It isn’t easy being a small church. Their pastors and members know it all too well. They are usually under-resourced — fewer members often means fewer dollars, fewer teachers and lay leaders, fewer books, workshops and experts focused to overcoming their…
Be substantive, not hip, to attract Millennials, research finds
Congregations considering seeking hip, young pastors to help attract Millennials may want to think twice about that move. A study of 250 American congregations has found that youth and young adults want substance from their ministers and churches more than…
Megachurch pastor’s firing illustrates challenges posed by addiction
It’s never easy being a pastor. And it becomes even harder when addiction is present. That’s what Perry Noble discovered after battling alcohol abuse the past year. He was terminated by NewSpring Church in South Carolina on July 1, Christianity…
Ed Stetzer leaving LifeWay for Wheaton College
Missiologist and researcher Ed Stetzer is leaving after nine years as executive director of LifeWay Research to become executive director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College, the Christian liberal arts school near Chicago announced May 16….
Growing movement seeks ‘freedom from stuff’
The spiritual connection between a 58-inch flat screen TV and the human soul may seem tenuous to many Americans. It may be even harder to believe how that elegantly simple IKEA coffee table makes life more complicated. But rest assured,…
What it’s like to live on less than two dollars a day
There’s no milk in the fridge, not much food in the cabinet, aside from Ramen noodles. And were it not for the kindness of extended family, one family would be living on the streets. This family, like more than a million American families,…
Few pastors say adultery should permanently ban them from the pulpit
1,000 church leaders weigh in on how to investigate allegations and when the congregation should be told.
Attendance bullying: it contributes to church decline, author says
Michelle Van Loon has seen several sides of Christianity as a child of the Jesus movement who ended up, for a time, in a fundamentalist church. So she can spot the difference between concern and control in a congregation. She…
Why international adoptions by Americans have hit a 35-year low
In 2004, Americans adopted 22,884 children from foreign countries — an all-time high. Twelve years later, that number has dropped to 5,648 children — the lowest level in 35 years.
The theology of Ted Cruz
Cruz’s defense of life is hard to reconcile with his calls to carpet-bomb and “annihilate” ISIS. How does one reconcile the defense of human dignity with these policy proposals?
Denying grief over ‘sting of death’ brings its own sting, say ministers
Seasoned pastors with hundreds of funerals under their belts have seen the rites go from one extreme to another over the past three or four decades. “Growing up, almost every funeral was morbid, with open caskets and everything from the pulpit…
Top 4 ways to overcome isolation in rural ministry
Isolation in rural ministry can, for many, become deeply burdensome. Thomas Aquinas once stated, “Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious.” As much as we may feel called to…