A significant part of the life of a church is gathering together for worship. While many congregations do so in buildings they own, an increasing number do so in rented space. Renting is an attractive option for new congregations, for those in areas with expensive real estate, for those with limited needs for space during the week, for those in the midst of rapid growth, and for those who simply prefer to be without the burdens of property ownership. In many communities, Read More …
Do Mainline Protestants Really Have Bigger Brains? (#0384)
A recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Templeton Foundation suggests that mainline Protestants have larger brains than those with other religious affiliations. Yonat Shimron's article summarizes the findings: It found an association between participants' professed religious affiliation and the physical structure of their brain. Specifically, those identified as Protestant who did not have a religious conversion or born-again experience — more Read More …
What is an Undergraduate Degree Worth? (#0383)
With the rising costs in higher education, prospective students are increasingly weighing the likely return on investment before enrolling. Beckie Supiano's recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, suggests that rather than asking whether or not an undergraduate degree is a worthwhile investment, individual students should instead look at specific degree plans. She cites Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce's extensive report Read More …
My Reviews of 100 Recently Published Books (#0382)
For the last two years, I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing a book a week. I encourage you to browse the alphabetical listing below as you ponder your summer reading plans. For your convenience, each title is linked to my review. Author Title Year Aboujaoude, Elias Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality 2011 Allison, Jay and Gediman, Dan, eds. This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable American Men and Read More …
Review of Virtually You (#0381)
Meet the Author Elias Aboujaoude is a psychiatrist who serves as Director of the Impulse Control Disorders Clinic and the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. His research interests have focused on obsessive compulsive disorder and behavior addictions, including problematic Internet use. Aboujaoude has written two books: Compulsive Acts: A Psychiatrist's Tales of Ritual and Obsession Read More …
A New Trend: Long-Lasting Marriages (#0380)
The first few sentences of Carol Morello's recent Washington Post article explain a significant trend: Americans may be postponing marriage, and fewer are wedding at all. But what about the people who do get married? They’re staying together longer than they have in years. Three in four couples who married after 1990 celebrated a 10-year anniversary, according to census statistics reported Wednesday. That was a rise of three percentage points compared with couples who married in the early Read More …
What Makes A Vital Congregation? (#0379)
The Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell has served as senior pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, TX since 1982. During that time the church has grown from around twenty-five active members to over 18,000. Recently, the Rev. Caldwell was asked, by the United Methodist News Service, "What makes Windsor Village a vital congregation?" He answered: When I came in 1982, I shared with the administrative council then that we were going to do three things, and we’re still Read More …
Youth Minister/Director as Advocate (#0378)
Lars Rood is the Lead Youth Minister at the 4700 member Highland Park Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) and the author of the forthcoming book Youth Ministry on a Shoestring: How to do More with Less (2011). Recently, he blogged about youth ministry job descriptions. In contrast to the common expectations of job descriptions that emphasize either a youth director/minister's relational skills or programming and administrative skills, Rood proposes a third way: . . . I want to throw out Read More …
Baptist Dance Party Goes Viral (#0377)
Second Baptist Church in Houston, TX has over 53,000 members and some 22,000 people attend worship at one of their five locations on a typical weekend. This year more than 2,000 people affiliated with the church gathered at Discovery Glenn in the heart of Houston to participate in a flash mob with a purpose. The video of this event has gone viral with over 750,000 views to date. Writing for Church Marketing Sucks, Kevin D. Hendricks summarizes the effort: The video featured more Read More …
The Limits of Pragmatism (#0376)
Edith Guffey has spent her adult life in administrative roles with large organizations. After working for several years in student records and admissions at the University of Kansas, she found her home in the national setting of the United Church of Christ in 1991. Guffey initially served as the denomination's secretary, which included acting as the denomination's "chief statistician." In 1999 she was elected Associate General Minister, tasked as Read More …