For years, I've heard people claim that 10,000 churches are closing every year in America. A quick web search shows that this big, bold, round number can be found on its own or, more often, as the high end of a range on dozens of websites. These sites include pieces by largely unknown bloggers alongside articles by those many consider to be authorities in field. For example, last year Thom Rainer - a leading Evaneglical voice and the former president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources - Read More …
Book Recommendations – September 2019 (#1821)
My latest list of recommended reads features ten books published in 2019. (5.0) Trust First: A True Story About the Power of Giving People Second Chances by Bruce Deel (Optimism Press, 2019)(5.0) Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter's Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times by Scott Pelley (Hanover Square Press, 2019) (4.5) Embracing God's Future without Forgetting the Past: A Conversation about Loss, Grief, Read More …
Future Faith – Coming Soon (#1820)
I'm excited to announce that I'll be teaching a class titled "Future Faith" at First Presbyterian Church (Fort Worth, Texas) starting Sunday, September 15. The class will meet for 11 consecutive Sundays at 10:00 a.m. All are welcome. The class is inspired by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson's book Future Faith: Ten Challenges Reshaping Christianity in the 21st Century - a book I Read More …
Mainline: The 5 Percent? (#1819)
Over the years I've written dozens of blog posts about Mainline decline. This morning, I happened upon a tweet that highlights the significance in decline by comparing current Mainline Protestant affiliation rates for those over age 65 with those under age 35. Ryan Burge, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Eastern Illinois University, tweeted "4.5% of those under 35 are mainline Prot. vs. 20.6% of those 65+." So What? Put differently: For every 20 Americans over age Read More …
Back to the Basics: Jesus’ Priorities (#1818)
This is the time of year when students of all ages are heading back to school. At the Mansfield Mission Center we will kick off the new school year with a staff study on The Jesus Priorities. Over the next ten weeks we will consider eight essential habits that Jesus prioritized expecting that Jesus' priorities will increasingly become our priorities. Origin The eight priorities shown in the image above are the top priorities of Jesus based on Christopher Maricle's book: Read More …
What Americans Don’t Know About Religion (#1817)
Over the last decade I taught an undergraduate introduction to world religions course more than two dozen times. From that experience, I learned the importance of having students self-assess their religious literacy during the first week of the semester in order to help them recognize just how much they did not know. Reflecting on these ungraded assignments, students often remarked that the exercise revealed that while they performed okay on questions about their own religion or the religion Read More …
Book Recommendations – August 2019 (#1816)
Over the last thirty days I've read many recently published books worth recommending. Published in 2019 (5+) Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination by Lenny Duncan (Fortress Press, 2019) (5.0) Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America by Chris Arnade (Sentinel, 2019) (5.0) We Speak for Ourselves: A Word from Forgotten Black America by D. Watkins (Simon and Schuster, 2019) (4.5) How to Human: An Read More …
God’s Doors Are Open To All (#1815)
Bright, beautiful, multi-colored doors dispalying the message "God's doors are open to all" greeted me as I entered Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ's sanctuary this morning. Open Doors I was delighted to attend worship at Cathedral of Hope this morning for the congregation's anniversary service. From a group of twelve people gathering in a home 49 years ago, the Cathedral of Hope has grown to become one of the largest congregations in the United Church of Christ. Throughout Read More …
Embracing a New Spiritual Practice (#1814)
I just finished reading Alice Connor's delightful new book How to Human: An Incomplete Manual for Living in a Messed Up World (Fortress Press, 2019). Meet Alice Connor Connor, an Episcopal priest who leads a campus ministry at the University of Cincinnati called Edge House, is a master storyteller and a skilled discipler. She also has a gift for saying the things that others often leave unsaid. A 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 …