Have you ever claimed to be something you’re not? I once posed as a town sheriff, brandishing a gun and stopping everyone who disobeyed the law. Of course, at the age of 4, and with a plastic orange-tipped six-shooter, my…
In organized Christianity, some people are gone and others are done
Do we need another category to describe people who are either no longer related to organized Christianity or never were? Probably.
Time for panic or hope?
The Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting wrapped up last week. As usual there have been several statements and statistics which are causing at least minor stirs. Their announcement of a court petition to uphold the traditional definition of marriage may…
What ‘Wagon Wheel’ taught me about the kingdom of God
This past Monday, I went to a Memorial Day concert at Pisgah Brewery in Black Mountain. Old Crow Medicine Show, an old time bluegrass band was playing, and I accompanied my friend Natalie who happens to be one of their…
Be creative, not afraid, as the religiously unaffiliated rise in U.S., experts tell churches
By Jeff Brumley New research shows that the religiously unaffiliated are gaining on Christian traditions across much of the United States. The Public Religion Research Institute’s American Values Atlas, released earlier this month, finds that Catholics and the religiously unaffiliated…
Missing Church: Why I’m not a “Done” (Even If I Want to Be)
A couple of months ago, I posted about the experience of taking a break from attending church. It somehow garnered a lot more attention than I expected, enough that it prompted a follow-up question: Why go back? It’s a question that…
How your bulletin makes me feel like I do (or don’t) belong
In my search for a church home during graduate school, I attended over ten churches in two years, each with their own different style of communication. Some handed out a tan, tri-fold piece of paper by which I could follow…
Why people are NOT leaving your church
The Internet is full of articles about why people are leaving church—or never attending church in the first place. Some are called “nones” and recently many people are using the term “dones” for those who are finished with church—at least…
You’ve met the ‘nones.’ Now meet the ‘dones.’
By Jeff Brumley It figures. Just as churches, seminaries and congregational consultants were wrapping their heads around the concept of “the nones” in religious life, yet another term emerges for yet another category of Americans abandoning the church: “the dones.”…