Congregation
"Why buy the cow if the milk is free?" I actually heard a song with those lyrics on the radio today. Okay, it was a spoof on country songs, but it reminded me of what our adult leaders said to us as teens when they talked to us
Congregation
This week I'm attending two conferences. On Monday, I am going to a conference about staffing in the small church. On Tuesday, I am attending a conference on conflict resolution. Coincidence? Hmmm.... ;-)
Community
I read yet another article today on "How You Can Make Worship More....Something." I forget exactly what the author said, but it amounted to doing better music, preaching better sermons, screening better videos, and so on. Which is really not reinventing worship at all. Frankly, there'
Congregation
I announced in our September newsletter that Debbie and I would be visiting each family in our church in the coming months. A frequent complaint in small churches is "the pastor doesn't visit enough." Which usually means, "the pastor doesn't visit me enough.
Community
A life-sized sculpture of Jeremiah Lanphier has been commissioned from Lincoln Fox. This bronze sculpture will be revealed at the 2007 Fulton Street Prayer conference and will be placed in various locations in Lower Manhattan. A GRASSROOTS REVIVAL Take one inexperienced layman, an old dying church, plus a heart for
Community
Some of the posts that caught my eye this week are -- * Scot McKnight's post on "Breathe" as a lifestyle. Good stuff on regular "breathing" vs. cramming. * A new blog, Greensboro Abbey, by Zach Roberts. Read this explanation of emerging church terminology here. Oh,
Congregation
Yesterday we looked at characteristics of coalition vs. congregation churches. Assume for a moment, hypothetically of course, that your church is a coalition of factions, each one protecting its own turf and sharing power in a tentative stand-off. How do you as pastor or lay leader move your church from
Congregation
I've noticed that a lot of governments around the world are formed by coalitions of various factions. Each stakes out its own territory, but they agree to work together to keep the government going. They share power, but not a common goal. Unfortunately, I've known churches
Congregation
About this time of year, if your church is like ours, you're scrapping around for folks to fill church jobs. You need teachers, committee members, and church leaders. And, if you're like us, you'll fill a lot of jobs. But a few of those
Community
Where Faith & Culture Meet -- a DVD-based missional resource "Jesus is already present, working in every human culture." That's how Andy Crouch begins Zondervan's new missional study, Where Faith & Culture Meet. I got hold of a preview copy -- DVD and leader&
Community
Exterior and interior of our community center. Construction on our community center is moving along. If we were building a church building instead of a community center, I would use the same design criteria we developed. Here's what we wanted in a building: 1. Flexibility. We wanted to
Community
The news gets worse everyday -- Mattel is now recalling millions of toys due to lead paint contamination. Toys R Us is reporting that some baby bibs they carry also have lead contamination. I worked with many Chinese factories when I was in business, and I guarantee you this is