Warm Welcome Nearly every congregation thinks it provides worship services that are warm and welcoming. In reality, effectively welcoming and engaging newcomers is a growing edge for most congregations. While I recognized this challenge during my years in congregational ministry, I only began to grasp how widespread the issue was more recently. During the five years leading up to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I visited more than 50 congregations in the greater Dallas-Fort Read More …
Discipleship
Should Churches Offer in Person Worship? (#1883)
Perhaps no issue is as controversial in church life right now as the question of whether or not to offer in person worship. Yesterday, Pew Research published the findings of their survey of 10,211 U.S. adults conducted July 13 to 19, 2020. Notably 7 of 10 (70%) respondents who regularly attend worship believe the operating status of their congregation should be open. Readiness Varies by Group Opinions on whether churches should be open (like normal or with modifications) or closed Read More …
10 In Person Worship Experiences from 2020 (#1880)
It has been over four months since I last attended a worship service alongside hundreds of other people. And, I have no idea when I might next have a similar - recognizing in a COVID-19 world that any future in person experience will be unlike what I knew prior to COVID-19 - experience. Today, I'm sharing ten images of worship experiences I had earlier this year at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth and Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ in Dallas. (All images were originally Read More …
Not Comfortable Returning to In Person Worship (#1877)
According to a June 2020 survey conducted by the American Enterprise Institute nearly 2 out of 3 Americans (64%) are not comfortable returning to in person worship at this point in the COVID-19 pandemic. Group Differences Interestingly, this research found that white Evangelical Protestants are the most ready to return to in person worship. The percentage who responded that they were either somewhat comfortable or very comfortable attending a worship service in person by religious Read More …
Teaching Sunday School in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic (#1874)
I've taught dozens of adult Sunday school classes over the years, mostly during the twenty years I served in congregational ministry. Since joining First Presbyterian Church last May, I've taught a few adult Sunday School classes as a volunteer. All of these experiences were in a pre-COVID-19 world. And, all classes were taught in classrooms, libraries, sanctuaries, fellowship halls, or other physical spaces on the campus of a local congregation. Online Sunday School First Read More …
Choosing a “Good” Religion (#1871)
How does one choose a "good" religion? Over the years I've heard many detailed explanations for why one should choose a specific religion, but far fewer attempts to provide a framework for choosing a religion. In Tough Questions, Honest Answers: Faith and Religion for 21st Century Explorers (Fortress Press, 2020), Cameron Harder devotes a chapter to the question "How do we choose a "good" religion." After sharing about his research and noting his personal bias that "the community be Read More …
40 New Online Worship Experiences (#1864)
Online worship is what many are calling the new normal. Earlier today I asked my Facebook friends to share links to the online services they planned to participate in today. I was overwhelmed by the response! The following list is comprised of the first forty replies I received that included online English language services available on Facebook, YouTube, or the congregation's website. While I recognize that many congregations provide worship on multiple platforms, Read More …
Easter Miracles: Empty Tomb, Empty Churches (#1862)
After more than forty years of experience (including twenty years in parish ministry), I knew the Easter morning rhythm: sunrise service outside (usually with a modest crowd) followed by sanctuary services inside (usually with overflow crowds). These celebratory services of worship proclaimed the good news of emptiness (in the form of an empty tomb) and the joy of resurrection and new life. A New Emptiness This Easter most of the United States and much of the world is marked Read More …
A Moral Message for the United States (#1861)
Yesterday, 53 years to the day after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the historic "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence" address at Riverside Church (NYC) and 52 years to the day after he was assassinated, the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II delivered a moral message for the nation titled "We Can't Be Silent Any More: Knowing the Symptoms of a Nation Approaching Spiritual Death." Dr. King named racism, poverty, and militarism as three evils placing the Read More …
Dear HSU Trustees (#1854)
Dear Hardin-Simmons University Trustees, The more I learn, the more disappointed I am in your decision to close Logsdon Seminary. Rather than writing a detailed critique of the process utilized to reach the decision, the timing and content of the initial communications to share the decision with key stakeholders and the general public, or the ongoing communications and conversations that have transpired since the decision was made public, I'll focus on why Logsdon mattered to me. I am Read More …