Several days ago some friends of mine were stuck in a car on the way home from a meeting. As usually happens when we get together, our conversation turned toward church life, dwindling volunteers and the problems we all face as pastors to communicate spiritual things in a hectic, overworked and sometimes deaf world. We [...]
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In their book A Faith of Their Own: Stability and Change in the Religiosity of America’s Adolescents (Oxford University Press, 2011), the authors follow up with 2,530 young people, age 16 to 21, surveyed about their faith and religious practices at two points in time. The authors identified five types of religious identity among these [...]
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This is one of the best descriptions of Christian Discipleship I’ve ever read! Be Inspired! Discipleship—being willing to move on every level, leaving the old life behind, following Jesus wherever he may lead, sitting at his feet so to speak, taking in not only what he says but who he is on the deepest level [...]
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I know that there are hundreds of different ways to describe the church as it exists today, some good, some not so good. This ambiguity leaves many confused and struggling to create a definition all their own, often with disastrous consequences. I though I would give several definitions a try. See which one describes you best and then take a stab [...]
READ MORE »I hope you enjoy this video; I found it helpful and challenging. The purpose of the Missional church is to equip those who attend on Sunday morning to take the church to the community. Instead of having altar calls and invitations giving by professional clergy, the church experience is to engage, equipp and encourage the [...]
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Our church has a large screen in the front of the santuary for visual support of the worship experience. Now I realize that for some the screen is a nuisance and for others a sign of the decline of true worship. But for a new generation, images are more apart of their vocabulary than the [...]
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I hear it all the time “people just aren’t interested in church like they use to.” Translation: “people aren’t interested in the product we’re offering the way we’re offering it.” True enough. There is an undeniable decline in church attendance across America, but we must balance this criticism with another reality, the global explosion of [...]
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I spoke to a man the other day who does market research (focus groups and interviews) with a wide range of people: what they like and don’t like; what they think and feel about various things. He said that overwhelmingly what people want more than anything else is belonging: to fit in and be accepted; [...]
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From The Apology of Aristides the Philosopher to Emperor Hadrian, 125 A.D.: Further, if one or other of them have bondmen or bondwomen or children, through love towards them they persuade them to become Christians, and when they have done so, they call them brethren without distinction. They do not worship strange gods, and they go their [...]
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Thinking about critical issues for churches today, I started making a list of questions churches should be able to answer. It seems to me that all churches, regardless of size, need to be able to offer compelling responses to these questions. Here they are: Meaning: How do we see life and our place in it? [...]
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In his new book, “What is Your Church’s Personality? Discovering and Developing the Ministry Style of Your Church”, Philip D. Douglass defines eight different types of church personalities. Here they are: Fellowship Churches are conscientious, hard-working, orderly, and sensitive to the needs of the people in general, but especially those who are members of their [...]
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65% of Churches Have a Big Screen, Up Just 3% from 2005 Mark Driscoll has said that every church will be cutting edge of some year. Some churches are the cutting edge of 2008. Others are the cutting edge of 1954. Yet others are the cutting edge of 1875. No matter what, your church is [...]
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#15 – No one is ever challenged to radically rearrange their lives to be a part of what God is doing. #14 – God hasn’t asked you to give something up. #13 – Everyone in your church is perfect. (If you are truly reaching lost people then you will discover that ministry is messy.) #12 [...]
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The following is an email discussion I had recently that so touched and challenged me that I wanted to share it with the larger community. I hope you enter the discussion…. I was wondering if we are trying to make people more like Christ or are we trying to make people more like [...]
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“Every church should see growth as a never-ending process. Persistent efforts, constant prayer, and appropriate changes should characterize our lives and churches. And we can have strong faith that God will reward our labors.” Churches face a variety of conditions that can prevent numerical increase-called “growth barriers.” The lack of adequate parking or ample [...]
READ MORE »U.S. Churches Face Crisis by Linda Green NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS, March 21, 2006) The fact that 43 percent of United Methodist churches in America did not receive a member by profession of faith in 2004 is an indicator that congregations are in trouble, say leaders of the denomination’s discipleship agency. Both the Rev. [...]
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Dr. Steve Gedon