Sermon Text: Matthew 28:16-20 Sermon Excerpt Earlier this week, I read an article about the big shifts in the global religious landscape. This piece offered many significant facts based on the Pew Research Center's recent comprehensive demographic study of religion in over 230 countries and territories. Their research finds that 84% of all people in the world today practice a religion. Christianity is the world's largest religion, and it is a majority religion in 157 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 Are there any outdated activities your church continues to do that should be updated or replaced by something else because technology has created a new Read More …
Prayer Lists & Privacy (#1214)
For years, most congregations have created and distributed printed prayer lists. As technology has changed the way data is shared, many congregations have updated how they share these lists with interested parishioners. Jonathan Webster is a minister who coordinates chaplaincy and bioethics services for the Western Division of Carilion Clinic, and who serves as adjunct faculty at Jefferson College of Health Sciences and Radford University. He recently wrote about this topic for his Read More …
Income Statistics: A Reality Check (#1213)
I regularly hear people make assumptions about wealth and income. I encourage my readers to take a look at a powerful tool provided by the New York Times that allows you to input an annual household income figure then see how that amount ranks compared to those in one or more of 344 different zones or areas across the country. So What? I entered several figures and found both how that income level compares to others in the nation and in my local area. Here are a few Read More …
Counting Online Ministry (#1212)
As the year draws to a close, leaders in many congregations are actively involved in crafting annual reports. Depending on your congregation's denomination, network or association, certain statistics may be required. In almost all congregations, there are other things that get counted throughout the year and are then reported to the congregation annually. When people talk about the size and scope of ministry in a given congregation and seek to compare it to that of another, the Read More …
Letting Go of Things (#1211)
Marla Ottenstein, a professional organization who is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, recently wrote an article in the Naples Daily News about her year long experience of purging stuff from her life. More specifically, she committed to get rid of one thing a day for 365 consecutive days. Her original plan changed a bit to allow for more flexibility, but by the end of the year she exceeded the original goal and purged 444 items from her home. So Read More …
Sermon: How Much is Enough? (#1210)
Sermon Text - Luke 12:13-21 Sermon Excerpt I don't know much about barns, but I do know a bit about real estate. In all honesty, houses have always fascinated me. All you have to do is to start using real estate terms like location, layout, view, amenities, finishes, and cost per square foot and I will gladly join your conversation. So, it is my pleasure to be your guide as we (read the full manuscript) So What? While few people who seek to follow the way of Jesus are consumed by Read More …
Church Website Reality Check (#1209)
Recently Adam McLane, a Partner at The Youth Cartel and Principal at McLane Creative, wrote about his experience visiting more than 1,000 church websites. Being completely frank, McLane notes that many sites suck and are "truly crappy." Since your congregation's website is a key way potential newcomers gather data and determine whether or not to participate, it should accurately reflect your congregation's identity. Not only should the site be aesthetically pleasing, but Read More …
Growing Beyond 200 (#1208)
Most congregations are relatively small. While small is not bad, small and plateaued or small and declining are. In reality, churches of any size are either growing or declining. Healthy congregations should be growing congregations. Carey Nieuwhof, lead pastor of Connexus Community Church, recently wrote about many of the reasons why churches can grow to a certain size, but not beyond such. In a great deal of the literature on the topic of church size, the number 200 is Read More …