Ten Minutes or Less

From a secular source...

2011-03-29T08:09:00.001-07:00

I've been reading Hemingway's account of life in Paris in the 1920s, in his book, A Moveable Feast. In one section he writes, "It was all part of the fight against poverty that you never win except by not spending. We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warm together and loved each other."

Perhaps overly romanticized, but Hemingway's words make me think that would be a good life. If we live and love simply, is that not the basis for doing considerable good in the world for others? And yet the poet Linda Weltner writes that the consumer culture shouts at us from every vantage point, saying "Not enough, not enough," and torturing us with all those things we have not yet bought, not yet acquired.

What can I do?

2011-03-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

Radical, individual heart change is a necessary, though not sufficient, condition for the advancement of justice. Injustice thrives because too many of us do nothing about it. We do not hold injustice clearly, unmistakably, and urgently in our field of vision.

There is a great distance between the privileged world we inhabit and take for granted, and that other world where tragedy, disease, destitution, and oppression are rife. We misperceive suffering as their problem, not ours.

We live with a clear conscience, believing that we are not the perpetrators of injustice while also believing that injustice is beyond our power to change.

Mark Labberton, The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor

A class this long? Surely not!

2011-03-07T08:26:00.000-08:00

The prominent theologian Stanley Hauerwas attempted to join a Methodist church some years ago. The pastor told him that before he could join the church, he would need to attend a new member's orientation class that met each week for a year. Hauerwas replied, "I dutifully and gladly did this."

It is rare for a pastor to lay down this requirement for a prospective member. But there is little doubt that the experience is life-changing. Even the very existence of such a program is likely to create congregational renewal.

From the editorial, Going Deeper, The Christian Century, February 22, 2011

A miracle!

2011-03-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

In the early 1920s, my grandmother, a template Methodist, was smitten by and betrothed to an Irish Catholic. She converted, somewhat reluctantly. The priest splashed a little water on her and said, "Geraldine, you were born a Methodist, raised a Methodist. Now, thanks be to God, you're a Catholic."

Some weeks later she was grilling steaks in the backyard on the first Friday in Lent. A neighbor, smelling the barbecue, upbraided her for fixing meat on Friday. She got the garden hose, sprinkled a few drops of water on the sirloins and said, "You were born cows, raised as cows. Now, thanks be to God, you are fish!"

Thomas Lynch, The Christian Century, February 22, 2011

Back in the saddle...

2011-03-02T16:00:00.000-08:00

My apology to readers for being offline for about a month. I'm cranked up again, and ready to continue my conversations with hearty church souls. Please check in at least weekly.

A surprising new church...

2011-01-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

A new church has started in Colorado Springs, dedicated to helping people in the depths of their crises. The pastor of this church is Ted Haggard, disgraced minister of the New Life mega-church he founded some years ago. His new church has about 300 members.

The vast majority of churches in North America have far fewer than 300 members. Are ministers who are untainted by scandal incapable of creating congregations of 300 members? Even 300 members is a relatively small church.

To me, this is a clarion call for pastors and lay leaders of good faith to review their role and purpose in this place and time. There is so much loneliness and sadness in the world. Shouldn't the church have a powerful message to draw them in?

Rent-a-church weddings?

2011-01-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

As an associate minister, UCC minister Lillian Daniel got stuck with the non-member weddings. She writes about being ordered around by engaged couples and listening to their rants about organized religion. She was treated like a service for purchase, similar to the caterer.

She brings this up in a review of G. Jeffrey MacDonald's book, Thieves in the Temple: The Christian Church and the Selling of the American Soul. MacDonald writes that the religious marketplace is full of people looking for a church that meets their desires, a church that requires very little of them.

Instead, MacDonald argues that people ought to be looking for a church that shapes their desires. He says people need a faith that requires commitment, sacrifice, and the occasional denial of our whims and desires.

The Christian Century Magazine, January 25, 2011

A two way street?

2011-01-21T20:29:00.001-08:00

Sometimes we think if the pastor gets it right, then results will follow. I challenge that assumption by noting that Protestant churches now have some of the best trained leaders we've ever known.

We hear too much talk about leadership and not enough about following. Congregations that do great work have strong followers. People work out of their own deep faith and commitment to the church they love, not necessarily because their leaders have some special skill or knowledge.

Thomas Russell, The Christian Century, December 28, 2010

Porn..

2011-01-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

The Atlantic Magazine reports that the US produces 89 percent of porn websites in the world today. I realize this is a free country and that porn is a multi-billion industry. But sometimes the voice of the church is all too silent on matters such as this.

The issue crosses many theological boundaries and related topics. Theologically conservative ministers now bemoan the high rates of porn use, adultery, alcoholism, drug abuse, and divorce among their members, no different from the larger society. As if all the church teaches has a minimal impact on people's lives, if any.

Would this make you happy?

2011-01-11T18:13:00.000-08:00

Philosopher Robert Nozick poses this question. Suppose you could attach your body for the remainder of your life to an "experience" machine. Floating in a tank of fluid, connected by electrodes to an incredibly advanced computer, you would spend the rest of your days fully realizing your greatest personal dreams.

You could win the Pulitzer Prize, the Super Bowl, the Indy 500, invent a cure for cancer, travel in outer space. Any dream you wish comes true. These experiences would not be true in reality, but they would be utterly indistinguishable to you from reality.

Given this choice, would you plug yourself in, thus ensuring the perpetual satisfaction of all your most cherished desires?

For those who opt out, see the post below for what makes most people happy, at least in America.

What really makes us happy...

2011-01-11T18:06:00.001-08:00

Derek Bok, former president of Harvard University, has just published a new book about happiness, and how public policy might be shaped to improve the level of happiness among US citizens. One of his findings is that people are poor judges of what will make them happy.

His findings confirm other studies in which key elements of happiness include lasting marriages, contributing to charities, engaging in community service, maintaining friendships, and participation in organized religion. Bok believes that happy people tend to be morally good people, at least by standards of mainstream American ethics.

So here's where we can all evangelize. Come to church, be a generous soul, help others, and Nirvana awaits! I'm not joking.

Life in the US of A...

