Earlier this week the U.S. State Department released its annual report on religious freedom around the world. Suzan Johnson Cook, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, stated that the report shows much work is yet to be done. With this in mind, she called upon governments to "fulfill their responsibility to condemn religious intolerance and bring to justice perpetrators of abuses." So What? People who follow the way of Jesus must advocate for Read More …
Ministry Leaders & Social Media (#1101)
BSM Almost all current ministry leaders completed their formal education BSM (Before Social Media). Most pastors, musicians, and educators learned a great deal about their professions, including how to communicate information about such with constituents and (ideally!) to a wider audience of prospective participants. Reality Check What happens when the communication and marketing channels they know best no longer resonate with their constituents? Increasingly people want to Read More …
Life After Seminary (#1100)
For generations, seminaries were primarily designed to train people for pastoral ministry. Today, less than half of all graduates of the typical seminary degree for pastors (master of divinity) plan to engage in full-time church ministry. According to the Association of Theological Schools the shift has taken place in just a few decades. At that time, over 90% of students planned to enter full-time church ministry. The percentage has declined ever since, reaching 52% by Read More …
Three New Books (#1099)
In keeping with my goal of not getting behind on sharing my thoughts about books I have read, I have started to diversify the ways I share my thoughts. In addition to the typical So What review (providing an introduction to the author, a review of content, and remarks about applicability), I have started offering just ratings for select books. Using a scale of 1 to 5 (something I adopted when I began posting select reviews on Amazon), the ratings of the last three books I read follow: Read More …
The New Front Door (#1098)
A recent short video produced by the New Media Project features three pastors sharing their experiences with new media. While each short presentation offers helpful insight, one provided a compelling visual image for the role of new media. Eugene Cho, founding pastor of Quest Church, considers new media to be the church's new front door: . . . the front door of our churches have now changed. The front door is no longer the front door. In fact, I would tell you probably Read More …
Canadian Nones (#1097)
While I have written extensively about the rise of the religiously non-affiliated (also known as "nones") in the United States, I have given far less attention to how this trend is impacting our neighbor to the North. Results from the 2011 National Household Survey show even as Christianity remains the dominant religion in Canada, the nones are growing quickly. More specifically, as a percentage of the population by year "nones" accounted for 2011: 23.9% 2001: 16.5%, Read More …
Tithers (#1096)
The fifth annual State of the Plate survey revealed interesting data about tithers. Among the over 4,000 tithers participanting in the survey: 73% of those who "tithe" give over 10%, including 9% who give over 20%; 70% "tithe" based on their gross income rather than net income; and 63% started tithing before turning 30. Interestingly tithers have lower debt levels and are financially better off than non-tithers: 80% have no unpaid credit card bills, 74% have no car Read More …
Church Communication Survey (#1095)
In recent months I have given more attention to the topic of church communications than I have in many years. It is astonishing how poorly most congregations identify and leverage the appropriate tools in support of their communication strategy (even more troubling are those congregations who just "play with" the tools without any formal strategy to offer guidance in their use). So What? Paul Steinbrueck, co-founder and CEO of OurChurch.Com, recently offered an introduction to the Read More …
Being Fully Present (#1094)
I follow the way of Jesus. This means seeing the world and my interactions with all within it differently. As I continue on the journey of faith I find it easier to approach life from this vantage yet more challenging to respond appropriately to the many situations that are a part of daily living. In many ways the more I learn and the more I experience, the more I recognize my own shortcomings. So What? There are many ways to live the way of Jesus in the mundane and everyday Read More …
Extreme Poverty in America (#1093)
Kathryn Edin, Professor of Public Policy and Management at Harvard, and one of the America's leading poverty researchers, teamed up with Luke Schaefer, Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Michigan, to try to determine just how common extreme poverty is in the United States. Their research considering how many households live on $2 a day or less will be published in June in the journal “Social Service Review.” Relying on data from the Survey of Read More …