What is your earliest memory of giving or receiving? That was the first of a set of prompts given to a small discussion group this week at a class I attended on religious fundraising. My mind immediately pictured a small…
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…
Mary’s baby bump: a divine scandal?
Every year preachers try to make the Christmas story anew. How do you tell the same story in a different way? One angle that many try to stay away from is on Mary’s “situation”: an unwed mother who is pregnant. …
Unexpected Prophet
Most youth ministers know that if trouble is going to find you at youth camp, it will likely be on either the first night or the last night. At other times, the kids will be either too tired to bother…
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…
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…
How Seminaries Fail 2: “this time it’s personal”
Recently, pastor, author, and professor Brett Younger penned a thought provoking essay outlining a few of the ways in which seminaries fail. Aside from listing the more obvious shortcomings of any institution attempting to convince well-intentioned and impassioned twenty-somethings to invest…
A “buyer’s market” for pastor search committees
The 21st century is proving to be a buyer’s market for many churches that are looking for a pastor. Even a tiny, troubled Baptist church can get 100 resumes from men and women looking for a church to pastor. A…