Today kicks off a new series of blog posts called “What’s Trending,” where I will specifically discuss cutting edge trends that might push a few boundaries for many rural churches. The trends I will name in this series will range…
Four emerging trends in small town churches
Six observations about speaking to pastors right before they preach
For most pastors, preaching is one of the most important facets of their ministries. It is that time when they get to expound on God’s Word. Much of their training has focused on preaching, and they often spend 15 to…
Remembering Thomas Merton
Growing up in rural northwest Missouri, I didn’t have much opportunity to know people who belonged to the Catholic Church. And then during my years in two Baptist colleges and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, that didn’t afford much possibility…
Kick ’em out: Why it’s gotten so hard to work together
Christianity at a crossroads in America
Christianity, along with other faith traditions, is at a crossroads in American life. Many sociologists see the road leading us to a European secularism, where mostly-empty churches are monuments to the hollowed-out faith of the masses, and serve as reminders…
Leadership and bearing pain
Termination meetings — those uncomfortable sessions in which an administrator tells an employee that he or she is being fired — are primarily shaped by legal considerations these days. The instructions from the HR office are clear: Make sure that…
The painful inevitability of moral conflict
It’s time to change the way pastors get paid
The budget passes, with a reluctant majority. The pastor sweats as the whispers continue. No one knows how they’re going to keep their pastor. The pastor becomes very anxious, but doesn’t know how to respond, because the minister has not…
I am Charlie, I am Jewish, I am …
Baptists, of all people, are qualified-and should be motivated-to speak words of peace, reconciliation and encouragement to the religious divisions plaguing our world. Disenfranchisement is part of our DNA. We support free speech and free expression. We value religious liberty….
An open letter to all the people writing open letters about what’s wrong with the church
I’ve read them. I feel like I’ve read them all-the letters from well-meaning, well-written peers of mine. Posts penned by young (well, relatively young) people unhappy with and enlightened by the woes of the Church.