Cor Chmieleski, senior associate pastor at Hope Community Church (Minneapolis, MN), recently asked "how far is too far?" when it comes to the distance people will travel to participate in a community of faith. Chmieleski lives six miles from the church he serves, but passes "more than 50 churches" on his commute. He questions whether, in the current era, distance should matter and if there is a point at which a congregation should encourage those who travel over a certain distance to Read More …
church
Consumerism as Idol (#0923)
Tony Campolo is an ordained American Baptist pastor, professor emeritus at Eastern University, founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, author of 35 books, and popular speaker. Recently he wrote these challenging words: . . . the enemy of the Church is consumerism. We have made an idol out of the things that are being sold. We bow down and worship the commodities that are paraded before us on television. We are enslaved to a mindset Read More …
A Challenging Question (#0916)
Kathy Vestal recently asked a question that many avoid, yet one which should be addressed directly on a regular basis by those who seek to follow the way of Jesus: Are we following the Church’s teachings more closely than we follow Jesus’ teachings? So What? In an ideal world, perhaps one would simply assume the teachings of the church and those of Jesus would be identical or overlap so significantly that any attempts to differentiate the two would seem artificial. In Read More …
Review of Toxic Charity (#0911)
Meet the Author Robert D. Lupton is founder and president of Focused Community Strategies (FCS) Urban Ministries. In that role, he writes "Urban Perspectives," monthly reflections about life and faith in the city. Additionally, Lupton is the author of several books, including Renewing the City: Reflections on Community Development and Urban Renewal (2005), Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor (2007), Toxic Charity: How Read More …
Don’t Be Like Olive Garden (#0910)
Scott McClellan, writer/editor at Echohub and author of the forthcoming book Tell Me a Story (2013), recently challenged church leaders to live into their roles by doing more than simply providing the religious goods and services requested by the majority of their parishioners (consumers). His blog post was inspired by a story about Olive Garden that suggested the casual dining chain's leadership wants to but has been unable to improve their offerings because any Read More …
Implied Messages (#0878)
Jim Palmer is the author of three books, including Being Jesus in Nashville (2012). Recognizing the wisdom of Marshall McLuhan's idea that the medium is the message, he recently constructed a list of ten implied messages given by the institutional church. Church is a place, a location, a building. Christianity happens in services, classes, meetings, events, and programs. What people need most is good information about God. "God’s work” needs organizational or corporate Read More …
Smartphone Habits (#0861)
The Pew Research Center's Pew Internet & American Life Project has been tracking cell phone ownership and use for the past eight years. Earlier this month they released a new infographic on our smartphone habits: So What? More people today are buying smartphones than traditional cell phones. Smartphone ownership has been increasing for some time, and all indicators suggest that continued growth is likely. In addition to more people having smartphones, more Read More …
Overcoming Embarrassing Church Websites (#0854)
Terrell Sanders is offering a free ebook (email sign up required) designed to help churches overcome embarrassing websites. The ebook leverages his extensive church web design experiences through the work of the company he founded to suggest 10 practical pointers for church website design (or redesign): Use a simple, classic design Design for content Consistent style does not mean boring Start small, design to grow Design for guests A picture is worth 1,000 words Read More …
Facebook, Retirees, and Church (#0845)
Robert Saler, Research Fellow and administrator with the Center for Pastoral Excellence at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, recently blogged about how his experience as a pastor of a congregation comprised primarily of retirees challenged his assumptions about their use of social media. As a younger pastor, he entered the parish assuming that leveraging Facebook as a part of the congregation's ministry would require heavy lifting by young adults. In his Read More …
The Bottom Line & Nonprofits (#0840)
Leadership expert John Maxwell has written over fifty books, including three that have sold more than a million copies: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within You, and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Recently he blogged about the value of bottom line thinking in nonprofit organizations. For these organizations, including churches, the bottom line isn't financial. Instead, Maxwell suggests the bottom line is "the end, the Read More …