The Riverside Church has recently embarked on a new social media project called Church Talk. The fourth episode was released yesterday, and focuses on social justice. "Social justice isn't something churches do; it is something that they are." Social Justice Challenge The quote above is one of many challenging statements made by the Rev. Kevin Wright, Executive Minister of Programs at Riverside Church in the five-minute video on social justice. Wright also reminds us that "Jesus was Read More …
The End of Church Weddings? (#1738)
Most people get married in a church. That is what I was told growing up and also the place I officiated most often once I entered pastoral ministry. Rapid Decline A quick Google search will yield a wide variety of data detailing the overall decline in churches or religious spaces for wedding ceremonies. I happened to come across a recent RNS article that utilized data from the popular wedding planning website called The Knot. According to their findings, Read More …
Book Recommendations – June 2018 (#1737)
Last month, I enjoyed my first vacation of any length in quite awhile. As part of that time away, I managed to read a number of excellent books. My top rated books, (published in 2018) that I've read since sharing last month's list. appear below. (5+) Future Faith: Ten Challenges Reshaping Christianity in the 21st Century by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson (Fortress Press, 2018) (5.0) Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Read More …
My Top 5 Tweets of 2018 (Jan. – May) (#1736)
Five months into the year, I decided to spend some time reviewing analytics for my Twitter account (@SoWhatFaith). According to Twitter's analytics my top five tweets so far this year appear below in chronological order.* Jan. 24 - Delighted to meet so many people doing such good work #Adese #SocialEnterprise #Boston Feb. 17 - When I contemplate the meaning of Jesus, I come back again and again to his image as the ultimate boundary-breaker, in whom what it means to Read More …
Pentecost – The Power of Love (#1735)
Today is Pentecost Sunday. I've spent my life in Mainline Protestant congregations where this is the one day each year the Spirit is set free. It is the one day when it is not only permissible, but expected to celebrate the birth of the church and the continued evolution of the church. It is a day when all are invited to be the church and to become the church. The Power of Love I had no plans to wake up early and watch the royal wedding yesterday. I imagined my only Read More …
Search for a Church 2.0: First Five Visits (#1734)
We have reached the half-way point in visiting the ten congregations on our short list of faith communities located near our home. Visuals The first grouping of images showcase #ViewFromThePew photos taken during our Sunday morning worship experiences in the four English language services we attended. The second grouping of images capture some of our experience in the lone bilingual service we attended. Variety The variety within these worship services extended beyond language, Read More …
Book Recommendations – May 2018 (#1733)
During the month of April 2018, I read quite a few books that warrant recommendation. My top rated books from that reading list that were published in 2018 appear below. (5.0) Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks by Diana Butler Bass (HarperOne, 2018) (5.0) The War on Normal People: The Truth About America's Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income is Our Future by Andrew Yang (Hachette Books, 2018) (4.5) New Power: How Read More …
Search for a Church v2.0 (#1732)
Search for a Church Search for a Church is the name I gave to the quest my wife and I undertook to find a faith community upon relocating to a suburb on the North side of the Dallas-Fort Worth (D/FW) metroplex in 2015. Our search took awhile - 17 months to be exact. The experience involved worshipping in 36 different Mainline Protestant congregations within a reasonable driving distance from our home. It concluded in February 2017, when we joined not one but two Read More …
Who Speaks “Church Speak”? (#1731)
The percentage of Americans fluent in "church speak" or the insider language used in many Christian faith communities has been waning for multiple generations. Realistically, we should expect even fewer people to understand this insider language in the future. Barbara Bush Yesterday I watched a good portion of Barbara Bush's funeral service. I immediately noticed the production effort involved in making the occasion fully accessible to a broad audience that may not be Read More …
Maximizing Your Church Campus (#1730)
In all of my many years of visiting faith communities I've yet to encounter one that proudly proclaimed its church campus was designed for use for an hour or two on Sunday morning and designed to go unused the rest of the week. I have, however, encountered plenty of churches that use their sanctuaries and other worship spaces only a few hours a week and/or have entire wings or buildings that are unused or used less frequently than once a week. For Members Only For some Read More …