Sunday Schooling Our Kids Out of Church
We've essentially “Sunday-Schooled” our children out of church—because we never assimilated them into church. We never “church-broke” them.
…we shifted kids out of the main worship experience, en-culturated them in their own program, and robbed them of any touch points with the rest of the body of Christ. Another way of saying it: by segregating our kids out of worship, we never assimilated them into the life of the congregation. They had no... Continue Reading
Seven Ways to Deal with CAVE Dwellers in Your Church
They are in every church. They are critics. They are naysayers.
Critics and naysayers are in every church. They are CAVE (Consistently Against Virtually Everything) Dwellers (This phrase originated with Curt Coffman in his work on disengaged employees.). They can make your life miserable . . . unless you learn to deal with them. They are in every church. They are critics. They are naysayers.... Continue Reading
The Church’s One Foundation
When we reject the teaching of the Apostles— the Apostolic tradition of the New Testament —we’re rejecting the authority of God
“I’ve often pointed out that while the author of the line, “The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord,” had his heart in the right place when he was writing his hymn, the line itself is a conduit of misinformation. With respect to the foundation of the church, Scripture does speak of Jesus as... Continue Reading
The Imminent Decline of Contemporary Worship Music: Eight Reasons
By imminent decline, doesn’t mean imminent disappearance; commercial forces have too substantial an interest to permit contemporary worship music to disappear entirely
“Contemporary worship” to me is an oxymoron. Biblically, worship is what angels and morning stars did before creation; what Abraham, Moses and the Levites, and the many-tongued Jewish diaspora at Pentecost did. It is what the martyrs, now ascended, do, and what all believers since the apostles have done. More importantly, it is what we... Continue Reading
Fourteen Characteristics of Genuinely Friendly Churches
A genuinely friendly church has a guest return rate six times greater than other churches
They are intentional about being friendly. Warmth and friendliness are clear values of theses churches. They are articulated regularly. All organizations, including churches, naturally drift toward an inward focus unless they are otherwise intentional. The leaders model warmth, humility, and friendliness. The friendliness is not contrived or phony. These leaders have prayerfully become genuinely friendly... Continue Reading
Why Mark Driscoll’s Fall and Mars Hill’s Breakup Issues a Warning For Megastar Pastors
Can a megachurch survive the departure of its megastar pastor?
For many megachurches, a pastor can become larger than the church itself — particularly for multisite churches where the pastor’s sermon is the only thing binding disparate congregations connected by little more than a satellite feed. Before his resignation, the name “Mark Driscoll” was more widely known than “Mars Hill.” The dueling brands sometimes clashed... Continue Reading
Bethel Presbyterian Church Celebrating 250 Years of Ministry
Established in 1764, Bethel Presbyterian Church in Clover, S.C., has served its area with faithful ministry for 250 years.
The congregation of Bethel Presbyterian Church claims the Scotch-Irish as their descent. By 1750, a stream of Scotch-Irish began to flow into North Carolina and the Upcountry of South Carolina. Historically, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians were noted for their religious beliefs. Their spirit of determination and dependence upon God’s help allowed for the positive development of... Continue Reading
Why Evangelicals Are Wary Of The Government
The subpoenas issued to five city pastors highlight larger tensions in state involvement with religion
“On October 14, several conservative news sites began writing about the subpoenas, and that sparked a swift and loud national evangelical response. The more outraged responses came from a number of evangelical pundits who have made careers out of blowing the bugle of petty culture wars. But others came from leaders who are not known... Continue Reading
Megachurch Methods: Preaching for Profit
Something is wrong when a pastor preaches in his own church 15-30 Sundays, engages in a lucrative speaking tour, and forces the church to pay others to do his job
My concerns in this post are less about one more reason why Mars Hill finds itself in a fix right now, and more about the corruption of evangelical megachurches. It is still, after all I have seen, beyond my comprehension that it is considered to be business as usual to use the church as a... Continue Reading
20 Questions A Pastoral Candidate Should Ask A Search Committee
It is important to have your own list of questions when interviewing
“Here’s the situation. You, the pastoral candidate, are sitting in a room with a committee of anywhere from 6 to 20 people. They have spent the evening tossing questions, real and theoretical, at you. You are drained and everyone is ready for the evening to end. But not yet. Finally, the chair says, “And pastor,... Continue Reading
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