2011-01-10T11:21:00.001-08:00

In his book, We Have Met the Enemy: Self Control in an Age of Excess, author Daniel Akst writes,"American life resembles a giant all-you-can-eat buffet offering calories, credit, sex, intoxicants, and other invitations to excess. Americans accept these invitations so promiscuously that bad decisions about smoking, eating, drinking, and other behaviors account for almost half of deaths in the US. We are losing the war with ourselves."

Where is the church's voice in all this?

Hope for 2011?

2010-12-31T11:06:00.000-08:00

During the past year, I worked with congregations that made me wish I lived closer and could be part of it all. With other congregations, I resisted mightily the temptation to tell them to just close the doors and go home, there was so little of value there.

Theologian Miroslav Volf often writes that churches fail at their central task because they do not define a way of life that is worth living. My less hopeful side suggests that the prevailing consumer culture overpowers the church's message of prayer, forgiveness, and redemption.

During 2011, I'm hoping readers will provide examples of churches that do, indeed, define a way of life that goes beyond acquiring consumer goods; a way of life that transcends our individual interests, whims, and preferences.

The purpose of worship..

2010-12-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine is a sixty-something, lapsed Presbyterian who is quite cynical about the church. She attended a service at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, a rock and roll church that is one of the fastest-growing in America. I expected her to scoff at the experience.

Instead, she cried. She said, "That service led people to their pain very effectively, and having done so, led them out of that pain and gave them hope for the week ahead."

Episcopal priest Philip Weihe once wrote, "Anyone who has had an experience of the presence of God during a worship event is forever marked by that experience and will try to recreate that moment."

A little holiday fun...

2010-12-07T13:24:00.001-08:00

I've had a number of people send me sermon titles over the past few days, so I thought we might start a little collection of the year's greatest hits. Post your own entry, whether profound or less so.

Here are a few starters. I'll note "Aspiration," once again, since that is particularly striking. Another is, "The Overconnected Soul." One of my personal favorites is, "Death: It's Place in Your Life." (I always thought it came near the end.)

In 2003, the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox were in the playoffs. Neither team had won a World Series in almost a century. A sign on a Presbyterian church read, "Cubs vs. Red Sox: There is a God." A friend of mine preached a sermon titled, "Is sex necessary?" from a short story by James Thurber.

Healthy churches..

2010-12-06T08:38:00.001-08:00

I'm a fan of John Buchanan, a Presbyterian minister and editor of Christian Century magazine. He recently mentioned reading Jonathan Franzen's new novel, Freedom. He concluded that the characters in the novel don't have enough important things to do.

He writes, "I kept wishing they'd all pack up and go to church some Sunday morning and volunteer in a homeless shelter or sign up for a mission trip."

This reminds me of UCC minister Anthony Robinson often saying that too many churches function as though nothing important is at stake. So, kind readers, beyond Sunday mornings and various church programs, is there truly something important at stake going on in your church?

Sermon titles, continued...

2010-12-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

Two posts below this one is a comment about the unfortunate practice of publishing sermon titles in newsletters and on websites. Beyond sermon titles themselves, descriptions of sermon topics on various church websites support my point of view.

Sermon topics include: a deepening conversation that is both contextual and relational, an integration of ourselves into our milieu, attuned to the now that is carried out in our bodies, the artistry of shifting paradigms, exploring deeply that senses and feelings are important, allowing more breathing space to learn, and where are those who will say, "yes." Also, let us not overlook the struggle to have fun.

Does anyone out there actually believe this drivel will attract visitors, let alone current members? Of course, if this is what visitors find when they do show up, well, that's an issue for another time.

Past our prime?

2010-11-30T16:13:00.000-08:00

I often chide the Unitarian Universalists in regard to "seeking truth" being an inane vision for a congregation. But sometimes, a dose of one person's truth may be a good thing. Or maybe not. Here's some possible truth to ponder.

"The future of American liberal religion is one characterized by a posture of exile, where we no longer can expect that the larger culture cares what we are saying or doing."

Christopher H. Evans, from his new book, Liberalism Without Illusion: Renewing an American Christian Tradition

Guaranteed low attendance...

2010-11-28T20:17:00.000-08:00

The very best way to deter church shoppers and potential new members is to list sermon titles, topics, and the speaker in the church newsletter or on the church website. (Special occasions an exception.)

Potential visitors often check out church websites. If they like what they see, they're inclined to visit. This desire to visit may be thwarted by a particular sermon topic. For current members, listing titles creates a "pick and choose" faith, i.e., I like that sermon topic so I'll be there; I don't like that sermon topic so I'll stay home.

Listing sermon titles is a lose-lose situation all around.

Now is not the time to cut back..

2010-11-22T17:30:00.000-08:00

I realize the last two years have been very difficult financially for many Americans. At the same time, I'm working with a medium-sized Episcopal church that began giving away the offering every Sunday, and also saw a 10-12 percent increase in the annual pledge drive for each of the past two years.

The minister and lay leaders believed that cutting back when others were in great need was counter to the congregation they wish to become.

A recent survey noted that almost 60 percent of Americans will spend as much, or more, for holiday gifts this year than last. This is not a time for church leaders to act as protectors of people's pocketbooks. This is the time for churches of all faiths to increase their good works

in the larger community.

The Fear and Anxiety Committee...

2010-11-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

One guaranteed emotional response to change in a church is fear. I have seen fear go off on its own course regardless of anyone's ironclad process, and I've seen change make a direct hit to the anxiety alarm in the brain.

I have seen clergy thrown to the anti-change wolves. I have watched transformational leaders butt their heads against emotional barriers.

Three issues are in play: Fear and other emotions complicate all efforts; many pastors are not prepared to do transitional work in their congregations; and, it's absolutely critical that churches connect serious change with their mission to the larger world.

Peter Steinke, The Christian Century, November 16, 2010

Change? At our church?

2010-11-15T09:35:00.000-08:00

The price of moving up off a plateau in membership usually requires paying the price of change. It means a change from doing yesterday over again, only better, to an intentional venture into new territory.

The goalless drift that is characteristic of too many congregations on a comfortable plateau in size must be replaced by vision, intentionality, a venturesome spirit, and the will to pioneer new approaches to ministry. Rarely, does this "just happen." It is the product of visionary and initiating leadership.

