By Jeff Brumley Many American congregations are modernizing worship in an effort to lure Millennials and other young people either into church or back to church. “For some, the instinct is to radically alter the old model: out with the…
Martyrdom is for real martyrs
By Bill Wilson I overheard a conversation on a plane recently that re-taught me an important truth about congregational ministry. It was on a Monday morning at the end of a flight out of Atlanta to another city. Regular travelers…
Church shouldn’t be entitled to Sunday
By Seth Vopat “Sunday is no longer the sacred day of the week anymore!” is one of many complaints I hear repeatedly for why the church is dying today. In translation, this often refers to the fact that a variety…
I don’t think you know what that means
A popular misconception about professional Christianity is that most of us with business cards reading “pastor” love talking about church. I can’t tell you how many breathless conversations I’ve had with people about the font size of a worship guide,…
Build and tear down
By Mark Wingfield The church building is grand and beautiful, representative of the kind of early 20th-century architecture prevalent among prominent Baptist churches with resources. A recent restoration has brought the shine back to this gem of a worship space,…
Practicing hospitality
There was a time when churches were excited when a young married couple with 1.5 kids walked through the doors of the church building. The conventional wisdom was, “These are the kind of people we need to grow a church.”…