Have I told you the story of the funeral I officiated for a 93-year-old woman who had been a faithful member of a Baptist church all her life but had no relation to a church or a minister to lead…
What to do with the nones?
Ryan Burge is rather convincing. As an academic (Eastern Illinois University) social scientist and American Baptist pastor, he has a foot in two of the worlds many of us occupy. He was our guest recently for a day of conversation…
Americans growing less religious and more strictly religious at the same time
In the current sociology of American religion, there are two trends moving in opposite directions. The “nones” are growing in number, while among those who identify as Christian, varieties of fundamentalism are growing. Religion researcher Ryan Burge recently summarized this…
Most comprehensive study yet of COVID’s impact on churches finds uneven results
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the decline facing most congregations in America, but the effects are not evenly distributed among all churches, according to the most comprehensive study to date of the pandemic and congregational life. The “Exploring the Pandemic…
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…
The church is called to die
The church my wife and I have served since 2000 was founded 70 years ago as a Southern Baptist mission, a church plant in a neighborhood that had just been converted from a dairy farm. The founding pastor understood his…
Pandemic is putting the nail in the decline of church construction
Decades-long declines in faith affiliation coupled with the pandemic-inspired evolution of online church services are contributing to a huge downturn in religious facility construction in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total spending on the construction of…
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…
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…