Lyle Schaller, 44 Steps Up Off the Plateau

The make it or break it issue..

2010-11-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

Is your church a voluntary association, or a community in covenant? A voluntary association allows members to set their own rules for participation. A community in covenant is one in which the institution of the church sets the standards. This is a VAST contrast in approaches.

Many churches claim to be covenanted communities, but they really aren't. They function like voluntary associations. The more theologically liberal, the more likely this is the case. If your church is a voluntary association, chances are good that what your church is today is what it will be forevermore. It will only attract people who desire a low expectation environment.

Christmas giving at its best...

2010-11-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

I urge hearty souls to give to their churches the same amount of money they spend on Christmas presents for friends and family members. This money would go toward mission beyond the church's four walls, and not be put into the operating budget.

What a wonderful Christmas gift this would be, allowing us to shop in good conscience. If you think this is a stupendously good idea, as I do, please tell others.

I heard Christmas music in a department store yesterday, November 3.

A little consternation...

2010-10-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of divine discontent. It awakens congregations to a better understanding of their vision, a deeper commitment to building community, and making a real difference in the lives of so many.

This restlessness is one of the reasons I have hope for congregations, and why I like working with them.

William Avery, Revitalizing Congregations

Where does a church vision come from?

2010-10-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

The children of Israel's forty years in the desert offered the world its first church mission, vision, and values discernment process. A generation wandered around and died in the wilderness, running from its past and scared of its future. I have led plenty of navel-gazing processes in churches, and have observed the same dynamic.

What I have learned is this. Vision does not descend on groups; it usually comes to individuals and then is confirmed by groups. Churches that have good leaders and an urgency about their mission will sail to the stars. Churches that are paralyzed will gain nothing by self-study. They will just use the self-study as a stalling tactic.

Paul Nixon, I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church

A way of life...

2010-10-15T14:47:00.000-07:00

How we work and how we spend our money are dangerous matters to consider. Were we to think deeply about these issues, we might actually have to change the way we live. We believe it is immoral to be greedy. We say it's immoral to live high on the hog when others are starving.

But another part of us has been trained to consider these matters as "preferences," not profound religious issues. Because they fall into the economic compartment of our lives, we tell ourselves that we have the right to make whatever choices we want. As long as we don't blatantly lie, cheat, or steal, it makes no difference how we work or what we buy.

Robert Wuthnow, The Crisis in the Churches: Spiritual Malaise, Fiscal Woe

Empty seats...

2010-10-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

Since 2001, Sunday worship attendance in mainline faiths and Catholicism has seen a steady decline. The only deviation is churches that attract 1,000 or

Wired...

2010-10-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Most Americans now spend more than eight hours a day looking at a television, a computer monitor, or the screens of their electronic devices. According to author Nicholas Carr, 'Having external access to data is a far cry from having a richly furnished mind."

Episcopal minister Barbara Brown Taylor, a faculty member who teaches undergraduate students, does not bemoan the existence of electronic media, but she does believe that young people have lost the freedom to decide when they should or should not be online, a form of electronic bondage.

It seems to me there's a spiritual issue involved here somewhere.

Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains

Formation, not education...

2010-10-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

One of the most powerful tools of formation is the small group. In such groups, people seek the formation and transformation of other people. Transformation - seeking new lives and behavior - is what they are all about.

The church in a new time has a lot to learn from small groups. In this era, a kind of bland and generalized friendliness seemed adequate for many. But today people seek, and formation requires, something more intentional, something with a greater depth of intimacy and honesty, in which people are held accountable for their actions.

Anthony Robinson, Transforming Congregational Culture

Two quotes...

2010-09-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

A few days ago was the birthday of John Adams, patriot and the second president of the US. He once said that revolution is, "Setting little brush fires in people's minds." A less well-known figure is Serge Diaghilev, an impresario and a fan of composer Igor Stravinsky. He once said, "Life is tolerable only to the extent that one can summon up marvels."

I was just thinking that these would be excellent traits of clergy and lay leaders, setting some little fires and summoning up a marvel or two, along with a few surprises and quirks now and again. This would make church ever so more interesting, and address Baptist minister Peter Gomes' view that much of contemporary life is fern-bar quality that passes for reality in these tedious times.

Things are mostly OK...

2010-09-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

Major change is usually impossible unless most people are willing to help, often to the point of making short-term sacrifices. But people will not make sacrifices, even if they are unsatisfied with the status quo, unless they think the potential benefits of change are attractive.

Most leaders underestimate how difficult it is to move people out of their comfort zones, and how new ideas can be talked to death by skilled filibusterers. A common attitude is, "Well, we have our problems, but they aren't all that bad, and we're mostly OK."

John Kotter, Leading Change

Error #1

2010-09-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

By far, the biggest mistake people make when trying to change any organization is to plunge ahead without establishing a high enough sense of urgency. This error is fatal because transformations always fail to achieve their objectives when complacency levels are high.

John Kotter, Leading Change

What to believe?

2010-09-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Some people believe it to be physically true that Christ was born as the son of a virgin, while others deny this as a physical impossibility. Everyone can see there is no logical solution to this conflict, and that one would do better not to get involved in such sterile disputes.

Both views are right and wrong. Religious sentiments are of this type. They refer without objection to things that cannot be established as physical facts.

C. G. Jung, Answer to Job: The Problem of Evil; Its Psychological and Religious Origins

The Lord works in mysterious ways...

2010-09-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

Church logo tattoos are the latest in offbeat testimony at an Orange County, California church that holds Sunday services in a punk rock nightclub and collects offerings in KFC buckets.

Pastor Kyle Steven Bonenberger told worshippers that God "tattooed your name on his heart" and it was time for an everlasting commitment to Him and the church. About a dozen members of the City Church of Anaheim got tattoos of the red-heart church logo, fulfilling a pledge they made if the church doubled its normal attendance.

(The tattoo above is not the church logo, but rather an example of this type of religious expression.)

Who shall lead them?

2010-09-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Our interviews with nationwide, representative samples of Protestant ministers consistently show that most pastors do not consider themselves to be leaders. Fewer than one out of twenty ministers believe he/she has the spiritual gift of leadership.

