bless the world
One of the things Baptists do when we take our own pulse is to count. We count attendance, giving, groups, and most of all, we count baptisms. Lately, like the last 7 or 8 years, baptisms in Southern Baptist life have been down. So, there's a lot of
Congregation
Our youth ministry took another blow this week. Word trickled back to me that one of our families with young teens has found another church "where there are more kids." I've been here 4 years this month, and this is at least the fourth time this
bless the world
Pastor John Carmichael at Evangel North Church tried the Easter Outreach Idea with great success this year. John left the following comment: We used this idea for Easter 2008. It doubled our church attendance for Easter. We average 105, on Easter we had more than 210. Largest crowd ever! The
1 Peter
Living In Exile 1 Peter 1:17-23 NRSV 17 If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. 18You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not
Congregation
I'm reading a great book by Scott Cormode, the Hugh De Pree Associate Professor of Leadership Development at Fuller Seminary. Titled, Making Spiritual Sense: Christian Leaders As Spiritual Interpreters, Cormode says, To the extent that Christian leaders provide people with a theological framework for action, they are proclaiming
Creativity
I was actually going to write a post about "the stories we tell ourselves" tomorrow, but then I read Seth Godin's post "Which comes first (why stories matter)" and he says it very well. Substitute "ministry" for "work" in his
church as abbey
In his delightful book Sun Dancing, Geoffrey Moorhouse tells the story of the three men who set out in a tiny boat without oars or sails -- for they wanted to be on pilgrimage for the "love of God." This pilgrimage, called peregrinatio, was a pilgrimage of the
Acts
Here's the sermon I'm preaching this Easter from Acts 10:34-43, another lectionary reading for this Easter Sunday. I hope your Easter celebration is glorious! He is risen! Now We Understand Acts 10:34-43 34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it
Lectionary Yr C
Here's a link to the sermon I preached last year titled, "The Palm Sunday Syndrome" from Luke 19:28-40. I don't have the manuscript for this one, but you can watch the video here. The audio is here. This is last year's
Community
I stepped back in time 200-years today. No, I did not go to a museum. I went to a funeral. A friend's father died after an extended illness, and Debbie and I attended the funeral today. Our friend's father was of the Old German Baptist Brethren,
church as abbey
ad·jec·tive /ˈædʒɪktɪv/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[aj-ik-tiv] good, wise, perfectHave you noticed we are now in the age of the "adjective" church? Modifiers like missional or purpose-driven or seeker-sensitive or externally-focused or a dozen others precede the word "church" to define a
Congregation
In the Celtic Christian abbey, the compound was open to all who needed food, lodging, or care. As the monks’ pagan neighbors entered the abbey, they were greeted with many familiar sights — monks or nuns preparing meals in the kitchen, stacking wood for the fire, copying manuscripts, or working in