If Sunday and midweek attendance patterns are not going back to the 1950s, then every church should consider creative ways to engage people in the culture as it exists, not the culture in which our grandparents lived.
Unfocused: The name of these congregations is Legion
When I say, “Hello, my name is George, and I am a Facebook addict,” the proper response from a 12-step group is, “Hello, George.” I love posting on Facebook and sharing with folks what is going on, and particularly sharing…
A post-election invitation to action
Two weeks ago, Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon broke from their characters as presidential candidates on Saturday Night Live and spoke directly to their audience saying, “We cannot tell you how to cast your vote, but we can ask you:…
More than 80 percent of all church pastors should resign if …
The commonly accepted criteria for pastors’ leadership is that they bring a great vision with them when they become leader of a congregation, they know how to get people to follow their vision, and the results are a numerically growing,…
Why New York needs churches
When my stylist at Supercuts finds out that I have only lived in Brooklyn for five months, she offers to explain New York to me. She looks me in the eye and says, “If you love New York, she will…
Of presidents and popes: how we’re looking too high
I know a pastor who left a large, suburban church where he served for 25 years to plant a new church in one of the poorest areas of town. He joined with another non-profit and they formed a new LLC…
Post-apocalyptic Downton Abbey
“Downton Abbey” is a six-season drama based on one aristocratic family in England who navigates the treacherous period before and after World War I. As the 1920s come rushing in, the English aristocracy faces a cultural shift that will bring…
Pushing people to purpose
When Gil Rendle speaks, I listen. He’s been a pastor, author and consultant. Now retired, his work has inspired me and given voice to much of what I see and feel is happening in congregations. He “gets it”, in a…
Remembering with integrity
I had been a freshman in college for hardly a month. I first learned of the attacks when I arrived at a morning class, and spent most of the day huddled around a small dorm room television with new friends….