Fewer than one out of four ministers claim to serve the church as a true leader. Most of them feel they have been called, trained, and hired to preach and teach. Leadership is viewed as an unfortunate duty they must endure as part of the deal.

George Barna, The Habits of Highly Effective Churches

The modern world...

2010-09-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

Too often we preachers have taken it as our task to make the faith fit with the modern world, rather than to challenge it. In years past, when I was confronted by people who said, "I have a problem with Easter, just can't buy it," I would make it easier by saying that Easter is just a symbol or a metaphor.

Now, when someone says they have trouble with Easter, I reply, "Well, that's not surprising. You live in a closed world, a world that is fully explained and predictable. No wonder you have trouble with Easter, with the claim that God is breaking into the world, doing a new thing. This is difficult for satisfied moderns. But take heart, with God all things are possible."

Anthony Robinson, Transforming Congregational Culture

A path of many steps...

2010-09-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

My coming to faith did not start with a leap but rather a series of staggers from what seemed like one safe place to another. Like lily pads, round and green, these places summoned and then held me while I grew. Each prepared me for the next leaf on which I would land, and in this way I moved across the swamp of doubt and fear.

When I look back at some of those resting places - the boisterous home of the Catholics, the soft armchair of the Christian Science mom, adoption by ardent Jews - I can see how flimsy and indirect a path they made. Yet each step brought me closer to the verdant path of faith on which I somehow stay afloat today.

Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith

A matter of law...

2010-09-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

In Jewish tradition, tzedakah, or acts of justice, is considered a divine commandment that Jews have an obligation to observe. Tzedakah is a matter of justice and therefore a legislative obligation. You are obligated to be generous to those in need whether you feel like it or not.

One who does not give tzedakah to the needy is not simply uncharitable of heart, but in violation of the law.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro, founder of the Simply Jewish Fellowship

Hipster church...

2010-08-31T16:55:00.000-07:00

One of the most popular, and most unseemly, methods of making Christianity hip is to make it shocking. Oak Leaf Church in Georgia has a website, www.yourgreatsexlife.com. Mark Driscoll at Seattle's Mars Hill Church delivers sermons titled, "Biblical Oral Sex," and "Pleasuring Your Partner."

If young people are interested in Christianity of any sort

in a serious way, it is not because it's easy or trendy. It's because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It's because the world that young people inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed, and sex-drenched - and we want an alternative. It's not because we want more of the same.

Brett McCracken, Hipster Christianity: Where Church and Cool Collide

An extraordinary feat...

2010-08-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

I just returned from Charlotte, NC, where I led

a one-day event on congregations of the future. Among those attending were members of the Myers Park Presbyterian Church, which has grown to some 5,000 members.

The church recently completed a $30 million capital campaign. It gave away $12 million to outreach and mission, 40 percent of the total. I asked members if there was a lot of arm-twisting to do this. They replied, "No. Our pastor, Steve Eason, thought it was the right thing to do, and we agreed."

Eason's message on the church website includes the statement, "Our church is all over the place. We startle people with acts of generosity."

A danger to your religion...

2010-08-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

The board of trustees was in a heated debate about chili mac, a strange casserole that dares to cross macaroni and cheese with canned chili and call it food. Do we get large cans of chili or small? Does anyone have a membership to a discount warehouse? Should we buy grated cheese or grate it ourselves, because the homeless shelter does not have a cheese grater. Let's do a cost comparison.

It has now been 51 minutes. I am losing my religion. As they are nearing a decision, a new board member says, "Why do we always make chili mac? People said they were tired of it." The clerk then says, "Did we decide to buy grated cheese or purchase a cheese grater? I need this for the minutes."

For this I spent three years in graduate school.

Lillian Daniel, This Odd and Wondrous Calling

A really great guy...

2010-08-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

The National Study of Youth and Religion discovered that teenagers tend to think that a God exists who created the world and watches over life on earth. God also wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other.

They believe that the central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about yourself, and that God need not be involved except when needed to solve a problem.

Kenad Creasy Dean, The Christian Century, August 10, 2010

Country club church?

2010-08-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that the church I was trained to expect was some sort of cocky, country-club fortress that needed to be taken down a peg or two. We, the new ministers, would come flying in like Underdog, armed with new hymnals, new language, and new ideas, inspired by professors who were still passionately processing their two years in ministry fifteen years ago.

The church I was trained to expect was a church that needed fixing, not in its weakness, but in its hubris.

Lillian Daniel, This Odd and Wondrous Calling

The quiet church?

2010-08-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

"More than ever, we need voices of reason and deep spirituality. The voices of intolerance and hatred are too loud."

United Church of Christ president Geoffrey Black

My observation: churches on the progressive end of the theological spectrum rarely take stands on issues of the day. The reason is often to preserve congregational harmony. But I wonder if this relegates those needed voices of reason to the sidelines, as spectators, while others are on the playing field where the action is.

Packing for church...

2010-08-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana signed a bill that will allow people to carry concealed handguns to church. The new law is the opposite of a previous law that banned concealed weapons inside churches, synagogues, and other houses of worship; but it does allow churches to choose whether to permit guns inside their facilities.

The new law requires pastors who allow concealed weapons to announce to worshipers that there might be gun-toters among them in the pews. Ah, life in the U.S. of A.

A whole new era...

2010-08-06T22:58:00.001-07:00

The megachurch has completely changed the face of congregational life. Megachurches are becoming de facto replacements for denominations and seminaries, by providing resources and training staff more efficiently.

Megachurch leaders can find resources for adult education, youth programs, and hire experienced, successful pastors without ever needing a denomination or seminary and the baggage of such hierarchical structures.

Scott Thumma, Hartford Seminary, Connecticut

For what are we searching?

2010-07-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

Several ministers and professional counselors I interviewed said that people enter the professional ministry for many reasons. A common theme for people choosing ministry is a search for approval and acceptance.

Several clergy noted that a primary reason they entered the ministry was to find the paternal or parental approval and acceptance they had never experienced in their family of origin. Many have difficulty believing theologian Paul Tillich's view, "To simply accept that fact that you are accepted."

James Hightower and W. Craig Gillian, A Time for Change? Revisioning Your Call.

Upon this rock?

