Moral: the right thing to do, although it doesn’t feel right. Courage: doing the right thing anyway. This week, especially this week, there are people of faith in your community who are trying to work up the courage to reconnect…
Silent majority, we need you now
Silent majority, I know you are kind-hearted people who just want to peacefully worship God and love others. We all want that. Silent majority, I know you had no idea this was going on in your church. You keep your…
Let’s stop the average Sunday attendance freak out
Remember “average Sunday attendance”? If you are the lucky one in your church who completes forms to send to your denomination, you recognize this metric. During the modern era (up to around the year 2000), this metric was a fairly…
Who moved the front door to the church?
A funny thing happened while we were socially distanced, worshiping online. When we returned to the church building, the front door was not where we left it, nor was it the same size. Instead, we found multiple doors resembling the…
Four common approaches to church after COVID separation
If you are re-evaluating your relationship with church, you are not alone. As we move from online worship and distanced activities to in-person church life, many decision moments come our way. This return to in-person church activities is a major…
Six church invitations young people reject
Right there in the want ads for pastors. Right there in their strategic plans. Right there in their requests for services from our organization or calls to their denominational offices. No subtlety, no nuance, no hesitation; putting it right out…
How to shrink your church
There are few things in life one can guarantee. Nevertheless, here’s one for which I’m very close to issuing written guarantees. When your aspiration is to shrink your church, there’s one strategy that stands head and shoulders above all others….
Four viruses of the pre-COVID church and their vaccines
Romans 8:28 says God works all things together for good, not that God causes all things. I suspect God is even more grieved over this coronavirus afflicting this world than any of us, given God’s great love for humankind. So,…
Your church’s purpose is not to make you happy
Your church’s purpose is not to make you happy. Your church’s purpose is to help you become like Jesus. Expect the former and live disappointed. Expect the latter and live with deep satisfaction and significance. This conversation has happened enough…