Community
I took down my two posts on the McChurch franchise discussion re North Point and Cumberland Church. These were poorly thought-out, gut reactions to Eddie Johnson's post at his blog using franchise as a church model. For a more helpful post, with a more positive tone, try 5
bless the world
Yesterday I posted Ten Marks of the Church-as-Abbey. One of the characteristics, economics, plays an important role because the ancient celtic Christian abbeys were self-supporting while providing economic transformation to the community. Today, tall skinny kiwi posts about the fourth sector -- groups that want to change the world while
Community
Models for how we should do church are not in short supply. Seeker-sensitive, purpose-driven, emerging, missional, traditional, liturgical, ancient-future, and the like all have their merits. I am really interested in the church-as-abbey concept myself. I have read extensively about the early Celtic Christian church and find it intriguing and
Community
I had today planned perfectly. When I arrived at the office, I planned to spend the day getting ready for an important meeting tonight about the community center. But the life of a small church pastor in a small town isn't always amenable to planning. So, instead of
church as abbey
Last year, after talking about how our church partnered with various groups in our community, someone remarked, "That's fine for your church, but nobody in our community would work together." In the interest of challenging that statement, here are 21 groups that I think your church
bless the world
This or this? In the Christian Year, Sunday February 3 is Transfiguration Sunday. In popular culture, February 3 is Super Bowl Sunday. On that Sunday, churches have two choices for the heading in their worship bulletins or on their video screens: 1. Super Bowl Sunday -or- 2. Transfiguration Sunday In
bless the world
Today history was made in Chatham, Virginia. At 3 PM, African-Americans and white Americans gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. together. Not many people will notice this historic event because only about 75 of us were present. But it happened, and as I
church as abbey
Our house sits on Main Street across from the Carter's #3 store. I have found Carter's #2 (it's in Gretna), but I'm still looking for Carter's #1. But, back to my point. Next to Carter's #3, reposes Scott&
bless the world
Does your church have special plans to observe Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 21, 2008? I wish I could tell you our church has observed MLK Day before, but that's not true. Like most white congregations, we just didn't mention it. We did close
Community
The ancient Celtic Christian abbeys produced beautiful illuminated manuscripts, the most notable being The Book of Kells. In his book, How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill credits Irish monasteries with rescuing ancient texts, recopying them, and then taking them back to Europe to replace the texts burned during the
Community
At exactly 9:22 PM on December 31, 2007, Confessions of A Small-Church Pastor hit 50,000 page views! Almost 1,000 views per week for our first year is an exciting milestone. What a great way to end the old year and bring in the new! Thank you for
Community
Debbie and I have been visiting our daughters and their families between Christmas and New Year. Hope your Christmas was wonderful and you spent it with those you love, too. As we close 2007, here are the Confessions of A Small Church Pastor "Top 10 Posts of 2007"