2010-07-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

The church's strengths may also be its weaknesses: diversity tolerance, compromise, practicality, and niceness. Truth gets written by committee, mystery gets lost in translation, decency gets translated into dullness, and the spirit gets hamstrung by bureaucracy.

Some critics call us, "The Church of Christ, Sociologist." The church has an ability to avoid doing that which will screw up the works; it may not do the best thing, but it can be counted on not to do the worst. This may be reassuring to some, but does not strike me as a rock upon which to build a church.

Ron Graham, God's Dominion

Rock and Roll!

2010-07-30T09:16:00.001-07:00

An organization called Worship and Word has scheduled a Christian Rock concert, dubbed Heaven Fest, at a town in Colorado near where I live. An estimated 50,000 people are expected to attend. Seven stages are set up, and bands include Casting Crowns and the Sacred Assembly.

Steve Chavis, spokesman for Heaven Fest, said this festival is meant to inspire and spark a new generation with passion for the poor around the world.

While some traditional churches have incorporated contemporary music into their services, the vast majority

do not grasp the extraordinary power of new music and its message in reaching younger generations. As the old saying goes, diverse music in many churches ranges from the major works of Bach to the minor works of Bach.

Diversity?

2010-07-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

In the global economy, half the population lives on less than $2 per day. But most of us never spend significant time with people outside our economic class or educational bracket.

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, The Christian Century, May 4, 2010

Learn the wisdom of silence...

2010-07-10T08:45:00.001-07:00

Pastors who maintain good relationships with their congregations bite their tongues with great regularity. Avoid the temptation to say, "If you had attended the last board meeting/worship service/committee meeting as you were supposed to, you would have known that!"

Or, "Since you know so much about the topic, why don't you preach a sermon series on it." As good as it might feel to make those comments, the pastor pays too high a price in terms of guilt, escalating conflict, and damage to relationships.

R. Robert Cueni, What Ministers Can't Learn in Seminary

Don't cook on a bonfire...

2010-07-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

When people are yelling at one another, the reassuring words of the pastor cannot be heard. To state it differently, satisfaction comes to those who wait until the flames have burned to glowing coals. This applies to all domestic quarrels and almost all ecclesiastical battles.

A normal part of church life includes periodic, spontaneous explosions in the choir, the men's group, and between certain church members. Clergy should control the urge to plunge in as mediator. Clergy often have delusions of grandeur when it comes to evaluating their ability as reconcilers. They also have significant difficulty distinguishing when they are actually needed from when they need to be needed.

R. Robert Cueni, What Ministers Can't Learn in Seminary

All the world's a stage...

2010-07-02T09:55:00.001-07:00

Calvin said somewhere that each of us is an actor on the stage and God is the audience. That metaphor has always interested me, because it makes us artists of our own behavior, and the reaction of God to us might be aesthetic rather than morally judgmental.

How well do we understand our roles? With how much assurance do we perform? I like Calvin's image, because it suggests that God might actually enjoy us.

Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

No time to waste...

2010-06-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

Busy. A horrible word. It suggests a spiritual disease. A bore is someone who remarks how busy he is and with what activities. I think "busy" means being egotistic and arrogant - believing the world needs me so much. It means being inhospitable:

I regale you with how much work your presence demands of me, how intrusive you are.

I play God. I imply that you are less important if you are less busy. It's hard to expunge "busy" from the vocabulary, but it helps to remember its use is offensive.

Martin E. Marty, Lovers' Quarrels and Casserole Theology

Slow going...

2010-06-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

Traditional churches are in the business of raising tortoises. Whenever a tortoise is elected to the Official Board, one can be assured that everything will take time, and that several redundant levels of management will revisit decisions numerous times.

Tortoises are methodical, dutiful, and persistent, but they will never go faster than the oldest member.

Thomas A. Bandy, Christian Chaos

Jewish wedding?

2010-06-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

My only daughter was recently married, and she enthusiastically agreed to be married by a rabbi who is close to our family. Every minister should have a rabbi friend. When he read Psalm 100, originally thought to be composed for a wedding, he spoke each line in flawless Hebrew, then translated the blessings into English. The sound of it was remarkable, as if the ancients were also present in the room.

Having a rabbi bless this sacred covenant struck me as preferable to taking a chance that some preacher might make a joke about the odds of a successful marriage or, worse, launch into a diatribe against the evils of fornication.

Red-state UCC Minister Robin Meyers

2010-06-21T12:05:00.001-07:00

I dedicate this book to all the men and women who have chosen parish ministry as their life's work, and do not yet wish to be considered harmless artifacts from another age. May all those who labor in the most misunderstood, dangerous, and sublime of all professions be inspired by the possibility that one's head and one's heart can be equal partners in faith.

Lest the church end up a museum piece whose clergy are affable but laughable cartoons, we must once again dedicate ourselves to this wild calling - one that led us away from more comfortable lives and into the only profession where radical truth-telling is part of the job description.

May we fear no man (sic) and no creed, save our own timidity, and may we encourage and support one another in pursuit of religion that is biblically responsible, intellectually honest, emotionally satisfying, and socially significant.

Robin R. Myers, Saving Jesus from the Church

Our common lot?

2010-06-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

We've all been there. We struggle with unanswered prayer. We identify with the old spiritual, "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen." The old landmarks seem to have slipped away. We worry about job security, terrorism, or health care. We wonder if we can pay the mortgage.

Sometimes our prayers stick in our throats and the psalmist's lament becomes our own: "Has his steadfast love ceased forever?" "Are his promises at an end?" This is the street where most of us live.

Rev. Roger Lovett, Reflections on the Lectionary, The Christian Century, June 15, 2010.

Camera, Action!

2010-06-16T21:05:00.001-07:00

I recently attended a Coming of Age ceremony that was part of the Sunday morning service. This particular service included teenagers who had completed a year-long class, and were being welcomed as members into the church.

I wish the minister had said there would be ample time for photos after the service. Instead, family members in the pews turned into the equivalent of church-going paparazzi, crowding one another out with their flash cameras and video cameras, straining to get the best camera angle. It was a circus, instead of a meaningful religious occasion.

Home grown...

2010-06-14T21:41:00.001-07:00

The emergence of ministers from within their own congregations will increase. Rather than seek seminary-trained leaders, more and more churches are calling committed laypersons from within their own ranks to fill ministry positions.

