For years, mainline denominations have been facing declining budgets at the denominational level. The United Church of Christ has not been exempt from the trend. While the 2014 budget of $25.3 million reflects a decline of nearly 9% ($2.2 million) from 2013, it still includes a shortfall of $2.3 million. More specifically the 2014 budget dollars are allocated as follows: Wider Church Ministries: $8.6 million, Office of the General Minister and President: $7.3 million, Local Read More …
Trends
Churches Rely on Part-Time Clergy (#1235)
While small Evangelical churches have long relied on unpaid (or very poorly paid) pastors, the same hasn't been true for small mainline congregations. A recent article explores a trend: an increasing number of small and declining mainline congregations are opting for part-time pastoral leadership, and paying these clergy limited salaries or providing them no compensation. So What? According to Hartford Seminary's 2013 Faith Communities Today survey, mainline churches current salary Read More …
Online Communion? (#1234)
As online worship grows in popularity, churches are increasingly tasked with struggling with significant theological issues relating to this new way of being present (virtual presence) in worship. One obvious area in need of consideration is communion. More specifically, can Holy Communion / Eucharist / Lord's Supper be a part of an online worship experience? While independent congregations are free to decide the matter for themselves, most congregations who are affiliated with a Read More …
Mainline = Vintage? (#1230)
For as long as I have been in ministry, people have been talking about whether or not the historic term mainline should continue to be used. While earlier conversations about reform tended to offer options of old-line or sidelined in addition to retaining the longstanding mainline moniker, recent conversations have pushed for more updated titles with relevance to the contemporary situation. Last month I participated in Cathy Lynn Grossman's poll, which invited people to vote for a new Read More …
Church Building Trends (#1229)
Carol Pipes, editor of Facts and Trends, wrote a piece in that magazine's Fall 2013 edition on church building trends. She explored several significant trends, including designing for context, multi-use worship centers, larger gathering spaces, fewer classrooms, and remodeling existing facilities (p.24-26). So What? Perhaps the most important shift of all is with regard to how size will be viewed in the future. Pipes writes, "Small is the new big in the future." Read More …
A Progressive Seminary First (#1228)
Recently I wrote about the changes made by the Association of Theological Schools that allows seminaries to offer accredited Master of Divinity degrees comprised of coursework that can be completed 100% online. Chicago Theological Seminary is now marketing that they are "the only progressive seminary to offer an accredited MDiv completely online." So What? For the future of seminary education to change as a result of going online, such an education must be available for would be students Read More …
Common Pastoral Struggles (#1227)
Philip Wagner knows that "being a pastor is hard work." With this in mind, he recently wrote about the six most common struggles pastors face: criticism, rejection, betrayal, loneliness, weariness, and frustrations and disappointments. So What? Wagner encourages pastors to stay the course, reminding his readers that "persistence is powerful." The reality of these struggles also suggests that pastors should establish (and keep!) healthy boundaries, and Read More …
Technology, Millennials, and Faith (#1218)
Over the last 10 years, the Barna Group has interviewed 27,140 Millennials in 206 studies. Earlier this month, they released a few infographics displaying what their research finds with regards to how technology is impacting the faith of Millennials (also known as Gen Y - generally considered as those born in the 1980s through the early 200os). One of the newly released infographics shows how Millennials are integrating technology and faith. Just how widespread the integration Read More …
A Divided Christianity (#1216)
Marcus Borg is professor emeritus in the philosophy department at Oregon State University, where he was the Hundere Chair in Religion until his retirement in 2007. He is also the only author to ever make my top ten books of the year list in consecutive years (2011 and 2012). Recently, he joined Patheos. In his introductory post explaining who he is and what he will be blogging about, Borg explains the reality of what American Christianity is today: My (and our) Read More …
Things We Don’t Do Anymore Due to Technology (#1215)
Technology is transforming our lives. The following infographic offers a list of 50 things we don't do anymore because of technological advancements. Courtesy of: Mozy So What? Take a few minutes to review the list. How many of these 50 activities have you stopped doing at some point in the last ten years of your life? Are there any outdated activities your church continues to do that should be updated or replaced by something else because technology has created a new Read More …