Fall is a traditional season for budget planning in many churches and denominations, with stewardship drives often following into the holidays, but COVID-19 has flattened expectations and heightened uncertainty, according to a new survey conducted by the Lake Institute on…
What if they don’t all come back to church?
Slumping church attendance is not a new trend for a majority of North American churches. The conventional wisdom may be to blame the previous decade’s slips on the younger generations, but in reality, the North American exodus from church is…
Q&A with June Joplin on life as an itinerant (transgender) preacher
Earlier this summer, June Joplin made international headlines when she used a Sunday morning sermon at her Baptist church to come out as transgender. Nearly three months later, more has changed than her gender. The Canadian Baptist church she had…
Would you let Donald Trump be your medical power of attorney?
One of the nice things we say about friends to others to indicate the level of trust we have in them is, “I would trust him with my life.” By this we usually mean we have so much confidence in…
Most church records oddly silent on 1918 pandemic
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 was deadly but not altogether noteworthy to many Baptists, historians say. In fact, those who earn a living combing through denominational newspaper archives and associational records say they are astonished how little attention churches,…
Church leaders, here’s your new vocabulary word for 2020: ‘Liminal’
Susan Beaumont looks like a prescient genius right now. She wants you to know the actual situation is slightly different. One year ago this month, her latest book was published with the title How to Lead When You Don’t Know…
Pandemic opens the door to a far-flung notion of church membership
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…
Instead of sending out more anxiety, here’s a way to send out love
It finally got to me. I had kept my nose above the water, for the most part. Washed my hands. Stayed at home. Did my part. But when I had that conversation with my parents, the anxiety hit me. My parents…
BNG panelists offer diagnosis and prescriptions for mental health during pandemic
Inflamed racial tensions, a divisive election season and alarming climate events — all during a pandemic — have stretched American psychological well-being to the limit. But there also are some potential spiritual positives from the coronavirus era, according to five…