In the last 30 years, age-segmented worship was an unforeseen effect of the contemporary worship movement within Christianity. What has developed in many (not all) churches are two worship services. A traditional service with older adults and a commentary service…
Are church camps, conference centers going away?
What is your most memorable experience at a church camp or conference center? Write it down quickly before these camps and conference centers disappear. My first remembrance of Ridgecrest Conference Center in western North Carolina is when I was five…
Which six pastors best represent Baptist preachers? A review of Joel Gregory’s Global Anthology on Baptist Preaching
Four years ago Joel Gregory, Professor of Preaching at George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University, was commissioned by the Baptist World Alliance to study representative Baptist preaching throughout the world. Talk about taking a bite out of an…
The problem of violence
I remember when the Columbine High School shootings happened in 1999. Schools across the country went into lockdown. Most of us were left mouths open watching news reports, trying to process and understand what happened and why. Schools and other…
Slender Man stabbings expose ‘prisoners of the moment,’ Baptist educator says
By Jeff Brumley Baptist educator Brian Foreman believes many Americans are living in the moment — only, not in a good way. Rather than being in the present in the spiritual sense, they are narrowly focused on events in a manner…
Wedding words
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Not long ago I had the privilege of officiating at a wedding. It had been a while since this ministerial task had fallen to me. This particular assignment reflected many of the trends affecting…
Who left on those lights? That electricity costs the church money!
During a recent research visit with a congregation, I was waiting in the hall for the pastor to finish a conversation with a staff person before we began our dialogue. A well-dressed older gentleman–probably in his late 70s– came up…
Churchcraft
I have coined a new word: Churchcraft. What I mean by Churchcraft is an individual’s ability to say and do the things that will help to build the organized church. My observation is that a lack of Churchcraft is the…
Smart churches call 911 sooner rather than later
On a pleasant morning a few years ago at a church preschool, a 3-year-old boy fell backwards off a piece of playground equipment and hit his head. It was no one’s fault. It just happened. His symptoms indicated the need…