches those who are in church in a new way (like the chat app I built for my very traditional congregation. That also has the bulletin on it. Though they still have their printed bulletin… )

Using technology as the place we start building is a small, concrete change that brings the Gospel to more people - in sustainable ways.

Questions for This Week:

This week’s questions

1. How is your ministry AGILE?
   

2. How is your ministry NETWORKED?
   

3. How is your ministry TECHNOLOGY-BASED?

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