Philip Chryst led a WikiWorship service each Sunday during Lent this year in a local bar. Each week Chrsyt would invite would be participants to submit their questions on religion, ethics, life or God using the mission’s website. He then selected one of these topics for the weekly worship gathering, which was highly participatory in nature. After introducing the topic and providing a preliminary personal answer, Chrsyt carried a microphone around to any of the worshippers who Read More …
Bring Your Gun to Church (#1402)
Georgia has a new law -- the Safe Carry Protection Act of 2014 -- that includes provisions allowing "residents who have concealed carry permits to take guns into some bars, churches, school zones, government buildings and certain parts of airports." So What? Intentionally naming churches in a law expanding the places people can carry concealed weapons is troubling on many levels. The law does, however, still allow churches and other houses of worship to opt out by banning them. Read More …
Proper Clothing for Church (#1401)
John Blake's recent "Stop Dressing So Tacky for Church" piece explores the shift toward worshippers opting for more casual attire, and some of the possible reasons for this shift. He notes some suggest that we dress up for that which we have gratitude for while others look to the example of Jesus and the words of the Bible for guidance. Additionally, he correctly notes a trend toward more casual dress in the culture in general, which has an impact on how people dress for a wide Read More …
Boosting Church Attendance (#1400)
The comedian Stephen Tyrone Colbert recently offered this four minute segment entitled "Extreme Measures for Boosting Church Attendance." As you watch, I encourage to admit when the humor is funny only because it reflects current reality. The Colbert Report Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Colbert Report on Facebook So What? While most churches seek to grow, only a small percentage engage in very radical campaigns to help ignite Read More …
TEDx Presenters vs Preachers (#1399)
I typically use my Sunday blog post to share my sermon. Since I am not preaching today, I offer instead a comparison of two popular speech acts: TEDx talks and sermons. The basis for such an analysis comes from Nicholas McDonald's, a M.Div. student at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, recent blog post on the topic. More specifically I have chosen to create a chart with columns for the characteristics McDonald suggests are common among TEDx speakers but uncommon Read More …
Declining Worship Attendance (#1398)
The United Church of Christ is a lot like other mainline Protestant denominations in terms of general trends in worship attendance. In general the long term trend is toward fewer congregations featuring fewer present in worship. The UCC's Fall 2013 Statistical Profile notes that more than 7 in 10 congregations have an average weekly worship attendance of less than 100 individuals compared to just over 6 in 10 a decade earlier (an increase from 62.8% to 70.4%). Not only are small Read More …
Bible Over Facebook? (#1397)
Around 143 million people in the US and Canada check their Facebook accounts on a daily basis. By comparison, the number who read the most popular book of all time - the Bible - in those countries on a daily basis is around 40 million. In other words, the daily Facebook users outnumber the daily Bible readers by more than 3 to 1. So What? I will admit that I check Facebook more often than I open a Bible (in any and all formats both online and offline). Is the same true for Read More …
A Challenging Blessing (#1396)
In the April 16, 2014 edition of The Christian Century, a challenging blessing appears (p.9). It was originally given to Brennan Manning by his spiritual director, Larry Hine, on the occasion of his ordination. May all of your expectations be frustrated, May all of your plans be thwarted, May all of your desires be withered into nothingness, That you may experience the powerlessness and poverty of a child and can sing and dance in the love of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So Read More …
Required Digital Detox (#1395)
In the Spring 2014 edition of Facts in Trends Marty Duren, manager of social media strategies for LifeWay, suggests that everyone needs to engage in a digital detox. According to Duren, a digital detox involves completely abstaining from "everything online for a period of time" (p.45). While stopping short of prescribing the interval at which detoxes are required or the duration he recommends, Duren clearly believes that everyone who participates in the online world needs to take time Read More …
More Church at Easter or Christmas? (#1394)
Many local churches see dramatic increases in worship attendance at Christmas and Easter. Perhaps then it isn't surprising to learn that people Google the word church more during Christmas week and Easter week than on any other weeks of the year. More specifically, over the last ten years more Americans have searched the word church during Easter week than at any other time of year (Christmas, of course, came in second). So What? While many churches do an excellent job of targeted Read More …