Some of the most fulfilling ministry I’ve been a part of in my thirty+ years has been either ecumenical or inter-faith. Beginning in my own “dark ages” as program director for the religious council at Ball State University, those projects and missional programs drawing from a broad diversity of faith […]
A series of recent events have conspired to make me get back in touch with some of the churches I interviewed and studied during my Vital Signs research. Out of fifteen vital congregations, the good news is that eleven of them are still going as strong as ever. The bad […]
Growing up in the Midwest in the 1960s, we had a term for people too stupid to live — prayer stupid. The not-all-too-sensitive meaning was that prayer was all that was left for these folks — they had no other options. Their guardian angels were beaten, tattered, and torn — […]
This past weekend I had the exceptional dining pleasure of chipped beef on toast (with eggs over easy) at the Dry Dock restaurant in Duluth, Minnesota. It followed morning worship (of God) then proceeded to the afternoon worship (of football) with the Vikings-Ravens game on one screen and the Packers-Lions’s […]
I met a man years ago who possessed the true spiritual gift of evangelism. He shared faith in such an authentic and unguarded way that even atheists listened to him with respect. More than any words he said, any actions he took, he simply exuded an assurance and a non-anxious […]
Funny thing. Writing about stewardship all this week resulted in a 30% drop-off in my readership. I’ve gotten a handful of emails this week expressing sentiments like “I expect better from you,” and “you’re as bad as my local church,” and “why are you marching out this tired old song,” […]
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 […]
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