Nearly six in 10 Millennials who grow up in churches leave to join the growing ranks of Americans with no religious affiliation, new research shows. That spells confusing and scary times not only for congregations worried about their futures, but…
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…
Four guidelines for pastors of the declining church
Uncategorized 3 Comments I’ve been interested in the work and writings of Margaret Wheatley for many years now. I just read her book, with Deborah Frieze, Walk Out Walk On: A Learning Journey Into Communities Daring to Live the Future…
What is slowing down the decline of many denominations?
As a group, established denominations are in decline for various reasons. Typically this happens when the collection of congregations in a denomination do not innovate the style of their ministry to present the substance of the gospel in a manner…
Congregational management must be accountable to visionary leadership
“Who is in charge here?” is a demand question often heard from someone who wants to enter an organization and provide either leadership or management. When spoken loudly and with an anger edge it can mean that if no one…
Is Sunday the most segmented day of the week?
With honor for and apologies to the legacy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, I would like to ask a different question than the statement he made around 50 years ago about churches, Sunday and segregation. Is Sunday the most segmented…
Freeing people stuck in your church
By George Bullard How do you help people who are stuck in your congregation become unstuck? How do you free them to continue their life journey with joy? In a previous post entitled, “When sticky church becomes stuck church,” I…
Attractional church, missional church and the end of the home field advantage
There’s an important distinction to be made between “attractional church” and “missional church.” Some key differences include: An attractional church sees itself as the center toward which people and resources flow. A missional church sees itself as a gathering from…
You are not a pretend church!
Trinity Baptist Church in Lebanon, New Hampshire, had twelve people in worship yesterday. Ten adults and two children. We sang, we prayed, we greeted one another. They listened to my sermon. We all stayed for lunch, then gathered for another…