Since relocating to the Dallas - Fort Worth metropolitan area in September 2015, I've worshipped in 52 different congregations. Denomination The vast majority (87%) of my visits have been to congregations in Mainline denominations. A complete list of denominational affiliations follows: So What? When I share the number of churches I've visited in recent years the first question I'm usually asked is "why?" My answer is always the same: "I searched for a church on relocating Read More …
United Church of Christ
Majority of UCC Congregations Worship 50 or Fewer (#1778)
The percentage of all congregations in the United Church of Christ with average worship attendance of 50 people or less has been increasing since 2000. During that time the percentage nearly doubled from a little more than 1 in 4 congregations (27.8%) to 1 in 2 (50.9%). During the same time period, the largest congregations in the United Church of Christ (average worship attendance of 400+) declined from 1 in 50 (1.9%) to 1 in 200 (0.6%). So What? The dual trends within the Read More …
Be the Book (#1774)
In her sermon this morning at Cathedral of Hope UCC, Bishop Yvette Flunder called on those present to follow in the Way of Jesus - the very Jesus who read the from the Book of Isaiah, sat down, and became the Book (Luke 4:14-21). Jesus' Reading Isaiah 61 (NRSV) begins with these words: The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release Read More …
Serving 9 Beautifully Diverse Congregations (#1771)
Since the year 2000, I've served 9 different Mainline Protestant congregations. Congregational Diversity I'm thankful for the beautiful diversity of these congregations. Denominational Affiliation United Church of Christ - 3 Presbyterian (PCUSA) - 3 Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) - 2 Lutheran (ELCA) - 1 Location North Texas - 5 Southwest Florida - 4 Size - Average Weekly Worship Attendance Family (1-49) - 1 Pastoral (50-149) - 3 Program (150-399) Read More …
6 Decades of Decline in the United Church of Christ (#1761)
The United Church of Christ (UCC) was formed in 1957 as the result of the union of two Protestant denominations: the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches. In 1957 the UCC included 8,283 congregations with 2,193,593 members. Every decade since the formation has featured a decline in both total congregations and total members (statistical data sourced from the Fall 2018 edition of United Church of Christ: A Statistical Profile) Declining Read More …
More and More Clergywomen (#1760)
"State of Clergywomen in the US: A Statistical Update," published earlier this month, finds that clergywomen continue have grown from 2.3% of all clergy in the United States in 1960 to 20.7% in 2016. Such growth, however, has not been equal across all traditions. Top Traditions The denominations with the greatest percentage of clergywomen are Unitarian Universalist - 57% United Church of Christ - 50% Disciples of Christ - 40% Episcopal - 37% Evangelical Lutheran Read More …
The Bible Doesn’t Say That (#1756)
Yesterday, I worshipped at Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas. I heard the Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ preach "Everything Happens for a Reason" as part of the Cathedral's current sermon series: The Bible Doesn't Say That. The two earlier messages in this series are You've Got to Forgive and Forget Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin And, the remaining message will be "God Won't Give You More Than You Read More …
Prioritizing Core Values (#1743)
Core values are an essential part of organizational DNA. They tell the story of what is important within a given church, non-profit organization, or for profit business. And, core values should guide all that an organization is and does. Since core values are so significant they should be named often, and embodied always. Two faith-based organizations that I know well serve as good examples. Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ We believe we are here to serve, not to be Read More …
Two New UCC Worship Experiences (#1729)
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 …
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 …