No one has risen to fame and garnered more respect, attention, hatred, followership and love than Pope Francis (with the possible exception of Lady Gaga). He’s been on the cover of Time Magazine and Rolling Stone. He’s re-authoring the public’s…
Why do you keep asking God to throw you a Hail Mary pass?
Some Christians treat God like an all-star National Football League quarterback such as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees. They have failed at some aspect of the game of life and ask God to throw them a Hail Mary…
Overly churched culture congregations should change prayer focus
[Note: This is the fourth in a series of posts on the overly churched culture congregation. To see the full series go to Author Archives: George Bullard.] The first transitional action an overly churched culture church can take to bring…
Choose ye this day diversity
A strong, natural, cultural tendency among humankind—even those committed to loving all people—is to be in community with those considered to be “our kind of people”. The tendency is to swarm with people with whom there is the least diversity…
5 things associate pastors need to survive
The work of an associate pastor often does not receive the high praise or support compared to their senior pastor. Associate pastors have the challenging task of supporting the mission and vision of the church under the leadership of their…
The non-churched people the overly churched culture doesn’t know
[Note: This is the third in a series of posts on the overly churched culture congregation. To see the full series go to Author Archives: George Bullard.] For overly churched culture congregations to connect with non-churched culture people, they need…
Ghosts of Christmas past
By Amy Butler There is, and has been for many years, a mild but ongoing disagreement within our church staff about Christmas Eve worship. One camp feels we should always hold a traditional Lessons and Carols service and that anything…
3 reasons why Bill O’Reilly doesn’t get Jesus and the poor
Bill O’Reilly released his book, Killing Jesus which attempts to trace the historical events and movements leading up to Jesus’ earthly life. However, it seems that O’Reilly could have read and study the Gospels more closely when it comes to Jesus…
Making sense of change
By Bill Wilson Everywhere I look, I see transitions underway as we close out 2013. Whether it be friends in the news business, local congregations, ministers in transition, my own employment situation or significant family transitions, everyone is undergoing some…
Can congregations stuck in an overly churched culture change?
[Note: This is a follow-up post to Many Congregations Are Stuck in an Overly Churched Culture] The Situation Congregations where 30 percent or more of the active membership is at least 60 years old, and they have been professing Christians…
Baptist hospital exits church consulting
By Bob Allen The Center for Congregational Health, a joint venture between Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina founded in 1992 to provide assistance for struggling churches, will be renamed and restructured to…
Be a peace-wager like Nelson Mandela
As the world reacts to the death of Nelson Mandela, we cannot help but read and understand his amazing history of peace. Fighting against injustice and apartheid in South Africa were his notable achievements, but Mandela did so much more….