In 1979, the E.F. Hutton investment firm marketed itself on television with a commercial in which someone would mention that E.F. Hutton was managing their investments. Immediately, people near that speaker stopped what they were doing to overhear the conversation,…
They’re not coming back
Years ago, we used to tell ourselves that young adults who had strayed from the church would come back after they got married. When that didn’t happen, we shifted our hopes and proclaimed that they would return when they had…
Putting Jesus and Paul ahead of personal freedom
Yesterday on my way home, I went to the supermarket to pick up a few things. Arriving at the door at the same time as a young mother and child coming from a different part of the parking lot, I…
Pandemic has accelerated needed changes in churches, panelists report
The COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges to churches, but it also helped them sift through outdated programming and policies to reinvent ministry going forward, according to panelists of “Expanding Engagement in the Local Church,” an Aug. 25 workshop of the Cooperative…
COVID has tied the wedding business in knots
Three weeks before their scheduled wedding date of April 4, 2020, Sam Lebow and Meghan Dworschak wrote a final check to the caterer for their reception. “Two days later,” Sam said, “we had to postpone the wedding.” The reason? COVID-19….
We are living through a pandemic of disembodiment
Half my seminary education was on Zoom. I completed the final year and a half of a three-year master of divinity degree from the desk in my bedroom. Like everyone else, the pandemic moved my life online. It’s a strange…
Yes, churches survived the first year of the pandemic, but overall giving continues to decline and adaptation is needed
Congregations must reimagine ministries, repurpose facilities and reinvent donor appeals if churches are to survive the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing decline of religion in the 21st century. That was the advice offered by two panelists in…
Post-pandemic, Black churchgoers are more interested in hybrid worship while pastors are resistant
Fresh research shows a significant minority of Black Christians favor a mix of online and in-person church options going forward, but a minister known as an expert in hybrid faith expressions predicts the demand will grow as the benefits become…
The church’s missional focus: Tourist, traveler or pilgrim?
In our Lilly-funded Project Thrive endeavors, we have outlined seven key traits of thriving churches. It comes as no surprise that one of those is “missional focus,” meaning the ability to keep the congregation focused on its highest priorities. It…
Repeating Exodus through vaccine denial
At the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency, I wrote a post warning that he was a threat to the United States and the rest of the world. We are about to see matters turn from bad to worse. Thanks to…
Four common approaches to church after COVID separation
If you are re-evaluating your relationship with church, you are not alone. As we move from online worship and distanced activities to in-person church life, many decision moments come our way. This return to in-person church activities is a major…
Worldwide church needs global approach to mental illness, psychologist says
Baptist churches must work together and with other religious and civic organizations to have a positive impact on the mental illness pandemic that is destroying lives and communities around the world, a Jamaican psychologist said on the opening day of…