The media is abuzz with a newly published report from the Vatican regarding the inclusion of divorced Catholics, homosexuals, and those who use birth control. Traditionally, those groups of people inside and outside the Catholic Church are persona non grata of…
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…
How Hurricane Hugo broke the racial barrier
Twenty-five years ago on September 21, 1989 Hurricane Hugo made landfall in the Charleston, SC area and brought significant destruction in almost two dozen counties. At that time I was working for Baptists in South Carolina and supervised the department…
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…
Are Millennials different than Baby Boomers 40 years ago?
Back in the 1970s a lot of congregational prognosticators warned that the Church, in general, was in the process of losing a whole demographic generation known as Baby Boomers. Existing congregations, new congregations, and denominational approaches to ministry were losing…
Robin Williams and the church
As most everyone has heard, Robin Williams died on Tuesday from an apparent suicide. The reaction on Facebook and Twitter was one of shock. How could someone who brought so much joy and humor to the world be so troubled?…
That’s between me and God (and God ain’t talkin’)
What’s going on when you ask a Christian about a specific practice of discipleship in their life and they say, “That is between me and God”? Perhaps nothing unusual. Or, perhaps a whole bunch of evasive things. What do you…
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…
The case for the 45 credit seminary degree
The Atlantic ran a disturbing article on the state of middle class clergy carrying a seminary degree: high debt, low wages, vanishing churches, and part-time pastor positions. The piece profiles Justin Barringer, a recent seminary grad who like many before him…
Does your congregation need a church search committee?
What kind of congregation do you want? That query precedes the probe into the kind of person you want as pastor? For 15 years I trained churches and their “Pastor Search Committees.” In recent months, I have begun to wonder whether…
Is the church too busy attending meetings and talking with itself?
All my life I have loved attending denominational celebration events and conventions. I love least the formal meetings. I love most the networking. I love seeing my friends in ministry and meeting new friends in ministry. It is part of…
Age segregation in worship
In the last 30 years, age-segmented worship was an unforeseen effect of the contemporary worship movement within Christianity. What has developed in many (not all) churches are two worship services. A traditional service with older adults and a commentary service…