A few hours after I finished reading Greg Garrett's new book, My Church is NOT Dying: Episcopalians in the 21st Century, I encountered a recent LifeWay Research survey that included a question about how the American church is faring. More specifically, participants were asked, "Which of the following trends do you believe describes church attendance today . . . declining, stable, dying, thriving, growing, or none of these?" Declining - 55% Stable - 51% Dying - Read More …
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Sermon: An Opportune Time (#1523)
Sermon Text: Ecclesiastes 3:1-6 Sermon Excerpt: A month before I graduated from seminary I started my first pastoral position. I was one of the associate pastors in the oldest continually meeting Protestant congregation in Dallas, Texas. My official job title was so long even I had a hard time remembering it. It included elements of congregational redevelopment with an emphasis on reaching new people – especially those who were younger. For some reason people assumed Read More …
Celebrating 1,500 Posts (#1499)
This is my 1,500th blog post here at So What Faith, which offers an appropriate reason to to reflect. As I do so, I want to thank my readers. While you come from all over the world, the vast majority reside in the United States. Most Visits Originate Florida California Texas New York Illinois After nearly 5 1/2 years of writing, I recognize just how unpredictable popularity can be. In fact only a few of the posts I would have guessed would be among my Read More …
Large Church Salaries (#1472)
Perhaps you had to read the title of this post more than once. Typically, salaries paid to church workers (both lay and ordained staff) are not large. In this post, I consider the latest information on how large churches compensate those they employ based on the Leadership Network / Vanderbloemen 2014 Large Church Salary Report, which was written by Warren Bird. Large churches continue to be far more likely to be growing than smaller churches. This data finds that roughly 3 in Read More …
Churches & Social Media (#1455)
Meredith Gould is the author of The Social Media Gospel: Sharing the Good News in New Ways, which I named as one of my top books of 2013. On a more personal level, I have benefited from her wisdom as a communications consultant and as the founder and frequent host of #chsocm. As the World Cup has progressed, I have been involved in more conversations about social media than usual. Interestingly, this has even carried over into church life and conversation. During this Read More …
Only in Church (#1409)
Jon Acuff recently shared a short list of things that only happen in church: ask a stranger to scoot to the middle, hug people you don't really know, and shout phrases of encouragement when someone says something good. So What? As I read his post and skimmed some of the many comments on it, I realized the focus was primarily on worship. While I am not part of a community of faith that practices shouting in worship (words of encouragement or otherwise!), I certainly have seen Read More …
Bring Your Gun to Church (#1402)
Georgia has a new law -- the Safe Carry Protection Act of 2014 -- that includes provisions allowing "residents who have concealed carry permits to take guns into some bars, churches, school zones, government buildings and certain parts of airports." So What? Intentionally naming churches in a law expanding the places people can carry concealed weapons is troubling on many levels. The law does, however, still allow churches and other houses of worship to opt out by banning them. Read More …
More Church at Easter or Christmas? (#1394)
Many local churches see dramatic increases in worship attendance at Christmas and Easter. Perhaps then it isn't surprising to learn that people Google the word church more during Christmas week and Easter week than on any other weeks of the year. More specifically, over the last ten years more Americans have searched the word church during Easter week than at any other time of year (Christmas, of course, came in second). So What? While many churches do an excellent job of targeted Read More …
Implied Institutional Messages (#1386)
Jim Palmer, ordained minister turned activist in the non-religious spirituality movement, offers several implied messages of the institutional church based on Marshall McLuhan's frequently quoted premise that the medium is the message. The first three are especially troubling as we begin Holy Week: church is a place, a location, a building; Christianity happens in services, classes, meetings, events, and programs; and what people need most is good information about God. So Read More …
Young Adults = Non-Institutionally Oriented (#1368)
The latest Pew Research Center report indicates that Millennials (those now ranging in age from 18 to 33), are unmoored from institutions. This reality is seen most clearly in statistics relating to political preference (50% are independents), religious connection (29% are unaffiliated), and marriage (26% are married). Both percentages have risen significantly in recent years. So What? The trend toward less and less institutional affiliation by America's youngest adults is either Read More …