Church & Culture
The most important aspect of leadership is not competence, communication or innovation.
It’s integrity.
When we can’t trust our leaders, life can turn really bad, really fast. Even deadly.
We’re seeing it in real time right now. The current COVID-19 (coronavirus) ...
(Photo: Justin humorously explains social distancing, but laughs so hard that he and Manuel forget not to touch their faces.)
Humor is gift from God.
Truly.
The ability to laugh, even (especially?) during a crisis is an important way to find relief and share community.
But knowing ...
Over the next few weeks there will be a lot of people quarantined in their homes in an all-out attempt to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
This is cause for concern, but it need not be a cause for fear. Especially if we prepare well for it.
But what exactly can ...
Christianity has always been a faith in pursuit of the truth. Because of that, we’re not afraid of solid scientific research. In fact, we support it.
After all, our faith rests, not on a set of ideas or behaviors, but on a verifiable historical fact, the bodily resurrection ...
What’s happening with church attendance?
In just the last few weeks I’ve heard some of my fellow pastors say
- “What is it with people lately? Does church just not matter anymore?”
- “Is it just me, or do people in your church use the summer months as a get out of church card, too?”
The universe is trying to tell us something.”
Last night as I was watching TV, a character said that line so matter-of-factly that it almost rolled past me without notice. After all, I’ve heard people say that in person and in popular entertainment hundreds of times. ...
Why do I love small churches?
Because I love the church.
It’s really hard to love the church and not have a warm spot for smaller congregations. They are, after all, the most common representation of the gathered body of Christ.
Also, I love small churches because I’m ...
There are a lot of spiritual seekers and spiritual orphans around.
And there are more every day. Including those who seemed to be firm in their faith.
Many long-time believers, even church leaders, are making statements questioning their faith. Others are taking a break from church ...
For many years, church growth experts taught pastors how to do ministry by demographic groups. Decide the type of person your church is targeting, then design everything you do to reach that kind of person.
There were a lot of big churches built that way. And a lot of small churches ...
If we want to be heard by a lot of people, we can make our opinion known on social media. The angrier and more controversial, the more responses we’ll get. But we won’t really be changing anyone’s mind, just reaffirming what they already (think they) know.
If ...
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