When I first saw the image at right I immediately realized I have spent my entire life living in two of three states atop the list of states with the most megachurches in America. While I have visited several such churches, my professional experience has been in smaller congregations (though dominantly in those significantly larger than most American congregations). Mega-Interesting The term megachurch was first used in print in 1983 in the Miami Herald, Protestant Read More …
Trends
World Religions from 2010 to 2050 (#1539)
Last week the Pew Research Center released projections for how the makeup of the world's largest religions are likely to shift between now and 2050. These projections rely on complicated assumptions and modeling designed over the last six years by team of demographers from the Pew Research Center (Washington, D.C.), and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Laxenburg, Austria). Globally between 2010 and 2050: world population will increase by 35%, number of Read More …
Millions More Leaving Organized Religion (#1534)
The rise of the nones (those people claiming no religious affiliation) has been a popular topic of conversation since well before I started this blog in 2009. As one who has long been involved in leadership positions within so-called organized religion, I find this ongoing shift has significant implications for Christian communities of faith. Earlier this month the Public Religion Research Institute shared the latest statistic: 22% of American adults are now nones. There are, Read More …
Safe Church: Screening Volunteers (#1530)
The first time I helped create a Safe Church Policy (called a Child Protection Policy at that time) I was still in seminary. In the years since, I have been involved in the drafting, implementing, evaluating, and updating of such policies in many congregations. While I am thankful that nearly every church now has such a policy, I am troubled that the number is less than 100%. I am also concerned by stories of churches that have such policies but don't follow them or regularly make Read More …
From Mainline to Sideline to Oldline (#1526)
I grew up in a Mainline Protestant congregation. The congregation I was raised in belonged to one of the seven sisters of Mainline American Protestantism: the Congregational Church (now a part of the United Church of Christ), the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Church, the American Baptist Convention, and the Disciples of Christ. While my childhood congregation has remained a part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Read More …
Sermon: An Opportune Time (#1523)
Sermon Text: Ecclesiastes 3:1-6 Sermon Excerpt: A month before I graduated from seminary I started my first pastoral position. I was one of the associate pastors in the oldest continually meeting Protestant congregation in Dallas, Texas. My official job title was so long even I had a hard time remembering it. It included elements of congregational redevelopment with an emphasis on reaching new people – especially those who were younger. For some reason people assumed Read More …
Striking Religious Findings from 2014 (#1509)
Pew Research Center continues to be a leader in providing research and commentary on matters of faith that matter. During 2014 they published 150+ reports and 600+ blog posts considering what is happening in the USA and the world. At the close of the year they reviewed this massive body of work and created a list of 14 facts they "found particularly striking, as they illustrate some major shifts in our politics, society, habits or families." Read More …
Church Construction at All Time Low (#1507)
This year will go down as having the lowest level of construction of religious buildings in the United States since private records started in 1967. More specifically, Ben Leubsdorf notes the following statistics in his recent piece in the Wall Street Journal: space: 10.3 million square feet of religious construction is projected this year, down 6% from 2013 and 80% since construction peaked in 2002 ( Dodge Data & Analytics) dollars: spending on construction totaled $3.15 billion Read More …
Top Posts of 2014 (#1506)
According to the number of page visits during this calendar year, the most popular posts I wrote in 2014 are Sensory Maundy Thursday Which Disciple Are You? Pastoral Prayer: Love How Worship is Evolving Sermon: More Than Showing Up So What? As the year winds down I always enjoy reading a variety of top ten lists and other lists sharing top moments, experiences, and posts of the year. Share a link to the most interesting Top 10 or top list of 2014 you have read so far. Which of Read More …
Religious Symbols on National Flags (#1502)
According to a new Pew Research analysis, a third of the world's countries have national flags that contain religious symbols. The 64 flags with religious imagery can be categorized by religion as follows: Christianity - 31 Islam - 21 Other Religions - 6 Hinduism/Buddhism - 3 Buddhism - 2 Judaism - 1. So What? According to data gathered a few years ago by Pew Research, more than half of the global population are adherents to one of the world's two largest religions: Read More …