Unfortunately, there is a current reality that most church members are unaware of and most church leaders are in denial of: Virtually nobody really wants to come to church. And the truth is, it’s easy to check this claim. Go downtown, to the major workplaces, and/or door to door, simply inviting people to “come […]
Many churches I work with suffer from low self-esteem and a sense of hopelessness. There are many reasons for this malaise, a common one being that the congregation has come to believe their circumstances are insurmountable (they’re not, but that’s a post for another time).
I’m working on a recommendation report from a consultation with a church […]
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This is one of the best guest-friendly introductions to communion I’ve seen. Notice that Pastor Ted tells the congregation virtually every detail of how to receive communion.
It’s also a good example of a lightened version of the Lutheran Liturgy for the Eucharist.
Exceptional Practices of Note:
Virtually nothing is left to chance […]
The latest blog post by Bill Easum sparked a number of lively conversations on both our LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. I started to reply there, but as my response grew, it seemed more appropriate to bring it here to the public forum.
The responses mostly included assertions that the church has become too focused or […]
Our culture keeps on marching… and unfortunately, the North American church seems to fall further and further behind. I regularly begin church training exercises by showing the “Shift Happens” YouTube video that was initially uploaded back in 2008. The response to the video by the average layperson is typically shock … especially for those […]
Let’s be honest. Most of us pastor-types were taught to preach primarily to a modern, well-churched or church-experienced audience. The target of our preaching was essentially “one of us.”
I hear some of you howling in protest. “I was taught how to preach evangelistically!” Yeah, so was I… but those preaching methods presumed that those […]
Not every church is going to make it. Some need to restart. Here's a model for getting started from Central Christian Church is Texas.
I saw Ender’s Game on its opening day and fell in love with the movie. Not because I love sci-fi over all other movie genres (I do). Not because Harrison Ford is my favorite swashbuckling actor (he is). And not even because I thought it had a great plot, great writing, great acting, and […]
This is an excerpt from my upcoming book 21st Century Strategies for Church Growth.
Too many church members, and indeed too many churches, carry an attitude of entitlement rather than commitment. They act as if they’ve paid their admission price and now the rest of the church has to coddle and cow-tow to their every […]
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