Culture
The church of the future resides in an urban setting, consists of multiple minorities, and espouses progressive social values, according to two recently-released reports. While most church futurists have focused on church models (i.e., house churches vs. megachurches) in their predictions of the shape of church in the next
church as abbey
In its heyday University Baptist Church in Baltimore overflowed its expansive neoclassical sanctuary. Designed by the same architect as the Jefferson Memorial, the church's impressive dome now shelters fewer worshippers each Sunday. But changing times haven't discouraged the members of University Baptist Church. Instead the congregation
Christian history
Here's the sermon I'm preaching tomorrow as I continue the 13-week series on The Apostles' Creed. Tomorrow we come to the phrase, "I Believe in the Church." I hope your Sunday is a great one! I Believe In The Church 13When Jesus came
church as abbey
I am speaking tomorrow at Duke Divinity School to students in the Rural Ministry Colloquia, a monthly gathering of students involved in, or interested in, rural church ministry. I have been asked to tell our story of how we started a community center, community music school, and several other projects
Congregation
Russell Rathbun, pastor of House of Mercy, has authored a new book, nuChristian: Finding Faith in a New Generation. Rathbun's title riffs off Kinnaman and Lyons' book, unChristian, both visually and topically. Rathbun knows what he's talking about because he is one of the founding
Church news
I'm back at The Cove this week leading conferences for the Billy Graham School of Evangelism. Yesterday we covered "Keys to Thriving in the Smaller Church." About 150 pastors, spouses, and church leaders attended the back-t0-back sessions and offered great stories from their own small churches.
Matthew
Why We Need The Apostles’ Creed: I Believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord 13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say
Christianity
I had the privilege of speaking at the Convocation on the Rural Church, sponsored by Duke Divinity School this month. The conference setting was the beautiful Kingston Plantation Resort at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the weather was great for a few days at the beach. The group attending the
Community
Here's the sermon I'm preaching tomorrow. It's the sixth in the series, "Seven Cultural Challenges Every Church Faces." I hope your day is wonderful! Seven Cultural Challenges Every Church Faces #6 -- Criticism: Why Don't They Like Us Anymore? Matthew
Congregation
John Temple, former editor and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, blogs about what newspapers must do to survive. Temple should know because the 150-year old Rocky Mountain News folded this past February, the victim of a sagging economy, the digital revolution, and journalism's failure to adapt. What
Genesis
Seven Cultural Challenges Every Church Faces: Secularism -- Why Don't People Go To Church Anymore? Today I am beginning a new sermon series titled, Seven Cultural Challenges Every Church Faces. During the next two months, we will examine the seven cultural challenges that I believe we must face
church as abbey
Les Puryear posted an interesting list of small church distinctives this week. His list got me to thinking about the possible differences in "old" small churches and "new" small churches. By "old" I mean what we typically think of as a small church whether