Congregation
Now that we're 8 years into this millenium, here are the 3 things I think churches must do in this pluralistic, postmodern, post-christendom world -- 1. Tell the story. Read both the Old and New Testaments and the constant practice that emerges is that God's people
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"
Journey
The Birth of Jesus -- Luke 2:1-20 NIV 1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town
Journey
This week we went over 40,000 views and still going! Thank you for stopping by now-and-then, and making this a real gathering place for the small church community. Seth Godin said "thanks" better today than I can -- Every time you read something I write here, you&
Community
The NY Times carried a story today of a United Methodist Church struggling with how to maintain its stand against the death penalty, while mourning the murder of three of its members -- a mother and her two teenage daughters. Members expressed concern that their previously unquestioned opposition to the
Congregation
The ground has just shifted under the evangelical world. Willow Creek, that combination mega-church and mini-denomination, has just discovered that church programs don't work. Here's their conclusion -- ...increasing levels of participation in these sets of activities [church programs] does NOT predict whether someone’s becoming
Congregation
Recently some poor soul googled "sermon - I'm not doing anything wrong" and landed on my blog. I am pretty sure they didn't find a sermon by me titled, "I'm not doing anything wrong" but maybe they found something helpful.
Journey
Last year we bought a Roomba. If you've never heard of Roomba, i t's a robot vacuum cleaner made by iRobot. It's actually quite ingenious, and like having a pet that cleans up after itself. To vacuum a room, you put Roomba down in
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,
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
MTV and the Associated Press recently surveyed the happiness of young people ages 13-24. Guess what they found? Young people who consider spirituality the most important thing in their lives are happier than those who don't. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that only