Fine with me: Most Americans Say the State Should not Define Marriage.
Tagged with church …
Congregations Dying and Rising
In his own blog, Bishop Grant recently brought my attention to a blog post entitled “A Growing Church is a Dying Church.” I liked what the blog post said about the role of the pastor: What then can your pastor do? She can make your board meetings longer with prayer and Bible study. She can … Continue reading »
Barriers to Giving
Everybody talks about how their church is (or tries to be) friendly. But “friendly” is more than just shaking your hand when you arrive. It encompasses seeing things from your guests’ point of view and asking yourself what they want or expect. A case in point is giving (although, churches should be even more friendly about giving, because … Continue reading »
Driving Away Visitors
I meant to blog about Thom Rainer’s survey of how churches drive away visitors, but hadn’t gotten to it. Now that Chris Thompson mentioned it in a recent ADN blog, so now I’m finally blogging it. I won’t quote the whole article, but here are some impressions I took from it, and my early evaluation about … Continue reading »
What to Sing During Advent
Reaching people during Advent. How (especially during Advent) does the church reflect and embody Jesus’ mission to the lost? Churches that refuse to sing Christmas carols until December 24 are in danger of being the only venue where such music is not sung during December. The church, therefore, becomes a place people may avoid, since … Continue reading »
A Hospital for Sinners (Part 7,133)
There’s a saying that goes, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” One of my favorite churches has a slogan of “Me Too.” I met someone at the Tuesday AA meeting at church who told me, “I’m a drunk, and the only thing that helps me stay sober is … Continue reading »
Multisite and Bivocational Ministry
One of the topics we discussed yesterday, when I was meeting with some local pastors, was the megachurch-and- branch-campus model used by churches like Saddleback and North Point. (This model is also important to Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, as discerned by Christianity Today but — curiously — not the PC(USA) in its own reporting.) None … Continue reading »
Fancy Church Buildings
I’m preaching a message on Haggai 2:1-9 inspired by the phrase “Desire of Nations” found in the advent song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The point of the passage is that the Second Temple that Ezra was building didn’t look very impressive to anybody who could remember the first one built by Solomon four centuries … Continue reading »
Pope Francis Interview
I’m working my way through the interview with Pope Francis appearing today in the Jesuit publication America, but I liked this bit. Important word to people in leadership positions, especially in the church. John XXIII adopted this attitude with regard to the government of the church, when he repeated the motto, ‘See everything; turn a … Continue reading »
Builder’s Remorse
Whenever I visit a church with a huge campus — or even a disco ball — I always remind my self that covetousness is a sin. A recent article by Ed Stetzer suggests I might not feel that way if I pastored the church meeting there. I think many churches are going to wish they … Continue reading »