Creativity
I pared down my Google reader list several weeks ago. I was trying to keep up with too many blogs, too many bloggers, and too many categories. Now I have 5 categories -- culture, emerging church, marketing, simple life, and small church -- 33 subscriptions in all, down from about
Congregation
Last year for our 150th anniversary, we scheduled one special Sunday celebration per month from January through July. Our sesquicentennial Sundays were so successful that we decided to schedule one special Sunday per month during 2008. Here's what we did: 1. We chose the same Sunday of each
Resources
The New York Times features the Syrian town of Malula where the language of Jesus, Aramaic, is still spoken. The Times article also includes the history of Malula's beginnings, which legend attributes to a young woman who was converted under Paul's ministry, and then fled her
Journey
I forgot exactly where I heard that saying -- When God closes a door, He opens a window -- but as corny as it sounds, it's true. Last year, I dropped out of the "Missional Leadership" Doctor of Ministry program track at Fuller. The program is
Congregation
Wednesday nights follow a typically Baptist schedule at our church. We meet for dinner at 5:45 PM, followed by prayer and Bible study at 6:30 PM, and choir at 7:30 PM. About 25-30 folks attend on an average Wednesday night, and we enjoy the time of midweek
Creativity
The community center is coming along nicely, and we are about 75-days away from getting the keys. Which means a lot of work ordering furnishings, contacting utility companies, planning the opening, and so on. All seems to be piling in at once, plus the continuing change-orders, additions, and problem-solving that
Community
From around blogdom, some good ideas that have translation potential for churches: 1. 20/20 powerpoints -- Kevin Kelley points to a new trend among business presenters to limit their presentation to 20-slides that flash for no more than 20-seconds each. Total presentation time: 6-1/2 minutes. Do I hear
Congregation
Out of Ur, Christianity Today's blog, features Dr. Brad Wright and his analysis of the Willow Creek survey and REVEAL. Of course, this blog had that info on my January 8 post, Willow Creek Study Flawed Says Prof. If Out of Ur picked it up here, it'
Congregation
Over at Les Puryear's blog, he posted some interesting stats on the number of small churches across denominations. Noting that more than 2/3s of all Episcopal, Lutheran, and Nazarene churches have about 100-or-fewer members, Les asked LifeWay to run the numbers on Southern Baptists. Here's
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"
Resources
I added a new feature to the right sidebar -- clips from my blogline that I find interesting. Click the post title to go directly to the original post on the original blog. You'll find stuff about trends, culture, church, resources, and mostly things I like. Hope you
Community
Click thru these 100 photos of storefront churches in Brooklyn. The church is alive and well and being reinvented by lots of people in contextual ways. Very encouraging. New expressions of church are happening in lots of places and cultures, and these are as authentic as you'll find.