Sermon Text: Luke 12:13-21 Sermon Excerpt Robert and Edward Skidelsky are two academics who happen to be father and son. Together they wrote a book that shares a title with this sermon: How Much is Enough (2012). The subtitle of the book is equally important: Money and the Good Life. So why do I bring this text to your attention? Because the Skidelsky's get it. They are on to something that sounds a lot like the wisdom of Jesus in this morning's parable. In a Read More …
Over-Programming vs Under-Programming (#1544)
Churches excel in programming and many church members (and especially church leaders!) delight in talking about their programming. In many cases the programs are advertised with carefully constructed marketing pieces that present aesthetically pleasing menus of opportunities for prospective participants. The Voice of Experience I have served in several congregations that assumed more was better (also that bigger was better if and when possible). As a lay program staff member in multiple Read More …
Education Level & Declining Church Attendance (#1543)
As I read W. Bradford Wilcox's recent Acts of Faith article in the Washington Post I found myself drawn to a graph illustrating a decline in church attendance. While the decline in American church attendance in America since the mid-1970s is well documented and much discussed by lay religious folks and scholars alike, few have given any real consideration to how the rate of decline differs based on education. A few years ago I shared W. Bradford Wilcox's finding that "since the Read More …
Religion & Self-Identity (#1542)
Barna recently conducted research into what most influences the self-identity of Americans. In order, the top three influences are family, country (being American), and religious faith. Religion Matters While religion still ranks ahead of ethnic group, career, state of residence, and city/town of residence, it is a distant third to family and country. While a majority of Americans claim that family and their country are central to their identity, fewer than two out of five Read More …
Sermon: Your Healing Touch (#1541)
Sermon Text: Luke 8:40-56 Sermon Excerpt Have you heard about people who claim to heal in Jesus’ name by doing very unusual things? Perhaps in flipping through channels on your television you have stopped on a curious sight only to find yourself watching a faith healer in action. Today there are more odd options than ever before. In my own limited quest for understanding I have found one man to be the strangest of all. This so-called man of God is best known for holding what Read More …
Megachuches in America (#1540)
When I first saw the image at right I immediately realized I have spent my entire life living in two of three states atop the list of states with the most megachurches in America. While I have visited several such churches, my professional experience has been in smaller congregations (though dominantly in those significantly larger than most American congregations). Mega-Interesting The term megachurch was first used in print in 1983 in the Miami Herald, Protestant Read More …
World Religions from 2010 to 2050 (#1539)
Last week the Pew Research Center released projections for how the makeup of the world's largest religions are likely to shift between now and 2050. These projections rely on complicated assumptions and modeling designed over the last six years by team of demographers from the Pew Research Center (Washington, D.C.), and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Laxenburg, Austria). Globally between 2010 and 2050: world population will increase by 35%, number of Read More …
Sermon: The Easter Difference (#1538)
Sermon Text: Matthew 28:1-10 Sermon Excerpt Think about how the day begins. The two Mary’s know that Jesus is dead. The future they had been planning for themselves died with Jesus. They were mourning. In the midst of their grief they did the only thing they knew to do; they went where Jesus was. While all four Gospel writers include this story, only Matthew features special effects that would play well to a modern audience, especially on the big screen. One Read More …
Review: Did God Kill Jesus? (#1537)
Meet the Author I have quoted Tony Jones on this blog a few times (Proposed Inaugural Benedictions, The Future of Seminary Education, and Incarnational Christian) over the years. Tony is is an ordained minister in the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches with a Ph.D. from Princeton Seminary (2011) best known for his role in helping launch what has become known as the emergent church movement. Currently he serves as theologian-in-residence at Solomon’s Read More …
April 2015 Book Recommendations (#1536)
Over the last few weeks several pastors have told me that they have a growing list of things they plan to do after Easter, including catching up on their reading. Whether or not you have slowed your reading pace during Lent, I encourage you to consider reading one or more of the following books. As has been my custom for around a year, my ratings are given on a scale of 1 to 5. (5) One Nation Under Gods: A New American History by Peter Manseau (Little, Brown, and Company, Read More …