If additional education and training is needed, the congregation arranges for it. The person's connection and commitment to the congregation is more highly valued than education and experience.

Prediction from Thom Ranier, president of LifeWay Christian Resources

Clergy blues?

2010-06-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

I've seen frequent references in church literature that ministers say they probably would not be members of the congregations they serve.

I wonder why this is the case, and how many ministers feel this way.

Well prepared...

2010-06-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine belongs to a theologically conservative church. The minister preaches from the Lectionary and his sermons are scripturally-based, though they do contain lessons for daily living. Using this guide, he prepares sermons weeks and sometimes months in advance. If he's not able to be at church, a deacon reads his sermons. Now there is one man who thinks ahead.

Happy!

2010-06-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

Everyone at our church is happy with how things are going now. Why should we bother trying to identify a distinctive approach to ministry?

Perhaps it's because your congregation is simply drifting year by year without any concern about an intentionally defined role, or any pressure to sharpen the congregation's identity. This applies to many congregations, especially those with an earned sense of well-being and complacency.

Lyle Schaller, Choices for Churches

Pathetic...

2010-06-04T08:27:00.001-07:00

I attended services at a large congregation recently. In the section where I was seated, the collection plate was passed along by about 50 people before it reached me. When it did, the plate contained a lone one-dollar bill and some spare change.

This reflects very poorly on a congregation. As a visitor, it made me doubt whether I would want to be part of this church. I urge congregations of all faiths and all sizes to give away the Sunday offering to mission and outreach every Sunday. This is a powerful ministry. Do not let anyone claim your church can't afford it.

Why I stopped going to baseball games...

2010-06-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

Every time I went, they asked me for money. The people in the stands didn't seem very friendly. The umpire made some decisions with which I disagreed. Some games went into extra innings, and I was late getting home. They played on weekends, when I rest.

The seats were uncomfortable. The organist played tunes I didn't like. My parents made me go to games when I was a child. I read a book about baseball and know as much as the managers. I shouldn't take my children; when they grow up, they can decide for themselves if they like the sport.

Rev. David Blanchard, in his church newsletter column.

No!

2010-06-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

In many long-established congregations, several members of the governing board often define their primary responsibility as telling other people what they cannot do. An alternative to most either-or questions should be, "Why can't we do both?"

Another possibility is preface questions with, "Unless someone objects strongly, this is our plan." Yet another is not to ask for "no" votes. Finally, another method of moving ahead is to claim,"We cannot make an informed decision on this until we've had at least six month's experience with it."

Lyle Schaller, Choices for Churches

Sexy...

2010-05-28T09:39:00.001-07:00

What is it about church that is so damn sexy? The question has bugged me for a long time. An erotic current runs just below the displays of rectitude and purity, despite the hard pews and organ repertory. I suspect it has to do with the congregants' concerted effort to suppress carnality in favor of distant heavenly reward. Denying the flesh only makes it throb harder.

Julia Scheeres, in her review of the novel, Jesus Boy. New York Times Book Review, May 16, 2010.

Confession?

2010-05-27T16:21:00.001-07:00

I've heard of churches in the South that oblige people to make a public confession of their graver sins to the whole congregation. I think sometimes there might be an advantage in making people aware of how worn and stale these old transgressions are. It might take some of the shine off them, for those who are tempted. But I have no evidence to suggest it has that effect.

Marilynne Robinson, from her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead

Ministry today?

2010-05-26T13:11:00.001-07:00

A recent profile of pastors suggests that the three most stressful areas of a pastor's life are church politics, financial shortfalls, and difficult relationships with staff and other church officials. In each of these factors, there appears to be little connection with what the core of ministry is supposed to be about in the first place - bringing the presence of God to people who yearn for it.

We must surely be in the throes of a crisis of ministry when the very context of ministry itself is heavily overlaid with countervailing circumstances and debilitating human forces.

Kortright Davis, Serving with Power: Reviving the Spirit of Christian Ministry

Close but not quite...

2010-05-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Readers may recall the story about Mark Twain's hero, Tom Sawyer, and Sunday school. The kid who memorized the most Bible verses each week received a red ribbon. Whoever had the most red ribbons at the end of the year would get special recognition from the Bishop.

Of course, Tom memorized no verses but cheated his classmates out of their ribbons, so he had the most when the Bishop arrived. Tom could answer none of the Bishop's questions. Finally, in exasperation, the Bishop asked, "Can you name any two of apostles?" To which Tom blurted out, "David and Goliath!"

Church of Heavenly Lite...

2010-05-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Churchgoers no longer have to put up with components of religious life they find difficult or less than gratifying. Consumer-driven churches, often with their "no questions asked" standards for baptism and the sacraments, are the spiritual equivalent of spending all day on the couch, and eating cupcakes for dinner.

A strong correlation has emerged between the consumer-driven religious marketplace and the decay of Christian moral character.

Jeffrey MacDonald, UCC minster and author of Thieves in the Temple

Macho men...

2010-05-19T19:44:00.001-07:00

We shoot unashamedly for the male, and that's somewhat controversial. But our feeling is that it's tougher to reach men

than it is women. Men seekers are real tough to find.

So if we set our standards at reaching unchurched males, in doing so we'll probably reach larger numbers of females.

Bill Hybels, founder of the mega-church, Willow Creek

Don't wait too long...

2010-05-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

One possibility for congregational renewal is to call an expert to help with the diagnosis, prognosis, prescription, and definition of alternate courses of reality. This is not a particularly attractive possibility, because most congregations have an earned skepticism about the potential contribution of any outside, third-party consultant.

All too often, congregations are reluctant to turn to outside expertise until the passage of time has greatly reduced the number of attractive courses of action.

Lyle Schaller, Activating the Passive Church

Camping on the plateau...

2010-05-12T13:36:00.001-07:00

Perhaps the most difficult assignment, for either a minister or volunteer leader in the church, is to design or implement a strategy that will move the long-established congregation off a plateau in size.

This is mainly because it is exceedingly difficult to devise a plan or a course of action that will please everyone.

Lyle Schaller, 44 Steps Up Off the Plateau

Clergy leadership?

