A few Sundays ago I had the privilege of preaching a sermon on faith at Naples United Church of Christ. My text was Hebrews 11:1-3 and 8-16. Scripture The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living (Hebrews 8:1, The Message). Sermon Text I have a confession to make: I am a neat freak. In my world, everything has a place, and everything lives in the place I have assigned to it. Read More …
Taking a Break (#1151)
Time for a Break A great deal has changed in the world of blogging since I started writing on a daily basis nearly three years ago, and much has changed in my own life as well. What Next? Over the next few weeks, I plan to gather input from many sources. I encourage you to leave your thoughts as a reply to this post. More specifically: What about this blog do you find most helpful? What type of content would you be most interested in reading in the future? When you think of Read More …
1,000 Days of Daily Blogging (#1150)
This post marks 1,000 days of blogging on a daily basis. I launched sowhatfaith.com just over 4 years ago. Almost three years ago, I started blogging on a daily basis. At several points along that journey I paused to reflect and share my experience: 100 Days, 1 Year, and 2 Years. So What? I hope my daily posts have been substantive, relevant, and actionable. I believe even more strongly now than I did when I launched this blog that it is important for people who Read More …
North American Christianity is Broken (#1149)
New York Times best selling author Frank Schaeffer, recently wrote a strong critique of both the evangelical and progressive forms of Protestant Christianity in North America in which he claims that "The problem with North American Christianity is not the window-dressing– it’s the whole package." So What? Like Schaeffer, I believe the current trend of decline among Protestants in North America signals that Protestant Christianity as we have known it for the last hundred years has major Read More …
Review of But I Don’t See You as Asian (#1148)
Meet the Author Bruce Reyes-Chow is an ordained Presbyterian pastor, and 3rd generation Chinese/Filipino. He is a consultant who previously served as founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church. His effective use of social media while serving as moderator of the General Assembly of the 2.3 million member PCUSA helped many mainline leaders appreciate the value of social media for ministry. Reyes-Chow has written two e-books: The Definitive-ish Guide Read More …
Church Signage Tips (#1147)
Really awful church signage regularly appears on my social feeds. While there are far too many examples of church signage, there are relatively few helpful resources for church leaders who want to think strategically about signage. Church Marketing Sucks, however, recently featured multiple posts on the topic: Tips for Your Primary Exterior Sign by Erin Williams, Tips for Secondary Exterior Signs by Erin Williams, and 8 Steps to Making Interior Signs Work for Your Church Read More …
WEIRD Western Bias (#1146)
The global community includes an incredibly diverse population of humans, yet people often wrongly assume that every culture is similar to their own. Surprisingly this erroneous assumption appears even in research published in the top psychological journals. Robert Gonzales explains: The vast majority of psychological studies recruit test subjects who are Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic – or "WEIRD." Which is... well, weird, given that Read More …
Church without God (#1145)
Dan Merica's recent post, "Church without God - by design," explores gatherings of the Humanist Community at Harvard University, which is the brainchild of the school's Humanist chaplain: Greg Epstein. After meeting for the last several years in a "small three-floor walk-up off the bustling streets of Harvard Square," the community will transition to "a nearly 3,000-square-foot community center with an event space for nearly 100 people." So What? Epstein sees the transition in Read More …
Fatherhood: Churches over Bars (#1144)
University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox, recently wrote an article that overviews how fatherhood transforms men. These changes, however, do not impact all fathers equally. In reality, the positive changes associated with fatherhood apply only for men who live with or in close proximity to their child(ren). Those fathers who do not live with their children consistently share more in common with childless men. Fathers who live with their children are Read More …
Mormons Go Social (#1143)
Late last month leaders in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a shift in missionary strategy. More specifically, the church will increasingly encourage missionaries to leverage social media rather than the traditional door-to-door approach. This change is significant for several reasons, including: the recent lowering of the minimum age for missionary work ( from 21 to 19 for women and from 19 to 18 for men), the old rules that limited Read More …