A year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote "Visiting 50+ Churches in Dallas-Fort Worth," highlighting congregations I had worshipped with since relocating to Texas from Florida. When the pandemic started, I stopped attending worship in person. After experiencing a full year of life without attending corporate worship, I gradually reentered that world. March 7 - I attended my first outdoor worship serviceMarch 14 - I attended my first indoor worship service Now, seven Read More …
Presbyterian
Reopening for In Person Worship: 5 Congregations (#1926)
Over the last four weeks I've visited five mainline Protestant congregations in the Dallas - Fort Worth metro area that have recently reopened for worship. All five experiences required that I pre-register to attend, and that I commit to a covenant or list of expectations regarding my participation (i.e., not attend if I had a fever or was experiencing COVID-like symptoms, while attending wear a mask and remain socially distanced from others while indoors, etc.). Additionally, all five Read More …
Giving Up the Old and White Church (#1924)
I've spent my entire life in congregations affiliated with Mainline Protestant denominations. For Lent, I’m giving up something big: the church I always knew. And, unlike past Lenten disciplines that ended on Easter, this change is one I expect to be permanent. Here in the final post in this series, I'm giving up the old and white church. Old According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median age of all Americans is 38.4 years (2019). By comparison, the Pew Research Center Read More …
Giving Thanks: 10 Ministry Experiences (#1900)
Thanksgiving is a lifestyle, not simply a holiday scheduled the fourth Thursday of November. In the spirit of continuing the focus on thankfulness, today I'm reflecting on and giving thanks for the ten different ministry settings I've served. These settings vary in many ways, yet are all committed to making more real God's kin-dom on earth Founding: Less than 10 years ago to more than 150Size: Less than 100 active participants to more than 2,000Denomination: 5 Mainline Protestant Read More …
No Longer Presbyterian (#1895)
Donald Trump was raised in the Presbyterian church, and in recent years continued to identify as Presbyterian despite not holding membership in a Presbyterian congregation or regularly attending worship. One week ago today Trump attended worship at the non-denominational International Church of Las Vegas. A few days after this experience, Trump changed his religious affiliation from Presbyterian to non-denominational Christian. Rather than announcing this shift in a televised event, Trump Read More …
PC(USA) Membership Declines by “Only 50K” (#1872)
The Office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) recently published denominational statistics for 2019. I first learned of this new data by reading an article titled "PC(USA) Statistics Show a Leveling Off in Membership Decline." Recent Decline While the denomination has been in decline since its formation, this article seeks to tell the more positive micro story within that ongoing macro story. It seeks to achieve this by focusing on recent positive trends, Read More …
Presbyterian Decline: PCUSA -The First 35 Years (#1856)
The Presbyterian Church (USA) was created by a merger of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and the Presbyterian Church in the United States in June 1983. The newly formed denomination started with a membership of 3,131,228. Membership Decline The denomination has experienced year-over-year membership decline every year since it began. Over the last three decades, the rate of decline has increased: 1988-1998 – 11.9%1998-2008 – 17.3%2008-2018 Read More …
Living Christianly (#1813)
Yesterday I was drawn into conversation around two hashtags that were trending on Twitter: #ThingsJesusNeverSaid#FakeChristian Many people I follow and respect along with a host of unfamiliar individuals weighed in on one or both topics. A common thread in both streams was the critique of some who self-identify as Christian but seem to live in ways that are not consistent with Jesus' core teachings. The Good Samaritan Given all that is happening in our country and in Read More …
Top 5 Posts of 2019 (January – June) (#1809)
I've written more blog posts during the first half of the year this year than any year since 2015. My readers have selected the following posts as the top posts so far this year based on the number of page views each has received year to date. I’m Back: My Return to the Mansfield Mission Center (March)Our Search for a Church 2.0 is Over! (May)Book Recommendations – March 2019 (March)Visiting 50+ Churches in Dallas – Fort Worth (February)Top 12 Authors: 2009-2019 Read More …
Our Search for a Church 2.0 is Over! (#1798)
I know quite a bit about churches. I was raised in the church, studied ministry as an undergraduate, attended seminary, and served 9 congregations. I know far less about searching for a church to participate in as an active member. My wife and I embarked on what I know think of as our original search for a church in March 2015 after I completed an interim ministry role and we moved from Southwest Florida to North Texas. That 70 week long search included attending worship 61 times in 36 different Read More …