2010-05-06T06:49:00.000-07:00

I read many popular books on ministry. The three-minute pastor! Thirty-five successful building blocks of successful congregations! Forty days of purpose! I read about visioning, discipling, and fellowshipping.

So week after week I exhorted the congregation to embrace risk and change. As one proposal after another hit the wall of their vast and impenetrable indifference, I found myself caught in a soul-crushing loop. I learned the inexorable law of Leadership 101; you can't lead if no one's following. I blamed myself; and yes, I blamed them.

Barbara Melosh, The Christian Century, May 4, 2010

What does a minister do?

2010-05-04T18:46:00.001-07:00

A minister may drive 25 miles to the hospital in order to recite a thirty-second prayer over a comatose patient. Who sees this act and judges it to be good? The pastor may devote years of conversation and behind-the-scenes maneuvering to promote reconciliation among factions in the community.

The preacher may invest fifteen hours of biblical study and reflection on a fifteen-minute sermon for no other purpose than to make God a little more believable to the congregation.

Richard Lischer, Open Secrets: A Spiritual Journey Through a Country Church

Boring...

2010-05-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

I visited a church today, but left after 15 minutes of Joys and Concerns, with three people still holding up their hands to be recognized. There were the usual travelogues, along with thrilling children's accomplishments. To add to the fun, the minister repeated each J and C, so we all heard them twice.

I'm with theologian Stanley Hauerwas, who once wrote, "I am mad as hell at Christians, myself included, who make the practice of Christianity so uninteresting."

Greetings...

2010-04-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

UCC minister Lillian Daniel writes, "In my church, the Passing of the Peace" moved from a frozen affair between two people to 10 minutes of chaos in which people wandered the sanctuary greeting others. A new member confessed that it was actually his loneliest moment in the entire service. As others warmly greeted those they already knew, his few stiff greetings left him aware that he was not yet included."

As a single person myself, I often find it a lonely experience to be a church visitor. I once had a string of eight consecutive church visits without anyone speaking to me. From what I can tell, this is a common experience. Everyone should be a greeter, but few are. If a visitor experiences loneliness in your church once, he or she will not return for a repeat performance.

A simple formula...

2010-04-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

That formula is "Unmet need + Niche focus = Successful ministry."

An unmet need is a motivator. If people have unmet needs, they will look for ways to meet those needs. Translated into congregational life, focusing ministries on unmet needs in your community can open fresh opportunities. This formula fits churches of all sizes and faiths, and is a timeless strategy.

All too often, churches become inward looking, emphasizing the budget and programs for current members. Servanthood calls people of faith to reach out to others. Most churches don't have to venture very far to find people who could use a little help along life's path.

Robert L. Perry, Find a Niche and Scratch It

Moral authority?

2010-04-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

In a bygone era, churches often claimed moral authority over their members. There existed a God before whom all were accountable. Beginning in the 1960s, religion became increasingly therapeutic, and God became a friend who was viewed as bringing us the good life on our own terms. Some churches claim that God wants you to be rich, i.e. the prosperity Gospel.

The post that follows this one, about the environmental effects of raising livestock, includes my comment about whether the church has the authority to challenge its members to eat less meat, or become vegetarians, as a moral issue. Can the church also challenge members in other areas, especially in countercultural views of the prevailing consumer culture? In other words, if the good life is all about going shopping, should the church be supportive, challenge this view, or is this none of the church's business?

Earth Day?

2010-04-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, claims you can't be a meat-eating environmentalist. Approximately 30 percent of the earth's ice-free land is now devoted to raising livestock. Around the globe, huge swaths of land are cleared to make more room for livestock and the crops that feed them. The widespread use of antibiotics and hormones to produce meat faster have become the norm.

It takes more than 4,000 gallons of water per day to produce food for a single meat-eater, compared to 300 gallons for a vegetarian. Factory farms also generate 300 million tons of manure each year - more than double the amount produced by the entire human population in the US. Many churches now claim to be "green." Will people of faith live out their values by refusing to participate in the devastation of the planet?

A great idea...

2010-04-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

A congregation might organize itself along the lines of three components. First is the inviting ministry, which might include invitational evangelism, public relations, and hospitality. But this is not just about welcoming new people; it's also about welcoming the flow of new life experience among people already there.

Then there could be the transforming ministry, which would include worship and teaching, and formational groups. The third component would be the sending ministries, including equipping, service, and ministry teams. This can be viewed as both an organizational structure, and as evidence of a living congregational system.

Anthony Robinson, Changing the Conversation: A Third Way for Congregations

Scripture...

2010-04-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Commentary introduces the books of the Bible in three ways. A set of general articles in the introduction deals with matters that concern the entire Bible. A second series of articles introduces the parts of the Bible that show a similarity and have a relationship to each other.

Then there are the commentaries on the individual books. This plan enables readers with three approaches for study: to the Bible as a whole, to the major divisions of its literature, and to the particular books.

James L. Mays, Harper's Bible Commentary

Eyes on what prize?

2010-04-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

Human achievement is seen as the pathway to earthly success and immortality. Reliance upon spiritual truth as a means to success and fulfillment is viewed as ignorance, irrelevant, and a sign of weakness.

George Barna, Evangelism That Works

The perfect wedding...

2010-04-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

The prospective groom said,"Can we do it tonight?" The bride, six months pregnant, in her white Venture Mart shift, looked dark-eyed and radiant. The matron of honor, eight months pregnant, in a Carnaby Street mini-dress, stood nearby. The groom appeared pale but steady.

The minister was wearing bell-bottomed corduroys and a wool sweater, over which he had draped a white stole. He kept his eyes in his book. To an outsider peering through a window into my office, the scene might have been borrowed from a French farce or a Monty Python skit.

Richard Lischer, Open Secrets: A Spiritual Journey Through a Country Church

The ultimate example...

2010-04-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston has a "dollar for dollar" benevolence program. This congregation gives away one dollar to the needs of the world for every dollar it spends on itself. Last year, the church raised about $11 million. It spent approximately half that amount for ongoing costs, and gave the other half away.

Churches of any size can accomplish this. Financial planners say that most Americans could double their charitable giving to all causes and not notice the slightest difference in their daily lives. Doubters might keep in mind that the highest per capita giving in the US often emanates from the poorest states, like Mississippi and Alabama.

