Believe it or not, there are churches that have virtually no financial concerns — and they are not all big, growing, or led by Pastor Popular. Instead, they are healthy. And how did they get healthy? Intentionally, slowly and deliberately. And one of the key areas they focused on was […]
Let’s see a show of hands. How many of you have all the money and resources you need? Hold them up high while we count you on the fingers of one hand. Most of us do not have all we need, and in fact over 50% are wondering whether there […]
An interesting thing happened in the church during the twentieth century in the United States. Christian giving shifted from caring for the poor, saving lives and spreading the gospel to funding the church budget. Centuries old spiritual teachings morphed into platitudes for raising money and getting people to put more in […]
Year’s ago, I attended worship in a small New England church in the fall of the year during the annual “stewardship” campaign. The pastor was a quiet, gentle man who obviously cared for his congregation, which is a good thing because he was a poor preacher. He read his sermon […]
I am not known for keeping my mouth shut. I often say things in public settings that get me in trouble (see Minding Our Own Business). But, you know what? I don’t think letting people know we are Christian should be such a big, hairy deal. I said something in […]
Loving books, God and the church impels me to look at local church libraries whenever I visit a new place. Were we to view church libraries as a “witness” to a church’s learning and beliefs, we would generally be misled. Church libraries are odd little repositories for an eclectic and […]
I spoke with a pastor recently who told me his congregation sold a gift of land, not because they needed the money, but because they were afraid they might have to move. The parcel of land was larger, centrally located to new developments in the fastest growing area in the […]
No one sets out to offer vacuous, insipid, superficial, or self-absorbed worship. Pastors and lay leaders both dedicate themselves to creating meaningful, spiritual and authentic worship experiences. Yet, at a gathering of 21-29 year olds who have “given up on church” that took place in 2007 , these were the top […]
Flipping through TV channels, I paused on a sincere, yet bizarre religious show where in a matter of moments I heard that the devil is working on perverting our children, that there is absolutely no scientific evidence in support of evolution, that all homosexuals are atheists out to destroy the […]
Someone I went to seminary with passed away recently, and I found it interesting that colleagues and members of his churches fondly and appreciatively noted that “he was so dedicated. He must have worked 80 hours a week, at least!” Many people made mention of his Herculean work style, often […]
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