I’m not going to tell you my age but not because I’m embarrassed by the number. I’m not that old yet. I’m only partly kidding. No matter what I have collected — a couple of degrees, student loans, a marriage…
Comparing faith decline in U.S. with Europe, Japan misleading, says professor
Christians anxious about the troubles of the American church often look to Europe’s beautiful-but-empty cathedrals as signs of things to come. But a scholar who studies the connection between fertility, immigration rates and religion said American Christianity is at nowhere near the same place as its European counterpart.
Alice Cooper visit reminded church to treat all visitors as celebrities
A Christian news site published a blog last month about rock star Alice Cooper, the performer known for his outlandish costumes, demonic makeup and huge snakes during performances. “He has been called the godfather of shock-rock, mixing elements of horror…
What do we mean by church growth?
In the wake of increasingly ominous data about fledgling church attendance, most church members and ministers (myself included) want to see the church grow instead of decline. There are church growth handbooks, church growth conferences, and even church growth consultants….
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…
Churchless believers?
Emerging Paths for Fresh Ministries The religious and church landscape is definitely shifting today! We have the traditional members and churches, the missional communities of faith, the multi-site congregations, workplace ministries and a growing host of faith-based non-profits and para-church…
What’s in a name? Religious nones and the American religious landscape
Over the last several years the term religious “Nones” has become a major topic of discussion and analysis by those who pay attention to religious trends.
Brave church
Brave churches are particularly faithful churches, if you ask me. They make bold choices. They favor holiness over appearances. Their modus operandi is counterintuitive. How brave is your congregation? Your church staff currently consists of two Associate Pastors who are…
Is your church enlarging its bandwidth?
It was a simple question from a CHC colleague: “Larry, do you have enough bandwidth to help me with a church staff analysis?” Initially, I had no idea what he was asking. “Bandwidth?” I had to catch up with the…