David Kinnaman, president and majority owner of Barna Group, recently directed research on pastors' kids. According to the results of that survey, many children of pastors experience significant doubt regarding their faith and/or have left the church entirely. More specifically, pastors with children ages 15 or older indicated that the following accurately describes their child(ren): 7% - no longer a Christian, 33% - no longer actively involved in church, and 40% Read More …
Sermon: Your Healing Touch (#1245)
Sermon Text: Luke 8:40-56 Sermon Excerpt For the last eight weeks we have been exploring the priorities of Jesus. This morning, we conclude our journey with what appears to be Jesus’ top priority: healing. Did you realize that the Gospels contain three dozen different healing events? For those of you who appreciate statistics, healing lands in first place by quite a margin. Jesus is associated with 36 unique healing events, which is 50% greater than the priority that Read More …
Economic Benefits of Churches (#1244)
Peter Haas is best known for planting an arts-oriented multi-site church called Substance, which has become one of the fastest growing and most youthful mega-churches in the United States. Recently he blogged about some of the economic benefits of churches to their communities. His list includes: An average sized church congregation adds “community services” equivalent to $115,009 per year. (e.g., Elderly care, Addiction recovery programs, after-school mentoring, Read More …
Your Phone Will Be Smarter than You (#1243)
The market research firm Gartner recently released their latest analysis suggesting that smart phones will be smarter than their users by 2017. This will happen as cognizant computing matures to include four phases: sync me, see me, know me and be me. More specifically: Sync me includes the ability to store copies of digital assets and sync them across devices. See me includes the ability to track history and context, such as where a user is and has been and his or her Read More …
Church Size & Growth Potential (#1242)
The Fall 2013 edition of Facts and Trends contains a graphic (p.4) from Leadership Network showing that Protestant megachurches are four times more likely to be growing than are all Protestant churches (79% compared to 20%). So What? This statistic is one of many that highlight the reality that America's largest Protestant churches are among the healthiest of all churches when it comes to growth. Since most congregations are smaller in size, the 20% number must be something that Read More …
Digital Reading = More Reading (#1241)
A recent USA Today story reports that a national poll finds that those who own e-readers or tablets read more books than they did before owning such devices. More specifically, adults aged 40 and over with such a device reported reading an average of 16 books a year while those without one read an average of only 11 books a year. Among adults aged 18-39, reading levels were 21 books per year for those owning a device compared to 13 for those without such a device. So What? Not only Read More …
Review of The Social Media Gospel (#1240)
Meet the Author Meredith Gould labels herself a "sociologist by training (Ph.D., NYU), educator by experience, consultant by preference." A marketing communications professional with decades of secular experience, Gould now focuses on counseling churches and mission-based organizations about how to thrive in the digital age. Gould is the founder and moderator of #ChSocM, which is a weekly Twitter-based chat about why and how to use social media to build church and Read More …
Declining Denominational Budgets (#1239)
For years, mainline denominations have been facing declining budgets at the denominational level. The United Church of Christ has not been exempt from the trend. While the 2014 budget of $25.3 million reflects a decline of nearly 9% ($2.2 million) from 2013, it still includes a shortfall of $2.3 million. More specifically the 2014 budget dollars are allocated as follows: Wider Church Ministries: $8.6 million, Office of the General Minister and President: $7.3 million, Local Read More …
Sermon: A Concert of Prayer (#1238)
Sermon Text: Matthew 6:5-14 Sermon Excerpt Prayer becomes a part of people’s lives in many ways. What is your story? How did you come to learn of prayer? When did you begin to pray? Maybe you remember childhood prayers – your own or those of your children or grandchildren. Simple prayers like . . . Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I shall die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen. OR . . . Perhaps as a youngster you were taught to Read More …
Myths About Raising Interfaith Kids (#1237)
Susan Katz Miller, author of Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family (2013), recently shared myths parents of differing religions who want their children to be raised in both traditions often hear presented as facts: the kids will be confused, the kids will be stressed by choosing between parents, the child will not feel comfortable in a synagogue or church, the two religions are contradictory, Jesus is a huge dilemma for interfaith kids, both Read More …