Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, shared this powerful one minute (71 seconds) message of hope yesterday. So What? As we near the conclusion of what has been an unusual and, for many, challenging week Hanson's reminders are timely and timeless: Wherever you are . . . the promise is Christ is with you. Christ comes and says to you, "peace be with you." There are no God forsaken places and there are no God forgotten people. How did Read More …
Friday Foursome (#1068)
In an effort to share what I am reading with you, I have consistently posted at least one book review a week for the last few years. At times, however, I find my pile of read but not yet reviewed books grows quite large. As I did earlier this month, I am opting to forgo my normal reviews in order to provide a list of four books I have read recently (listed by rating, on a scale of 5.0). (5) The Christian Century and The Rise of the Protestant Mainline (2013) by Read More …
Your Church’s Facebook Presence (#1067)
Monk Development's "2013 State of the Church Online Report" contains data gathered from a diverse group of "over 50 churches spread across the United States" that seek to serve their congregation's through the web (p.2). As I reviewed the report, I found myself returning again and again to a statistic that provides a benchmark for congregations seeking to develop a presence on Facebook. According to Monk's research, "the average for likes vs. total weekly attendance (TWA) is Read More …
No More Sermons (#1066)
David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church and founder of Church for Men, recently asked a question worth considering: "Are Sermons Becoming Obsolete?" In that blog post he suggests something most know but don't often consider -- while lectures were once a preferred and popular means of communication, recent technological shifts have rendered them uncommon outside of two environments: universities and churches. Now, universities are beginning to consider other Read More …
E-Books on the Rise (#1065)
Writing for Mashable, Lauren Indvik reports "According to the Association of American Publishers's StatShot study released Thursday, e-books made up nearly a quarter (22.55%, to be precise) of U.S. trade publishers' book sales last year." So What? Just a few years ago e-books were a curious new option with limited adoption. In 2009, e-books accounted to only 3% of U.S. trade publishers' book sales. Put differently, e-books experienced a 650%+ increase in adoption between Read More …
Review of Shadow & Light (#1064)
Meet the Editors Darryl Tippens, Jeanne Murray Walker, and Stephen Weathers each have considerable experience as professors of English. Currently, Tippens is Provost and Professor of English at Pepperdine University, Walker is Professor of English at the University of Delaware, and Weathers is Associate Professor of English at Abilene Christian University. Individually their contributions to their respective specialties within the discipline are significant; together they have Read More …
Pastoral Selling (#1063)
Clergy obviously need more than spirituality, academic preparation, and field education to become great bishops, deans, rectors, and vicars. Retired Navy chaplain George Clifford recently included the above quote in a blog post emphasizing the importance of the skill of selling within the framework of leadership. He writes: Spend a day with the bishop, dean, rector, or vicar of one our relatively few growing, thriving dioceses or congregations and you will observe a Read More …
Church Marketing Shifts (#1062)
Lindsay Christian's recent Capital Times article, "Marketing God: Churches Turn to the Web, Social Media to Attract Members," explores how many congregations in her area have shifted their marketing time and monies from print efforts to online endeavors. Christian's piece effectively explores how a significant trend has impacted congregations in her community. To highlight the significantly diminished return on investment and increasing irrelevancy of print advertising (especially Read More …
Mistreating Atheists? (#1061)
Intriguing Article Earlier this week my wife sent me a link to Tania Lombrozo's recent NPR article: "Atheist Shoemaker Loses Faith in U.S. Postal System." The article explores a study by the maker of Atheist Shoes considering what appears to be unfair treatment of their shipments by the USPS. Troublesome Experiences Atheist Shoes is a "cadre of shoemakers & artists in Berlin, Germany who hand-make ridiculously comfortable, Bauhaus-inspired shoes for people who don't Read More …
Don’t Believe Easter, Live It (#1060)
David Henson, a candidate for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church who received his Master of Arts from Graduate Theological Union (Berkeley, CA), recently wrote what has become for me the most thought provoking post I have read this year on the topic of Easter. He writes: Frankly, I don’t care if you believe Jesus was literally or metaphorically resurrected. And neither does Easter. I find it laughable we try to reduce the power of Easter to a proposition, as if the resurrection Read More …