Sermon Text Matthew 5-7 Sermon Excerpt I begin in a way I never have before and likely never will again by offering a bold guarantee. I assure you that this morning's sermon will be the best sermon you will ever hear. With this in mind, let us pray . . . As those who seek to follow the way of Jesus, may his wisdom continue to be our guide. Take and use the words I will speak to empower our imaginations, awaken us to new possibilities, and embolden us in our actions. Amen. When Read More …
What Should Pastors Wear? (#1195)
What should pastors wear during worship? Joseph Yoo, pastor of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara (CA), recently addressed this question in a post titled "Pastor Dress Code." He writes: What is the appropriate attire that a pastor should wear on Sunday mornings? And, is it really that important? Apparently, the issue is much, much bigger than I had ever thought it would be. So What? I found myself spending more time reading the comments than the original Read More …
Tweeting at Quality Matters (#1194)
This week I have been in Nashville, TN attending the Quality Matters annual conference. According to their website, Quality Matters "is a leader in quality assurance for online education and has received national recognition for its peer-based approach to continuous improvement in online education and student learning." It is the standard Hodges University has chosen to adopt, and will soon be implementing. As has been the case at all of the professional conferences I have attended Read More …
WHCB: Summary & Next Steps (#1193)
I have devoted most of my posts over the last week to exploring an important topic: "What's Holding Christianity Back." Using a list of five items proposed by Christian Piatt, I considered church buildings, denominations, worship, church boards, and fear. So What? These factors are quite real. They must not be ignored. Reading these posts, pondering your own church experiences, and considering how an awareness of these issues may prove helpful as you live in the Read More …
WHCB: Fear (#1192)
Christian Piatt includes fear on his list of five things that are holding Christianity back. He suggests that "too often, our actions in church are governed principally by a response to what we fear might happen, rather than faithfully discerning what God is calling us to do." Reality Check Most congregations are risk averse. When boards engage in decision making in risk averse organizations the possibilities for the future often look a lot like the successes of the past Read More …
WHCB: Church Boards (#1191)
Christian Piatt includes church boards on his list of five things that are holding Christianity back. He suggests that church boards tend to attract and retain the same small group of leaders, and favor a style that relies heavily on a democratic vote for decision making. Reality Check Most congregations have term limits for those serving on the church boards and standing committees. While those rules help ensure no one person remains a part of such a group for decades, Read More …
WHCB: Worship (#1190)
Christian Piatt includes worship on his list of five things that are holding Christianity back. He suggests that we have "gotten off track" in several ways, including the tendency to continue to see worship as a primary entry point into a faith community. Reality Check In my experience, the first way folks prefer to encounter a local community of faith varies widely. While no one factor can adequately serve as an across the board filter, age is perhaps the best option. Read More …
Sermon: Reuniting Old Friends (#1189)
Sermon Text Ephesians 2:19-22 Sermon Excerpt The so-called religious right has sought to make their version of Christianity the only authorized American version. While many within this group market a message that suggests a literal approach to the Bible is the only correct approach, the general public are not embracing that news. In fact, only 3 in 10 people approach Scripture with a highly literal interpretative framework, and an understanding that it is the actual word of Read More …
WHCB: Denominations (#1188)
Christian Piatt includes denominations on his list of five things that are holding Christianity back. He suggests that with so many denominations the "distinction from others like them are so minute that even the members within a given denomination can’t tell you what makes them unique." Additionally, he argues that "with the trend toward personal and local autonomy taking hold in many Christian communities, there is increasingly less of a reason to keep such hierarchic Read More …
WHCB: Church Buildings (#1187)
Christian Piatt includes church buildings on his list of five things that are holding Christianity back. He suggests that "they have become an albatross rather than an asset." Reality Check Most American congregations own buildings. The costs associated with maintaining these structures is significant. In congregations that are in the midst of extended periods of plateau or experiencing years of declining membership, the percentage of the annual budget needed for their upkeep Read More …