Adam McLane of Youth Specialties recently blogged about an all too common functional reality: the priesthood of the believers being in embraced in theory, but not in practice. He writes: Most people on church staff have no idea how to turn the reigns of their ministry over to the church. It seems counter-productive to lead without holding the reigns. The attitude is generally that church staff are the experts, seminary trained, denominationally ordained and battle-experienced to do the Read More …
Discipleship
Why People Choose Your Church (#0223)
According to the Faith Matters Survey (2006) of 3108 people, the top reasons people chose their current congregation (according to reasons they indicated were "very important) are Theology or religious beliefs (60%) Liturgy or style of worship (45%) Marriage, spouse, or partner (40%) Family [other than spouse] (40%) Clergy (39%) Location (32%) Childhood congregation (27%) Friends Political or social views So What? Liturgically speaking today is the first Sunday of Christmas, Read More …
Why the Incarnation Matters (Part 2 of 2)
Yesterday, I shared what others wrote in response to the question: “Why Does the Incarnation Matter?” Today, I offer my own answer (following the same guidelines of responding in 100 words or less): The Incarnation is the story that reminds us how God is with us (Emmanuel), a story which begins with a baby born in the house of bread (Bethlehem) who is the Bread of Life. The Incarnation is intentionally too rich and filled with possibility to be fully conveyed with human language. Modern Read More …
Why the Incarnation Matters (#0222)
In a culture that emphasizes consumerism and family togetherness as the marks of Christmas, we need to be reminded that Christmas is a celebration of the Incarnation. At Patheos, the mainline Protestant portal features the answers given by twelve pastors and scholars to the question: "Why Does the Incarnation Matter?" Each respondent was asked to write an answer in 100 words or less. Two of the responses were especially helpful in my quest to refine my own answer to the question: In Read More …
Rethinking Spiritual Formation (#0216)
Ben Witherington is the Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Considered by many to be a leading New Testament scholar, Witherington has written over thirty books and six commentaries. For more information, view his faculty profile page or read his blog. Recently he listed his concerns with contemporary views of spiritual formation: Monastic models of piety frankly don't Read More …
The Church of 2010 (#0213)
The Barna Group just released a list of six megathemes that characterize the American church in 2010. The list was created by "analyzing insights drawn from more than 5,000 non-proprietary interviews conducted over the past 11 months." The Christian Church is becoming less theologically literate. Christians are becoming more ingrown and less outreach-oriented. Growing numbers of people are less interested in spiritual principles and more desirous of learning pragmatic solutions for Read More …
The Gap Between Saying and Going: A Church Attendance Reality Check (#0208)
How many Americans attend church regularly (two or three times a month or more)? Extensive research suggests that the number who say they do so is between 35 and 45% of the adult population. Interestingly, new research by Phillip S. Brenner suggests that there is a significant gap between what Americans claim about their church attendance and their actual attendance. Philip S. Brenner is a University of Michigan research fellow at the Institute for Social Research. Read More …
World Aids Day (#0199)
The World AIDS Day theme for 2010 is Universal Access and Human Rights. Celebrated every year on December 1 since its inception in 1989, World AIDS Day plays a critical role in raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice, and improving education on a global scale. UNAIDS estimates that there are now 33.3 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2009 some 2.6 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 1.8 Read More …
Time Before Money (#0198)
Wendy Liu, Assistant Professor of Marketing at UCLA Anderson School of Management, and Jennifer Lynn Aaker, General Atlantic Professor of Marketing at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, co-authored "The Happiness of Giving: The Time-Ask Effect," which was published in the Journal of Consumer Research; October 2008, Vol. 35 Issue 3, pp.543-557. Those interested in the full text can read it here. The abstract summarizes the paper: This research Read More …
Before You Give (#0191)
Meet the Journalist Nicholas D. Kristof is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who currently writes op-ed columns that appear twice a week for the New York Times. Viewed by many as a leader in web journalism, Kristoff was the first blogger on the New York Times website. To learn more about or to connect with him consider reading his blog, following him on Twitter, liking him on Facebook, or viewing his channel on YouTube. Year End Giving Kristoff's most recent article, "When Read More …