The Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting wrapped up last week. As usual there have been several statements and statistics which are causing at least minor stirs. Their announcement of a court petition to uphold the traditional definition of marriage may…
No magic bullet for church survival, Rick Warren and other Baptists say
By Jeff Brumley For years now, some agencies and experts who coach church planters and struggling congregations have tried to steer over-eager or desperate clients away from the quick fix of sizzling worship services or other gimmicks to draw big…
Left behind
By Marc Brown As worship pastors, we spend ourselves working and asking God to build a team (a choir, an orchestra, a band) that will help our congregations hear, know and respond to God. As our ministry grows, usually the…
Great Commission and Great Commandment without synergy?
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001? I do too. That is a morning very difficult to forget. I was sitting in the lobby restaurant of a hotel in…
Shallow congregations only take off their shoes and socks
Since they only plan to wade into the shallow end of the pool, or a few feet into the river, lake or ocean, the typical congregational participant only needs to remove their shoes and socks. And we are not talking…
Needed: Christian ministers who do the stuff
A dramatic story—perhaps an urban legend—about John Wimber, one of the founders of the Vineyard Movement, relates to something that happened following his conversion to Christianity around 1963. It is said that he began attending a church nearby. After several…
Experts seek balance between optimism and pessimism in future of congregations
By Jeff Brumley LifeWay President and CEO Thom Rainer has declared himself an “obnoxious optimist” about the state of American churches despite years of declines and closures in a post-Christian, post-church culture. In a July 11 column in The Christian…
Is your denomination slowly committing suicide?
For decades we have known that persons who smoke multiple packs of cigarettes per day are slowly committing suicide. Many of these people did not want to commit suicide. Some claim they did not know they were committing suicide. At…
All denominations should care baptisms are down among Southern Baptists
The first response of many people may be “I don’t care”. That’s fine. You have that right. But you ought to care. More about that later. Keep reading. Why Are Baptisms Down Among Southern Baptist Churches? First, take note of…