Saturday Lagniappe: 'The Four Domains of Successful Outreach to Families with Children' And More

The Four Domains of Successful Outreach to Families with Children
To help raise well-rounded young men and women who know they are loved by God, one church has created a focus on MASS: Mental, Athletic, Spiritual, and Social. Brian Kelly from Northside Church in Liverpool, NY joins Sam on the show to discuss how his church has used MASS to engage families in their community.

Obey the Greatest Commandment . . . While You Sleep
More than just a practical recharge, sleep can be a doxological liturgy.

Women's Ordination: A Five Part Series from The Anglican
The ACNA founders knew they could not settle every theological disagreement among the bedfellows leaving TEC, or being pushed out. However, one of the most significant practices of ordaining women to the priesthood was set to one side. Rather than divide over the issue, the Province adopted what Archbishop Bob Duncan famously called “dual integrities.”

We agreed that faithful Anglicans held different convictions, and those differing convictions would be respected as we sought to build a new Anglican Province together.

The issue of women's ordination has been roiling the water in the ACNA for sometime now. The late Jack Iker, an Anglo-Catholic bishop strongly opposed to the ordination of women declared that a state of impaired communion existed been him and the dioceses that ordained women or licensed them to serve as clergy within the diocese. What I have observed in the ACNA is the growth of the kind of factionalism over this issue, which infects the larger culture. I hear opinions expressed that I would have at one time expected to hear only from those on the fringes of the North American Anglican community. Whether this issue will cause a major split in the ACNA remains to be seen.

Women’s Orders and the Anglican Knot: A Commentary on David Roseberry’s Five-Part Series
In a five-part series published through his Substack newsletter *The Anglican* over the past few weeks, the founding rector of Christ Church Plano and veteran of more than four decades of ordained Anglican ministry has attempted what most of his colleagues have long avoided: a sustained, candid, publicly accessible examination of women’s ordination as it sits at the beating heart of the Anglican Church in North America’s present crisis. The series deserves careful reading. It also deserves honest assessment.

In Tennessee, anti-Muslim Republican candidates face defeat
Rep. Andy Ogles, who has said Muslims don't belong in the US, narrowly lost his reelection bid, while state Rep. Monty Fritts, who campaigned to ban mosques, placed third in the Republican primary race for governor.

A new bipartisan bill in Congress would create protest-free buffer zones around houses of worship
The bipartisan bill is intended to prevent protests. It follows a rowdy demonstration outside a Manhattan synagogue last year.

Why You Shouldn’t Be a Covocational Pastor
I want to see every guy considering covocational ministry for these reasons to banish them from his consideration.

The Extras Are Tired
People are getting more sick of influencers, even as the job becomes more important.

Our Line in the Sand on AI: TGC’s Missional Opportunity
It’s an offense to the word “writing” to apply it to AI-arranged words and sentences. What AI produces is an impressively polished, usually helpful, sometimes cheeky string of words. But it’s just instantaneous pattern recognition and data organization. It’s soulless slop that can mimic and masquerade as brilliant writing. It’s aggressively efficient, speedily rendered, sycophantic information.

But it’s not writing.

Panic as another AI model escapes its system, sparking safety scramble by experts
Moonshot AI's latest Kimi K3 model was able to bypass a cybersecurity testing sandbox built by the U.K. government's AI Safety Institute, according to U.S.-based research firm Frontier Security.

As part of cybersecurity evaluations, AI models are put in isolated sandboxes to cut off outside access in order to test how well they can work through problems on their own. The China-based public model from Moonshot AI was able to circumvent one such environment built by the U.K. government, according to Reuters.

Is yours an equipped church?
Church leaders who claim to be serious about leading a disciple-making church aren’t going to get very far with such a claim if their flock isn’t equipped. But the equipping of the saints for ministry is one of the greatest failures among church leaders today.

It’s remarkable that we miss the mark regarding equipping since it is such a blatantly stated responsibility of leaders...

Sundays at All Hallows (August 9, 2026) Is Now Online

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.

