So What Faith

Greg Smith

Are You Part of an Endangered Species? (#2109)

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There are more articles exploring the shift in the American religious landscape over the last 50+ years than I care to attempt to count. For those seeking to lead well and hoping to shape what's yet to come, understanding these changes is essential. Added to Endangered Species List Earlier this month, sociologist Ryan Burge tweeted, "White liberal Christians are an endangered species." In support of that claim he provided the graphic below and the following data points: So Read More …

An Unusual Way to Begin to Lent (#2108)

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I have spent my entire life in Mainline Protestant denominations that observe Lent. While every congregation I've been a part of brings its own unique context to this observance, certain elements have never changed - including the date of Ash Wednesday. Both/And This morning I provided pulpit supply for West Fork Presbyertian Church (PCUSA) in Grand Prairie, Texas. And, for the first time in my life, I led a service on the first Sunday in Lent that incorporated elements of Ash Read More …

Super Bowl & Souper Bowl Sunday (#2107)

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I am writing and will publish this post Super Bowl Eve (which also happens to be Souper Bowl Eve). Interestingly after writing at least 8 blog posts related to this event in the first five years of So What Faith, I've not made mention of it for a decade. Super Bowl LVIII Tomorrow evening, more people will tune in to watch American football than on any other day of the year as the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs meet in Super Bowl LVIII. And, as in years gone by, there will Read More …

Great New Books – February 2024 (#2106)

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The best books I've read recently that were published in either 2023 or 2024 are Gone for Good and Picking Up the Pieces There are more than enough books about what is wrong with American church. Countless volumes describe what once was through near endless statistical considerations of the decline or through in-depth exploration of one of the many elements of the decline or of factors that have contributed to decline. A much smaller body of literature begins by stating the Read More …

8 Meaningful Quotes (#2105)

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For nearly a decade I've engaged in the spiritual practice of tweeting meaningful messages from the new books I'm reading (for example, Tweets Worth Thinking About) in the form of short quotations. I invite you to read through the seven tweets below, which I shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) over the last two months. (All but one of these quotes comes from a book published in 2023 or 2024. The Seth Godin quote was from a blog post he published in 2024.) So Read More …

So Many Churches! Getting Started in 2024 (#2104)

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We are now three weeks in to 2024 with today serving as the third Sunday of the year. And, I've been blessed to have encounters with several other congregations including two that served at White Rock Center of Hope yesterday Additionally, I hosted and facilitated a small group (aka life group) in my home as part of the ministry of Cathedral of Hope (UCC) in Dallas, TX. How Many Churches? Just counting the churches mentioned above, I've had meaningful experiences with 6 Read More …

My Visit to Mayflower Congregational UCC (#2103)

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I've been sharing some of my experiences as a first-time guest in worship in a variety of congregations since 2010, including Last week, I was the guest minister at Central Lutheran Church in Dallas. Today, my wife and I visited Mayflower Congregation United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City for the first time. While we had never attended before, we felt we knew this congregation a bit through their former Senior Minister (1985 - 2020), The Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers. He has been Read More …

Faith: My Star Word for 2024 (#2102)

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The practice of choosing a star word was something I first heard of perhaps a decade ago and first participated in last year. For 2023, my star word was clarity. And, it turned out that 2023 became a year of new clarity. This year, I paused at the star filled table to consider some of the many words that might be waiting for me before selecting one. My star word to guide me in 2024 is faith. Faith Faith has always been central to my identity. A few thoughts immediately came to Read More …

Preaching God is Still Speaking (#2101)

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This morning I served as guest pastor at Central Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Dallas, Texas. It was a joy to be with them for a second time (last year I joined them for worship as a guest preacher). Central Lutheran Church is among the founding member churches of White Rock Center of Hope. It was also WRCH's founder, Donagene Christian's church. I'm thankful for their continued strong support of WRCH and for Rev. Veronika Czutor's invitation to step in this morning while she is Read More …