The parson of the parish...

2010-04-10T21:04:00.001-07:00

The parson knows accurately, from lessons which he has learned unknowingly, the extent of evil and the extent of good will that exists around him. Against gross profligacy and loud sin he can inveigh boldly, and he can make men and women quake in their shoes by telling them the punishment which will follow such courses.

But with the peccadilloes dear to the rustic mind he knows how to make compromises, and can put up with a little drunkenness, with occasional sabbath-breaking, with ordinary oaths, and with church somnolence. He does not expect much from human nature, and is thankful for moderate results.

Anthony Trollope, Clergymen of the Church of England, 1865

A primary responsibility...

2010-04-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

Pollster George Gallup concludes that as many as four in ten Americans admit to frequent or occasional feelings of intense loneliness. Americans are, in fact, the loneliest people in the world.

Church researcher George Barna focuses on loneliness as a felt need that the church should address. He writes that loneliness is a major growing problem in America, and the kind of social problem that the Church needs to identify and respond to.

However, in my own work with congregations I often find an attitude of, "If people are lucky, they'll find us. If not, there's really nothing we can do about that."

The "musts" of a successful mission...

2010-04-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

One of the most common mistakes is to make the mission statement a kind of hero sandwich of good intentions. Instead, organize yourselves to see the opportunities, the needs. Where can we, with the limited resources we have - and I don't mean just people and money, but also competence - really make a difference, set a new standard?

The next thing to look at is what you really believe in. I have never seen anything being done well unless people are committed. What attracts people to any organization, including the church, are high standards, because high standards create self-respect and pride.

Peter Drucker, Managing the Nonprofit Organization: Principles and Practices

The most important question of all...

2010-04-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

Ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for, in detail, and ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for.

Thomas Merton

Not a nice guy...

2010-03-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

Jesus, unlike most responsible American citizens, appears to do no work and is accused of being a glutton and a drunkard. He is presented as jobless, propertyless, celibate, peripatetic, and socially marginal. He is disdainful of kinsfolk, without a trade, and a friend of outcasts and pariahs.

He is adverse to material possessions, without fear for his own safety, careless about purity regulations, critical of traditional authority, a thorn in the side of the establishment, and a scourge of the rich and powerful.

Terry Eagleton: Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate

Holy Rollers and Immanuel Kant...

2010-03-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

On the same block of almost any southern city of 100,000 or more, you're likely to find genteel Episcopalians worshiping in a neo-Gothic sanctuary next to a storefront church of hallelujah-shouting neo-Pentecostals.

The fry cook at the local Southern restaurant is likely to be a part-time preacher who reads Immanuel Kant as he is to be a Holy Roller. Snake-handling ministers, though diminishing, are still around. In the Southern way of religious life, all this makes perfectly good sense.

G. Lee Ramsey. Preachers and Misfits, Prophets and Thieves: The Minister in Southern Fiction

An affirmation of desire...

2010-03-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

Coming to church is not a celebration of our captivity to God. Coming to church proclaims that we have not been taken in by the fern-bar quality of life that passes for reality. Coming to church testifies that we are dissatisfied with the second-rate and the second-best.

Coming to church is an affirmation that our desire, our heart's desire, the profound, inarticulate, groaning desire - as Paul said - for the love of God has not been satisfied or seduced by the gaudy tricks and pacifiers of this tedious age. We know there is more to it than this.

Peter Gomes, Strength for the Journey: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living

2010-03-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Yankees beat the Red Sox in preseason. It won't be the last time. Jack used to say that he loved Jesus Christ, the Democratic Party, and the New York Yankees, but he wasn't too sure in what order. Of course, that was a different Democratic party back then.

Sometimes I worry that Arnold Chister, the minister at my church, might be a Democrat, probably an Atlanta Braves fan, too. He'd better watch his step. I might call the deacons.

Pat Jobe, 365 Ways to Criticize the Preacher

What business are we in?

2010-03-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

A church board agenda that focuses on mission would begin with the number of volunteers, stories of people who have benefitted from benevolent ministries, and how the congregation has been an advocate for the poor and those being treated unjustly. Putting these reports first on the agenda is a move in the right direction.

The budget, along with matters of administration and finance, can be worked on in committees, ministry teams, or a leadership group and shared as information in the business meeting. But these should not be lifted up as the priority of the church. What business is your church focused on these days?

Edward H. Hammett, Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60

The accidental church?

2010-03-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

Accidental church is the pattern of mainline Protestantism. It is marked by its chapel orientation. Church is the place where a minister performs certain spiritual tasks for the congregation, many of whom inherited the faith from their parents.

Chapel religion typically blesses the social order, comforts people in need, and trains children in the customs of the faith. Chapel-style churches are routinized organizations where members receive customs, traditions, and beliefs rather than creating new ones.

Diana Butler Bass, The Practicing Congregation

A home run...

2010-03-03T19:04:00.001-08:00

Church should be about growing people and not programs. That process is four-fold and can be captured in the image of a baseball diamond.

Getting to first is moving from interest to membership. Taking second base means growing a mature faith. Reaching third base is claiming one's ministry. Arriving at the home plate is a person's life purpose or mission.

Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church

Church discontinuity...

2010-02-25T19:59:00.000-08:00

While there was considerable continuity in American Christianity between 1800 and 1960, the past four decades have been marked by an unprecedented degree of discontinuity. One example is the rise of the Made-in-America church.

Congregations of European origins, including most Protestant faiths, often seek ministers who will lead that congregation in attaining its goals. The Made-in-America church tends to be more open to the pastor who challenges people to fulfill the potential that God has placed in that congregation.

Lyle Schaller, Discontinuity and Hope: Radical Change and the Path to the Future

Is this the future?

2010-02-21T08:11:00.000-08:00

Let's cut to the chase. The typical church today has a rapidly expiring shelf life. Despite the activity and chutzpah emanating from thousands of congregations, the church in America is losing influence and adherents faster than any other major institution in the nation.

The core attributes of our society - language, customs, dress, values, and the like - are substantially reshaped every few years. Most American churches, however, hold fast to programs and goals established by their charter members years ago. Many deny the cataclysmic cultural changes around them, responding with cosmetic changes that make little difference.

George Barna, The Second Coming of the Church