After encountering several stories last week of walk up and drive through ashes for Ash Wednesday, it seems appropriate to start this week with the story of a new kind of church: the drive-in church. Over the past few days several people sent me a link to Amy Kiley's piece on Daytona Beach Drive In Christian Church (Daytona Beach, FL), which holds worship services in an old drive-in theater. From the comfort of their vehicles parishioners listen to worship on their radios. Read More …
Trends
Congregational Age (#1349)
While I was well aware the United Church of Christ includes many historic congregations that were founded long before the denomination itself was created in 1957, I was surprised to learn that nearly 7 out of every 10 current congregations were organized before 1900 (69.1%). Even more alarming is the fact that only around 1 in 10 were organized during the last 32 years (9.6%). So What? Congregational age matters. While a denomination can benefit from congregations with Read More …
Postmodern Possibilities: Church 3.0 (#1347)
John C. Dorhauer, Conference Minister for the Southwest Conference of The United Church of Christ, is currently writing a book on innovation and something he terms "Church 3.0." Reflecting on his recent research efforts that included visits to multiple communities of faith, he suggests that the model of church we have known in recent years is dying and is being replaced by something that is radically different. The new form of church, Church 3.0., is an "entirely new way of Read More …
Goodbye Student Loan Debt (#1340)
For several years my wife and I belonged to a group 10.6 million strong: Americans in their 30s with student loan debt. Earlier this month, we waved goodbye to our membership when we paid off our final student loan. While we both earned undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees, we never amassed overwhelming debt because we were intentional about borrowing the least amount possible to continue on toward our ultimate educational goals. So What? As someone who works in higher Read More …
The Age of the Selfie (#1339)
Galen Guengerich, senior minister of All Souls Unitarian Church (New York City, NY) and of author of God Revised (one of my top books of 2013), recently wrote about the "selfie culture" on the occasion of the Oxford Dictionary adding this word to their 2013 edition. Selfies are pictures people take of themselves then share via social media. They are doing far more than merely cluttering social media feeds. Guengerich writes: This moment in dictionary history may Read More …
Academic Teaching (in Church) (#1338)
Stephen Mattson recently proposed a list of seven things churches have largely stopped doing that he believes they should still be doing: discipline, testimonials, corporate prayer, challenge, academically teach, sacrifice, and practical ministry. Academically Teach While each item on his list is worth considering, I found myself most intrigued by #4: academically teach. Mattson writes: Churches used to be innovative leaders in education, but now all “higher level” Read More …
Which Disciple Are You? (#1337)
A few days ago I finally gave in and submitted my answers to a rather unusual (ok, I will admit it: somewhat bizarre) quiz making the rounds on social media. If you have a sense of humor and enough patience to answer ten questions, then you can learn which one of Jesus' disciples you are most like. It turns out that, according to my responses to this quiz, my New Testament alter ego is Saint Jude. So What? While being asked to choose a color and choose a month as a part of the Read More …
So Many Pastoral Stunts (#1333)
David Gibson's recent Religion News Service article listed 12 stunts performed by pastors that received significant publicity, including bishops pretending to be homeless, a week of congregational copulation (followed up with a bed in), living the bible as literally as possible (including Rachel Held Evans' A Year of Biblical Womanhood), eating foods that can be purchased on a "food stamp" budget, and losing weight for the Lord. So What? Each of these stunts was designed Read More …
Why Facebook? (#1332)
According to a recent Pew Research survey, men and women share many "major reasons" for using Facebook. The top reason women use Facebook is to see photos/videos whereas the top reason men use Facebook is that it allows them to share with many people at once. So What? Whether you are a relative newcomer to Facebook or have been a part of this social community for many years, it is likely your own major reasons for using it have evolved over time. While some of the change may have Read More …
Reality Check: Religious Non-Affiliation (#1331)
In recent months I have had more conversations than ever before about the continued rise of the nones (the increase in the percentage of American adults without formal religious affiliation). While there is plenty of data out there showing that the percentage of nones is increasing (for example:"America the Religiously Diverse" and "Rise of the Nones") it doesn't answer the number one assumption I hear: as people age they become more religious. This assumption sounds logical and Read More …