In general I don’t like emails that have been forwarded a dozen times. However, I do usually have a look at what I have been sent unless I have reason to suspicion a virus or such. Why take the time?…
Ministry reaches out to strippers
By Kaitlin Warrington Jesus loves strippers, too, but fear of the unknown too often hinders Christians from reaching out to women trapped in the sex industry, a leader in an outreach ministry to exotic dancers said at a recent conference…
When callings and choir robes collide
By Amy Butler The other day I was remembering my first involvement in a church as an independent adult. My first grown-up church was a big, suburban congregation with a fancy building and lots of fun programming for college students….
Flattening global mission
By Molly T. Marshall Thomas Friedman’s provocative book, The World is Flat, offers a glimpse of the rampant globalization taking place as world market forces shape widely disparate lands and people. Historical and geographical divisions matter less all the while,…
Rebalancing congregational finances for missional ministry
Your congregational budget has become a straitjacket. What do you do to rebalance your finances for missional ministry? You have at least two choices. One is to take an allocation approach and the other is to take an innovation approach….
Being a multi-mission partner church
When describing our church family at First Baptist Pensacola, I usually tell folks that we are a “multi-mission partner, multi-worship service, and multi-generational congregation.” Each of those “multi” dimensions presents a unique set of dynamics. Offering multiple worship services means…
Online community as missions field
By Jeff Brumley Jim Somerville pastors a Baptist congregation in Virginia that, thanks to the Internet, includes people living in Austria, India and Slovakia. And now, he learned recently, some guy in Iowa. “He said ‘I tune in online and…
The life of a cowboy church pastor
By Jeff Brumley As the pastor of Lost Pines Cowboy Church in Elgin, Texas, Greg Long pulls the usual pastoral and preaching responsibilities as ministers in traditional churches. But visiting his flock begins to take on a literal meaning sometimes. “A…
Thriving cowboy churches buck ‘fad’ status
By Jeff Brumley Charles Higgs is all too familiar with the smirks and jokes generated when talk turns to cowboy churches. Images of worship in rodeo arenas, preachers on horseback and baptisms in cattle troughs also elicit criticism – especially…