As a charter member of a brand new non-denominational church — fresh out of college with a B.A. in religion and philosophy — I held high hopes of becoming the church’s pastor.
Does a young adults ministry require one or more young adults in leadership? Yes.
We had just begun to unload the U-haul in the manse driveway — in anticipation of beginning our first ministerial call — when an older gentleman rolled up in his car.
October 2006 was a great time for the European Ryder Cup team. Do you remember?
If you want a lively argument, ask a group to name a “top ten” list of players in a sport, top ten movies, top ten songs.
After reading reports from the Episcopal Church’s recent General Convention in Anaheim, Calif., I was reminded that church conventions aren’t “the church,” any more than Congress is “the nation.”
“What did the Calvinist say after falling down the stairs?”
I couldn’t make this up. A reader writes:
It’s good to do good (proper grammar notwithstanding). It’s great to give. But why do folks do good? What motivates good folks to give?
It wasn’t the item on the agenda I’d mentally marked as controversial.
In a recent Church Wellness Project, the Metrics team grasped the concept of measuring outcomes and saw the importance of doing so.
While watching a recent tribute to Michael Jackson, referred to by many as the King of Pop, I realized that Jackson bore, in his life, much resemblance to King David of the Bible.
If homes keep burning to the ground should each of us buy a bucket, or should all of us build a fire station?
Some advice gets repeated so frequently that we stop hearing it. “Take an umbrella,” for example. And, “Clean up after yourself.”
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)
A client recently completed a report on best practices in Spiritual Development. It made me tired just to read it.
Question for church members everywhere: Where is your pastor going on vacation this summer?
At some schools serving low-income neighborhoods, nearly every student is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
“Mrs. Duffield!” was initially all I heard as my head broke the surface of the water. My children’s swim coach was shouting at me from poolside.
Listening to members’ questions can take many forms, from surveys to a simple exercise we recommend in the Church Wellness Project: at Sunday services, pass out 3 x 5 cards and ask members what one question they would pose to God.
Midway – adv.: in the middle of the way or distance; halfway.
Sometime this summer, four things need to happen:
The news sounds frightening. Since the first of the year, Christianity Today Incorporated has shuttered six of its magazines and sold a seventh.
After seven months of consulting with a large Presbyterian congregation in North Carolina, I finally got a chance to worship with them on Mothers Day.
“There is a new wind blowing through the sometimes musty halls of American Christian churches, and it is sweeping away the hypocrisy, lack of social concern, and unnecessary cultural baggage accumulated by the mainstream churches through the years.
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