Back in the olden days of paper maps, it could be disconcerting to get lost. Having a map didn't help unless you knew your location on that map. GPS presents a different problem. The “my location” button can tell you where you are. But then GPS...
“God is actively dis-establishing the church in America.” That line in last week’s article garnered some significant reaction, ranging from relief to gratitude to annoyance to rejection. “Numbers still matter – Jesus grew the church.” “Saying God is doing this takes away our need to do anything –...
Rev. Dr. Laurie Ferguson Senior Research Fellow for Coaching and Director of the Residential Coaching Program at Auburn Seminary It is no surprise that most clergy occupy various types leadership roles on a daily basis. Some of these might include therapist, consultant, mentor, spiritual director, pastoral caregiver,...
Four “Church Questions” That Have Reached Their Sell-By Date… Over the last several weeks, in addition to taking a closer look at John 21, we have examined three questions that may have lost traction in our rapidly changing culture: Where do you go to church? The “attractional...
Four “Church Questions” That Have Reached Their Sell-By Date… The questions examined in the last three weeks that may have lost traction in our rapidly changing culture: Where do you go to church? The “attractional model” of bringing people into church risks depriving congregations of learning to...
Four “Church Questions” That Have Reached Their Sell-By Date… Where do you go to church? and Will this…bright, shiny new thing…get us new members? are two questions those of us in church keep asking even though they have waning relevance in our fast-changing culture. This week,...
Four “Church Questions” That Have Reached Their Sell-By Date… There are ways we talk in church that exist largely unchallenged. They are part of the “background wallpaper” of churches. However, as our context for ministry changes so rapidly, it’s time to examine these more closely. Last week...
There are ways we talk in and around church that have existed for years largely unchallenged. They are so common—among congregants and church leaders—that they are part of the “background wallpaper” of churches. However, as our context for ministry changes so rapidly, it’s time to...
Dr. Willie Jennings Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School The western world and especially America is bound up in a history of racism and racial antagonism that we have not been able to escape. This church shares in this problem...