When I listen to many Christians speak, more and more I respond with the thought, “Is it honestly fair to call what they believe and what I believe the same religion?”
For my Methodist friends (and others): how to survive the death of your denominational home. Or not
My sisters and brothers in the Methodist tradition (and elsewhere), if you do have to leave your denominational home, I hope that you keep your eyes and ears open for a God you or your tradition can’t hold on to: a God at the bottom of the slippery slope, in a field Rumi famously described as one beyond right doing and wrong doing.
If your congregation is not already affiliated with a denomination, why would it?
By George Bullard Recently a long-term ministry acquaintance contacted me for advice about his congregation. He had retired from his religious publishing position and moved to the other side of the country. During his life he had been a member…
Four reasons Ronnie Floyd is both right and wrong
By Mark Wingfield Here’s a sentence I never thought I would write: I agree with Ronnie Floyd. The outspoken Arkansas pastor currently serves as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and he dropped a bombshell at a recent event when…
Studies, experts suggest why some Christians like church shopping
By Vicki Brown You’ve been a member of the same church for a few years. While you may not know everyone in the congregation well, you are acquainted with most folks in your Sunday school class. One Sunday morning you…
“Show Me the Money” No Longer Works When Denominations Talk to Churches
Rather than a Jerry Maguire demand of “show me the money,” denominations often find themselves asking “where has all the money gone?” Depending on the denomination, funds to denominations began declining between 30 and 50 years ago. However, it took…
Churches less inclined to look to denominations for resources
By George Bullard It is no longer true that denominations provide a majority of the resources needed by many of their congregations. It has been at least a quarter of a century or longer since many denominations in North America…
This kind of denomination is dead
By George Bullard Anyone who has followed my lifelong trek through the maze of denominational staff service and consulting and coaching with denominational organizations knows that I believe in denominations. I also believe they have a future that respects their…
This kind of denomination IS dead
Anyone who has followed my lifelong trek through the maze of denominational staff service, and consulting and coaching with denominational organizations, knows that I believe in denominations. I also believe they have a future that respects their past and present….