The Future is Here
Recently, on Bloomberg TV, The Titans featured Bill Gates and Mike Bloomberg. Bloomberg said something that all churches should ponder for a week. He said, “Technology will advance more in the next couple of years than it has since the discovery of the light bulb.” Now give that some thought. What does it mean to the […]
Preaching for Reaching
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.” We weren’t really taught preaching for reaching those beyond the walls of the church. I hear some of you howling in protest. “I was taught how […]
Alternatives for Sunday School
In my book Dancing with Dinosaurs (1993) I predicted the end of adult Sunday school. Now we are seeing many new Southern Baptist Churches starting with no adult Sunday school and instead small groups that meet in the homes. Now it’s time to make another prediction which has already begun and will soon be a trend […]
There are Better Places for Kids than “Big Church”
According to the American Religious Identification Survey (from Trinity College, Hartford, CT) the fastest growing religious affiliation growing in North America is the unaffiliated. Called “the church of the nones” by scholars, these are people who were once affiliated with the Christian faith, but have “opted out” of faith. Although many, perhaps even a majority, […]
Effective Multi-Generational Worship Demands New Thinking
Planning on reaching the younger generation with today’s common worship tools? In the words of Seth Meyers, really? Beginning in 1950, each new generation has been raised within a learning paradigm that is significantly different from the one before it. Those born prior to 1950 may be called the “Radio Generation.” Their learning paradigm is […]
Announcements Are Commercials
After receiving one of my church audit reports the pastor called and asked why I said they shouldn’t begin with announcements. I said to him, “Do you watch TV?” He replied, “Sure.” I said, “Do any of the programs open with all 15 minutes of commercials?” “No,” was his reply. “But what’s that got to […]