I’ll admit it. I’m a techno-geek. Just ask my boys and they’ll confirm it. Right now I’m frequently found carrying two cell phones, a Nexus 7, and a computer. I’m always checking out what’s possible and thinking about how I might use various tools for ministry.
It’s no secret that many churches are floundering. They are scrambling to keep up aging buildings, wringing hands over declining income, and sometimes showing concern about the decline of faith practices in their community. The busy-ness of maintaining the church, anxiety over changes happening among them, concerns about the future easily distract leaders and Continue reading Finding Purpose when Floundering→
Darkness still covers the earth. Though the days are getting longer, the sun continues to set quite early. 4:37 pm, today, to be exact. It rose at 7:29 this morning, giving us nine hours and seven minutes and 57 seconds of sunlight… Darkness still covers the earth.
We rejoice in what God does because God saves us. That’s the heart of the gospel. From sin, death and the power of all that is evil, God in Jesus sets us free. God is at work in the world, seeking to Continue reading God does Good Things!→
Many hands have been wrung, brows furrowed, and laments raised over the church’s uncertain future. In some church such wrestling has been going on in earnest since the 1980s. Other congregations are just now starting to Continue reading Toward a New Church→
Mainline denominational churches have been experiencing shifts in membership and participation for thirty or more years. Attendance is down, congregations have become significantly older, and communities are struggling to figure out what’s going on. For a long time, Continue reading The Shattering of Crystal→
Questions I carried with me in my early years of ministry have changed. It was during my second call as an ordained pastor that I began to realize the shifts under way in the church and in me. In February 1999 I began Continue reading Why I Went Back to School→
Communication has become very fragmented in the world. Gone are the days when we could get word out with a simple announcement in a worship bulletin and a blurb in the newsletter. Communication today happens quickly and though we may speak in the same languages, we need to Continue reading Speaking in Newer Tongues→