Christian Piatt is the author of multiple books, including Banned Questions About Jesus and Banned Questions About the Bible. Recently, he shared a list of things he feels are holding Christianity back: church buildings, denominations, worship, church boards, and fear. So What? Piatt labels these items as "the five biggest things I’ve seen that tend to keep us from doing our best work as the living, breathing body of Christ in the world today." While Read More …
Discipleship
Online Learning in Congregations (#1185)
Over the last decade online learning has grown from a niche market to something that touches nearly everyone. Increasing numbers of students take online courses as part of their educational programs in K-12 and higher education, and employers continue to shift more and more of their training to online formats. Given these shifts, it is logical to assume that the future of education in the context of congregations will include online learning. The Rt. Rev. Kirk Smith, bishop of Read More …
Sermon: Life-Giving Wind (#1182)
Sermon Text Acts 2:1-22 Sermon Excerpt Journey with me into the story. . . Step back and ask yourself, “If I had all the power in the world and wanted to enable a huge crowd of people from different parts of the world to speak to one another, wouldn't I just give them a common language?” And, if I foreknew that the occasion was to go down in history as the birth of a religion, wouldn't I choose a brand new language with a catchy name that would make the jobs of marketing and Read More …
Learning from Church Spies (#1180)
Terry Mattingly writes the nationally syndicated “On Religion” column for the Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C., and is director of the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. His latest article, "Lessons Learned from Church Spies," features the story of one spy's experience. The church spy, Chuck Lawless (evangelism professor and the graduate dean at Southeastern Baptist Theological Read More …
Sermon: A Welcome Back Party (#1175)
This morning marks my second consecutive Sunday preaching at United Church of Marco Island, and is my first in the role of Interim Senior Minister. The text for today's message is Luke 15:1-32. Sermon Excerpt Every church has an amazing history. Many, perhaps nearly all of us, became a part of this community of faith after participating in multiple other churches. The first church I served in a ministerial capacity holds a special place in my heart. I accepted the call to Read More …
Precious Moments Christianity (#1171)
Roger Olson, professor of theology at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, recently blogged about something he calls Precious Moments Christianity (a term he borrows from Charles Colson). The term is intended to lead readers to think about Precious Moments figurines or paraphernalia, and to view Christianity through that lens. Olson identifies ten characteristics of Precious Moments Christianity: No or few expectations of members; Promotion of what Read More …
Christians Should be Saying (#1170)
Christian Piatt is the author of multiple books, including Banned Questions About Jesus and Banned Questions About the Bible. Recently, he shared a list of ten things he feels Christians should say more often. His list includes: How can I help? I don't know. I could be wrong. So What? Our vocabulary is of great importance. As people who follow the way of Jesus, we should be agents of love who seek to help others and all of creation while admitting the Read More …
For not Against (#1169)
Rachel Marie Stone is a writer who writes for places like Christianity Today, Sojourners, and The Christian Century. Recently she wrote a blog post calling her readers to focus on that which they are for rather than defining themselves by that which they are against. So What? When it comes to Christianity, so many tend to define themselves or "their type of Christianity" based on what they are against. Unfortunately, I have met far too many people who were Read More …
Sermon: Authentic Discipleship (#1168)
Today I have the privilege of preaching at United Church of Marco Island. My sermon texts are Psalm 1 and Luke 14:25-33. Sermon Excerpt Which of you would plan to build a new custom home without creating a detailed budget, and ensuring you have the necessary funds to complete construction? If you do not count the cost and only partially build the home, then it will be worthless and you will be the laughing-stock of your community. Or can you imagine the leader of a powerful nation Read More …
A Compelling Volunteer Culture (#1166)
Many churches spend a lot of time talking about the need to recruit more volunteers. Jeff Brodie, Executive Director at Connexus Community Church and a strategic partner of North Point Ministries, recently shared characteristics of congregations "that have a compelling volunteer culture." His list includes they are motivated by what they want FOR people, not from people; they don’t just tell people that they are important, but they give them Read More …