Recently my family and I have been watching Loki on Disney+. For those of you unfamiliar with the world of the Marvel universe, Loki is the god of mischief and an archvillain of the Avengers. At the beginning of the…
They’re not coming back
Years ago, we used to tell ourselves that young adults who had strayed from the church would come back after they got married. When that didn’t happen, we shifted our hopes and proclaimed that they would return when they had…
How will your church rebuild after the disaster of the past year and a half?
Have you ever known someone whose home was destroyed by a fire or a flood or a tornado or other natural disaster? I have. And I’ve been thinking about those friends while watching the choices churches are making after their…
Global study finds when religion seeks political dominance, the faith suffers
Christians intent on preserving the faith in the United States should abandon efforts to achieve political dominance and instead embrace pluralism to halt the church’s numerical and reputational freefall, said the co-author of a study published recently in the journal…
Experiencing God and engaging in social responsibility are keys to church relevance
For the first time since they began keeping track in 1937, Gallup found that a minority of Americans (47%) are now members of a house of worship. This wasn’t really news to anyone who has been involved in a church…
In BNG webinar, Ryan Burge details the double threat to denominational churches in America
Clergy and congregational leaders worried about losing members to the swelling ranks of the religiously unaffiliated need to widen their focus of concern to include the rise of the non-denominational church movement, Ryan Burge said during “Understanding the ‘Nones,’” an…
On the wings of prayers that are mute
In a time not that long ago, I would have been seated in a church pew or standing behind a pulpit delivering a sermon. This morning, I’m not at church and it does feel strange, although there are reasons. My wife,…
Losing my religion
Do we really wonder why so many people are leaving organized religion? A new Gallup poll has found that for the first time, the proportion of Americans who say they are members of a church, synagogue or mosque has dropped…
America 2021: Got church and steeple but where are the people?
Growing up in Texas during the Southern Baptist Iron Age, I learned this bit of gospel doggerel somewhere between Sunday School, Vacation Bible School or Romper Room (Google it) and the hand-signals that accompanied it: Here is the church, Here…