“Thank you for the tour. Your church has such an interesting history. I was surprised that you didn’t mention God.” What? Really? That can’t be right. Telling a church’s story seems simple. You just tell what happened. Start to do…
More BFFs are officiating weddings, but look for ministers to make a comeback
Millennials and other religiously unaffiliated Americans are more and more eschewing clergy involvement in their weddings, but some ministers say that may not be a bad thing.
Angry that the religious right has hijacked the word ‘evangelical’? Let it go, experts say
Thinking of ditching the term “evangelical” to identify yourself as Christian? Get in line. Clergy, scholars, congregational coaches and innumerable laypeople are expressing increasing anger and disgust that the once respected term no longer describes their commitment to Christ and church.
CEO-style pastorates all the rage but offer little to those seeking deeper faith
Most pastors have had administrative responsibilities. But experts say it has gone well beyond that for ministers who are facing increasing pressure to act more like chief executive officers than pastors. Congregations concerned about dwindling numbers — both on the rolls…
Too busy to sing? Try anyway
I go to work on Tuesday with a detailed to-do list. If everything goes perfectly, I will end the day writing a column for Baptist News Global. If I get through six of the 10 items, it will be a…
Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony and Adam Sandler: Signs of a church that is more than a museum
Years ago when attendance was pretty low, Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., brought in a consultant who said, “You can either be a museum or a church.” The consultant had been going to the wrong museums. A good church is…
‘If the church is so great, then why are you teaching in seminary?’
During my first class as a professor at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology, I began waxing poetic on my years as a pastor and the glory of preaching: “What could be more wonderful than to imagine your way back…
McAfee preaching professor returning to pulpit
Brett Younger, associate professor of preaching at Mercer’s University McAfee School of Theology, has been named senior pastor of the historic Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, N.Y. Younger, 55, takes over June 1 as pastor of the Congregational church founded in…