The 10 best books published in 2019 that I read during the month of May are (5.0) Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference by Stephen Trzeciak and Anthony Mazzarelli (Studer Group, 2019)(4.5) Love Big: The Power of Revolutionary Relationships to Heal the World by Rozella Haydée White (Fortress Press, 2019)(4.5) Engage!: Tools for Ministry in the Community by Dana Horrell (Fortress Press, 2019)(4.5) Sustaining Hope in an Unjust World: How to Read More …
My Life in Ministry: The First 20 Years (#1802)
I went to college to prepare to enter vocational ministry. During seminary, I assumed that I would spend the rest of my working years in pastoral ministry in a local congregation. Experience Like many people in my generation who went straight from life as a traditional undergraduate student to seminary, my vocational path has broadened in recent years. After serving in long-term roles in local congregations from 2000 to 20012, I ventured into interim ministry beginning in 2013. Read More …
Becoming 15% Better (#1801)
Ron Williams is a successful executive leader who is best known for returning a Fortune 100 company (Aetna) to profitability. His new leadership book - Learning to Lead: The Journey to Leading Yourself, Leading Others, and Leading an Organization (Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2019) - is filled with actionable wisdom. In the closing pages of Learning to Lead, Williams challenges his readers to focus on continual growth. To quantify one's progress, Williams recommends setting a Read More …
Church Membership Down 20% in 2 Decades (#1800)
Gallup recently reported that church membership in the United States has experienced a significant decline over the last two decades dropping from 70% in 1999 to 50% in 2018. This shift is attributed to both an overall decline in religious affiliation and a decline in membership among those who identify with a specific religion. So What? The May 22, 2019 edition of the Christian Century included the following visual that clearly communicates the Gallup data illustrating that the Read More …
Honk if You’re Holy!?! (#1799)
I like to take pictures of religious signs, including those on vehicles. I discovered this "Honk if You're Holy!" sign in a parking lot in Florida back in 2015. Of the three signs displayed on the vehicle it is the one that captured my attention (the other sign on the rear read "JW.ORG Psalms 83:18 and a sign on the side simply displayed the number 144,000). Would You Honk? When I originally shared this image on Facebook I asked the question, "Would you honk?" Some of the more 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 …
Book Recommendations – May 2019 (#1797)
The 10 best books published in 2019 that I read during the month of April are (5.0) Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count by Phil Buchanan (Public Affairs, 2019) (5.0) Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight by Cameron Trimble (Chalice Press, 2019) (4.5) One Coin Found: How God's Love Stretches to the Margins by Emmy Kegler (Fortress Press, 2019) (4.5) Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World by Read More …
Search for a Church 2.0 – Decision Coming Soon (#1796)
When I announced that we started this search for a church in April of 2018, I did not expect that we would still be searching a year later. In all from start to finish, I am now nearly certain the journey will take us about 13 months (57 weeks to be more precise). Timeline While the general plan has remained consistent throughout, the number of congregations involved expanded twice. Some high points of the timeline follow: March 2018 - selected 10 churches to visitMay 2018 - completed Read More …
1 in 10 Christians (#1795)
Worldwide slightly more than 1 in 10 Christians live in the United States. As of 2015, there were 2,276,250,000 Christians with 248,148,00 (or 10.9%) residing in the United States. Perspective While a higher percentage of people in some other large nations are Christian (e.g., 88.5% in Brazil), the United States is home to more Christians than any other nation. More than 3 out of 4 Americans (76.9%) are Christian. So What? Yesterday much of the focus on American Read More …
Holy Week – Is This Normal? (#1794)
After serving in congregational ministry for most of my life, I'm still learning what its like to journey through Holy Week as a follower of the Way of Jesus who does not have any worship leadership responsibilities. Holy Week Schedule I have, however, managed to attend multiple services of worship and participate in an adult egg hunt. More specifically: Sunday: walked to a nearby church, and attended a service that included elements of both palm and passion Tuesday: Read More …