There’s nothing new about people attending church in their living rooms and kitchens. Since the earliest days of television, there has been a symbiotic relationship between preachers and viewers. But what once was a sometimes-dubious bond — with televangelists offering…
Churches need to be less concerned about labels, more about being faithful
When we announced to the first church we served, in South Carolina, that we were moving to Alabama, someone came up right after church and said, “Here’s the question if you’re moving to Birmingham: Are you gonna say, ‘Roll Tide’…
Rural churches struggle as resources flow to urban churches
By Brian Kaylor It’s not easy being a small, rural church in America today. Denominations sometimes focus more resources on bigger, urban congregations. And luring a pastor to the boondocks is a major challenge. “Many seminary graduates will not even…
The Nones, the Dones and class
By Jason Coker Are you tired of hearing about the Pew Research Center’s demographic study outlining the decline of Christianity in America? It was earth-shattering news for the few people who read it, but energized others who were tired of traditional…
The church is not ‘Cheers’
“Is that we are called to do? Create a place where everyone knows your name? Did Jesus call us to build a Christian version of Cheers?” Those are the words of Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the Church of the…
Larger than the Church
By Starlette McNeill “If you are without a church home, then we invite you to come forward at this time.” This is the invitation that is extended in most, if not all, congregations after the delivery of the sermon. Having…
Brace yourself: It’s the ‘post-everything’ age, say church leaders
By Jeff Brumley Churches already overwhelmed by the postmodern, post-denominational and post-Christian eras should brace themselves, experts say, for another layer of change: the “post-everything” age. That’s the term Baptist pastor and congregational coach Mark Tidsworth uses to roll together…
Racially diverse nation isn’t mirrored in most religious groups
By Robert Dilday The American Baptist Churches U.S.A. ranks in the top 10 of the most racially diverse religious groups in the United States, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center. But with 73 percent of its…
The genericization of the evangelical church
By Mark Wingfield Is it possible that America’s evangelical churches have merely traded one form of uniformity for another? One of the criticisms of the old model of churches driven by denominational identity is that they were all the same….