Who is Jesus? For the last few years, I have been studying the life and ministry of Jesus in an attempt to more fully answer the question: “Who is Jesus?” My approach has been centered in the text of the four biblical gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. My journey began when I realized that I was, at times, giving answers with great certitude even when such responses were somewhat speculative or lacked adequate gospel foundation. In addition to reading the biblical Read More …
Discipleship
Dust to Dust (#0067)
About six weeks into a new year is long enough for life to become routine. It is also time to pause and to really hear the words of Genesis 3:19b "you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (NRSV) or "you started out as dirt, you'll end up dirt" (The Message). So What? Whether or not you attended an Ash Wednesday service or received ashes, allow the words of Scripture to call you to recognition of the frailty of human life, especially your own. As you recognize your sinfulness, Read More …
The Future Church – Top 10 Changes (#0066)
Looking into the Future: The Top 10 Changes for the American Church Over the last few months I have posted about each of the Top 10 Changes I view as important for the American Church over the next several years. It is my hope that this list will challenge individual disciples, leadership teams, and congregations to think proactively, prayerfully, and strategically about not only what it means to be the church today, but also what changes are needed to be effective in the Read More …
The Future Church – Discipleship (#0065)
The future church is focused on discipleship, not membership. Shown below is a helpful set of comparisons between these two models developed by Michael Foss in Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church. MEMBERSHIP MODEL DISCIPLESHIP MODEL Pay dues Follow the way of Jesus Take care of members Equip disciples for ministry For members only For all God’s people Pastor does the praying Disciples are fervent prayers Bring a guest on occasion Inviting is a way of Read More …
The Future Church – Experiential (#0064)
Looking into the Future: The Top 10 Changes for the American Church 2. Experiential (Doing/Practicing the Faith) The future church knows Christian education is important as an empowering tool, not an end unto itself. Gone are the esoteric classes on matters of intellectual curiosity with little or no connection to living as a disciple of Christ. Christian education, faith formation, discipleship or whatever term you may prefer is a lifelong Read More …
Still Hungry? Sermon Video (#0061)
Still Hungry? 2nd Sunday of Christmas Colossians 1:17-19 / John 6:24-35, 41-42 Watch the sermon below or read the manuscript. Still Hungry? from First Presbyterian Church on Vimeo. Did you know that all of my recent sermons are available here at sowhatfaith on the sermon page? Read More …
The Future Church – Relational (#0057)
Looking into the Future: The Top 10 Changes for the American Church 3. Relational For many years the trend has been that larger churches are continuing to grow larger while smaller churches continue to decline in membership. In some megachurch settings it is very easy for someone to attend worship and remain anonymous and have little or no interaction with other people. Another trend that has now spanned a few decades is that of emphasizing programs. Many congregations place Read More …
The Future Church – Congregational/Local is Primary (#0050)
Looking into the Future: The Top 10 Changes for the American Church 4. Congregational/Local is Primary Gone are the days when loyalty to denomination is common. The mentality of yesteryear was that a loyal parishioner of First United Methodist in one town would join another United Methodist congregation when that person relocated for a new job or retirement. Today when a faithful participant of one local body of believers moves to a new town, that individual Read More …
The Future Church – Greater Variety of Worship Experiences (#0047)
Looking into the Future: The Top 10 Changes for the American Church 5. Greater Variety of Worship Experiences Gone are the days when church growth simply meant adding more worship services. For years, the model was simple. Churches held a single Sunday morning worship service. If attendance grew beyond the comfort level of the leaders, then a second service was added. The second service was a copy of the first. The same was true for a move from Read More …
The Future Church – Inclusive (#0046)
Looking into the Future: The Top 10 Changes for the American Church 6. Inclusive Church is often viewed by outsiders as exclusive. The idea that 11:00 a.m. on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week has been commonplace for decades. Bouncer (commercial shown above, permission granted to repost) is one of many effective television commercials created by the United Church of Christ that seek to counter the cultural expectation that few are truly welcome at Read More …