This past Thursday Yale Divinity School hosted a one-of-a-kind event: The Future of Faith. This two-part event featured author and scholar Diana Butler Bass and New York Times Op-Ed columnist Ross Douthat. The first hour,"The Future of Faith: Two Views," was moderated by Bob Abernethy, host of Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. The second hour, "Future of Faith and Church Life," was moderated by Lillian Daniel, a writer and United Church of Christ pastor. Bass' Read More …
Discipleship
Churches: Be Who You Are (#1074)
David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church and founder of Church for Men, recently blogged about the strength that comes when churches know who they are and work within that framework. For Murrow the importance of such was illustrated when he visited a traditional church that made a poor attempt at offering an occasional contemporary worship service. His sound counsel for all local congregations follows: . . . be who you are. Do what you do well – and do it Read More …
Religious Freedom: The 75% (#1073)
Brian Grim, a leading expert on global religion and religious freedom who serves as Senior Researcher in Religion and World Affairs at the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, recently shared two troubling statistics: 37% of the world's countries have high or very high restrictions on religion, 75% of the world's population resides in these countries. So What? Repeat the 75% statistic to yourself a few times. This number cannot be viewed as Read More …
Church Giving in the Future (#1072)
The Spring 2013 edition of Leadership Journal focuses on money, emphasizing how congregations can fund ministries in ways that are consistent with their DNA. While many articles within this edition's pages offer considerable practical insight two that consider the longer term are of particular note. In "Why I Won't Give to Your Church," Robert Jewe explains why as a 23-year-old he may hesitate to fund congregational ministry and mission (p.37). His honest appeal Read More …
A Word of Hope (#1069)
Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, shared this powerful one minute (71 seconds) message of hope yesterday. So What? As we near the conclusion of what has been an unusual and, for many, challenging week Hanson's reminders are timely and timeless: Wherever you are . . . the promise is Christ is with you. Christ comes and says to you, "peace be with you." There are no God forsaken places and there are no God forgotten people. How did Read More …
No More Sermons (#1066)
David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church and founder of Church for Men, recently asked a question worth considering: "Are Sermons Becoming Obsolete?" In that blog post he suggests something most know but don't often consider -- while lectures were once a preferred and popular means of communication, recent technological shifts have rendered them uncommon outside of two environments: universities and churches. Now, universities are beginning to consider other Read More …
Don’t Believe Easter, Live It (#1060)
David Henson, a candidate for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church who received his Master of Arts from Graduate Theological Union (Berkeley, CA), recently wrote what has become for me the most thought provoking post I have read this year on the topic of Easter. He writes: Frankly, I don’t care if you believe Jesus was literally or metaphorically resurrected. And neither does Easter. I find it laughable we try to reduce the power of Easter to a proposition, as if the resurrection Read More …
Review of Faithful Generations (#1057)
Meet the Author John R. Mabry is a pastor, spiritual director, musician, professor, and author. Since 1994, he has served Grace North Church (affiliated with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, and are currently in-care with the United Church of Christ) in Berkeley, CA. Since 1999, he has been in private practice as a spiritual director, directing those of differing generations. Mabry teaches spiritual guidance, world religions, Read More …
Living the Overflow (#1053)
Preparing Nearly everyone knows that more people attend worship in churches on Christmas and Easter than at any other time. Many churches add services to welcome the larger than usual crowds. Regardless of congregational size, most leadership bodies opt to do whatever is possible to make all who come feel welcome (including ensuring each guest has a seat). At Naples United Church of Christ, we opted to take a rather traditional approach by adding: Services - expanding from two Read More …
The 32% (#1049)
As you celebrate Resurrection, consider that you are a part of the 32%. According to a 2011 study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, the percentage of the world's population that is Christian has not changed much in the last 100 years: 1910: 32%, and 2012: 35%. While the percentage remains stable, the number of Christians has increased dramatically during that period of time: 1910: 600 million, and 2010: 2.18 billion. So What? While the Read More …