For the second month in a row, I'm pleased to share a "bonus list" of recommended reads. All of the books on this list were published in 2019. (5.0) The Time is Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage by Joan Chittister (Convergent Books, 2019) (4.5) Can I Get a Witness?: Thirteen Peacemakers, Community-Builders, and Agitators for Faith and Justice edited by Charles Marsh, Shea Tuttle, and Daniel P. Rhodes (Eerdmans, 2019) (4.5) Platform: The Art and Science of Personal Branding by Cynthia Johnson Read More …
Search for a Church 2.0 – The Finalists (#1783)
After growing our list of churches to visit to 15 and attending 37 services of worship with these congregations over the last 11 months, we have narrowed the list to two finalists. So What? With respect for the remaining congregations, I've decided against sharing any details that would make them easily identifiable to my readers. As a result I've used an image of a bridge that connects downtown Forth Worth with the cultural district. The two congregations remaining are Read More …
Book Recommendations – March 2019 (#1782)
For March I'm sharing my traditional list of the best books I read over the last 30 days that were published this year alongside a bonus list of books I read recently that were published between 2015 and 2018. (5+) Outlandish: An Unlikely Messiah, a Messy Ministry, and the Call to Mobilize by Derek Penwell (Chalice Press, 2019) (5.0) Unsettling the Word: Biblical Experiments in Decolonization edited by Steve Heinrichs (ORBIS, 2019) (4.5) The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Read More …
Search for a Church 2.0 – Plan C (#1781)
This time around our search for a church was supposed to be relatively easy because we decided to only consider a small geographical areavisit Mainline Protestant congregations (and those largely aligned with Mainline theology) Our relatively modest attempt has grown a few times: Plan A: 10 congregationsPlan B: 13 congregationsPlan C: 15 congregations (still far smaller than our last search that included 36 congregations!) Plan C When we set out for our original search for Read More …
Current Issues & Church (#1780)
According to a recent Public Religion Research Institute survey of adults who attend religious services at least once or twice a month, most people never hear clergy speak about current issues from the pulpit. More specifically, the percentage who have heard clergy speak about a given current issue is Immigration: 32%Homosexuality: 42%Abortion: 45% So What? Something is wrong when the church is silent about current issues. People should not be able to regularly attend worship Read More …
Visiting 50+ Churches in Dallas – Fort Worth (#1779)
Since relocating to the Dallas - Fort Worth metropolitan area in September 2015, I've worshipped in 52 different congregations. Denomination The vast majority (87%) of my visits have been to congregations in Mainline denominations. A complete list of denominational affiliations follows: So What? When I share the number of churches I've visited in recent years the first question I'm usually asked is "why?" My answer is always the same: "I searched for a church on relocating Read More …
Majority of UCC Congregations Worship 50 or Fewer (#1778)
The percentage of all congregations in the United Church of Christ with average worship attendance of 50 people or less has been increasing since 2000. During that time the percentage nearly doubled from a little more than 1 in 4 congregations (27.8%) to 1 in 2 (50.9%). During the same time period, the largest congregations in the United Church of Christ (average worship attendance of 400+) declined from 1 in 50 (1.9%) to 1 in 200 (0.6%). So What? The dual trends within the Read More …
Book Recommendations – Bonus List for February 2019 (#1777)
Over the last few years, I've typically shared a list of book recommendations on a monthly basis. Since I didn't read many books published in 2019 until January I didn't share my first list on the year until the first day of February. With so many wonderful books being published early in 2019, I've decided to share a second February list - a bonus list. Over the last two weeks, I read several new books worth recommending. The following volumes were all published in 2019. (5.0) Empty Read More …
Spiritually Vital Congregations (#1776)
Is spiritual vitality the same across denominations and even religions or does it look differently within each of these contexts? Common Ground According to the Faith Communities Today American Congregations 2018 report titled Vital Congregations, there is significant overlap in what makes a faith community a spiritually vital congregation. Authored by Linda Bobbitt, creator and manager of the Congregational Vitality Project, this new research builds on the Faith Read More …
Book Recommendations – February 2019 (#1775)
Reading new books is something I've done with regularity for the better part of a decade. This list features the best books I read during January that were published in 2019. (5.0) Losing My Religion: A Memoir of Faith and Finding by William C. Mills (Resource Publications, 2019) (4.5) The Right Story: A Brief Guide to Changing the World by Bernadette Jiwa (Perceptive Press, 2019) (4.0) Twelve Lies That Hold America Captive: And the Truth That Sets Us Read More …