I'm accustomed to visiting a lot of churches. In a 24 month period ending in November 2017, I was blessed to worship with more than 40 different communities of faith in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Over the next four months, however, I only managed to worship in one while serving as that congregation's visiting minister. Choosing Where To Worship The last three congregations I served were all affiliated with the United Church of Christ. With these positive Read More …
United Church of Christ
Adese Fellowship (Social Enterprise) (#1712)
Two months ago I wrote about experiencing "many first days" in a relatively short period of time. One of those first days was starting my role as Director of Social Enterprise at the Wesley Mission Center in Mansfield, Texas. Shortly after starting that position I learned that the United Church of Christ was accepting applications for a social enterprise fellowship targeting those interested in changing the world for good via social enterprise. Adese "Adese" comes from Read More …
Politically Partisan Pastors (#1689)
Over the last week I have seen one red, gray and blue graphic more than any other. It seeks to tell the complex story of pastoral political affiliation in the United States in a single image. The widely shared graphic comes from Kevin Quealy's June 12 New York Times article "Your Rabbi? Probably a Democrat. Your Baptist Pastor? Probably a Republican. Your Priest? Who Knows." Quealy's article reports on the most ambitious research of its kind, which was undertaken by Eitan D. Read More …
My 2017 Religious Resolutions . . . So Far (#1677)
Four months ago today I shared my resolutions for the new (church) year: During this church year I resolve to Join (and be actively involved in) a local community of faith Labor to make real on earth God’s realm of justice and peace Write about matters of faith that matter (primarily here on this blog) Teach (and continue learning) about Christianity and the world’s many great religions Discern an answer (or many answers!) to the question “What next?” Progress Report Since Read More …
Review: Days of Awe and Wonder (#1674)
Marcus Borg (1942-2015) was one of the wisest sages and clearest voices in progressive Christianity. His work has greatly influenced my understanding of the Way of Jesus. Since I have been publishing an annual list of the top ten books published each year, only a handful of authors have appeared on the list more than once. Marcus Borg is the only author to appear four times 2010 – Putting Away Childish Things, 2011 – Speaking Christian, 2012 – Evolution of the Word, and 2014 – Read More …
The Immigrants Creed (#1672)
I have heard about immigrants more often this year than any year since I worked in the field of refugee resettlement in the 1990s. As a student of history, I know that the country I have called home for my entire life - America - is a land of immigrants. Without immigration, I would not reside here today. As a person of faith, I am committed to welcoming, valuing, and loving all people. As a Christian love of neighbor is a fundamental faith practice. The United Church of Read More …
Our Search for a Church is Over! (#1669)
In March 2015, my wife, Susan, relocated to Denton, Texas from Naples, Florida. Six months later I finished an interim ministry position in Southwest Florida and joined her. 70 Weeks of Searching From late September 2015 through early February 2017 (17 months!) we embarked on a one of a kind journey I termed our "search for a church." Despite our often conflicting professional travel schedules, we managed to worship 61 times in 36 different Mainline Protestant congregations Read More …
The Disappearance of Young Pastors (#1667)
Last week I saw a link to Kate Shellnutt's article, "Only 1 in 7 Pastors is Under 40" appear on my social feeds a few times before I clicked through to read it and to learn about the latest research on the topic. The research was conducted by the Barna Group and Pepperdine University. It included 14,000 pastors. Findings include: Average Age of Protestant Senior Pastors 2017: 54 1992: 44 Young Senior Pastors 2017: Only 1 in 7 is under age 40 Getting Personal This topic is of Read More …
Dwindling Membership: The United Church of Christ from 1965-2015 (#1654)
While I consider myself a post-denominational follower of the Way of Jesus, I have spent the most of the last six years involved in the life of congregations affiliated with the United Church of Christ. This Mainline Protestant denomination has experienced a significant decline in membership over the last 50 years from over 2 million members in 1965 to under 1 million members in 2015. The graph at right shows the denomination's total membership by year in blue and the percent Read More …
Where’s Greg Worshipping? (#1649)
Over the last twelve and a half months, I have attended 45 worship services in 34 different congregations. Denominations The chart at right illustrates the number of churches I have visited by denominational affiliation (green), the number of services I have attended in congregations affiliated with each denomination (blue), and the percent of all worship services I have attended by denomination (yellow). 75% of all of my worship experiences have occurred in congregations affiliated with four Read More …