This Sunday, August 9, 2026, is the Tenth Sunday after Trinity. 81 years ago, on this date the second atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki.

Urakami Cathedral sat near ground zero during the bombing and was damaged beyond repair. More than half of the Catholics in the Urakami district of Nagasaki – approximately 8,500 of the cathedral’s 12,000 parishioners – were killed.

Cruelly persecuted from the late sixteenth century on, Nagasaki’s Catholics practiced their faith in secret until a series of reforms in the mid-nineteenth centuries enabled them to once more practice their faith openly.

You are invited to join with people around the world in observing a moment of silence for the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and praying for a ban on all nuclear weapons. You are also invited to pray for persecuted Christians throughout the world.

The topic of this Sunday’s message is making Jesus Christ known.

Readings: Genesis 37: 1-28, Romans 10: 5-15, and Matthew 14: 22-33

Message: Heralds of Jesus Christ, Messengers of Salvation

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2026/08/sundays-at-all-hallows-august-9-2026.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Sundays at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing each lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows each lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Sundays at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

Friday's Catch: 'The Episcopal Church in 2050' And More

The Episcopal Church in 2050
Bishop John Shelby Spong wrote a book in 1999 entitled Why Christianity Must Change or Die. The Episcopal Church has, largely, followed Bishop Spong’s lead. It has changed and it is dying. If you altered one word of the title, making it Why Christianity Must Change and Die, Spong’s book was indeed prophetic.

Predictions are circulating that the Episcopal Church will be dead by 2050. This article examines how likely this is and how its deep decline might be slowed and even reversed.

David Goodhew makes a number of cogent points in this article which he wrote five years ago. While it is tempting to put on a brave face as denominational leaders are doing in both the Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church, a growing number of churches in these two denominations are looking at a bleak future. On a visit to a local Episcopal church I was forced to listen to a retired woman priest prattle on about how it was unEpiscopalian to evangelize the unchurched and to observe members of the congregation emphatically expressing their agreement with what she was saying. This was the attitude many Episcopal clergy took toward evangelism in the 1990s, the Decade of Evangelism, and with which they infected their congregations. Over two decades later Episcopal clergy are still peddling this poisonous KoolAid and Episcopalians are eagerly drinking it!

SBC Named as Co-Defendant in Federal Class Action Over Pawleys Island Community Church Scandal
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the SBC Executive Committee (EC) are named as defendants in a new, federal lawsuit against Pawleys Island Community Church (PICC), Pawleys Island Christian Academy (PICA), and certain church and school leaders.

The class action lawsuit is the sixth suit to be filed since it came to light that a convicted sex offender was volunteering on the South Carolina church and school’s campus. It is the first suit filed in federal court and the first to name the SBC.

COVID infection linked to disturbing side effect, says new study
A new study suggests that COVID-19 may reactivate dormant viruses already hiding in the body.

That process, researchers say, is linked to more severe illness and may contribute to lingering symptoms such as fatigue associated with long COVID.

The financial dilemma that wound up helping US churches thrive
American churches could not rely on the state for financial support. Private philanthropy helped them survive – and shaped the country’s religious diversity today.

3 Surprising Effects of Finding Your Confidence in God
Though impossible to measure, my general observation is that “confidence” is at a pretty low point in the world right now. I don’t necessarily mean self-confidence, though that might also be low right now. Instead, I mean our collective confidence in those institutions and people which once held the implicit confidence of society.

Is it still possible to imagine a brighter future?
Two views from the past.

How to Fix the #1 Blind Spot Stalling Your Ministry
If you need people more than you feed people, you will soon be leading from empty.

Handling Ungodly Criticism
Matt Emadi offers pastors four suggestions for handling ungodly criticism from members in a way that honors Christ and builds up his church. Drawing from Scripture and pastoral experience, Emadi reminds us that pastors should desire the good of those who criticize them, know their people well, learn from criticism, and stay near the cross.

When Repetition is a Good Thing
There are many contemporary Christian worship songs that, when used during Sunday service, are put on repeat to the end that they are simply mind-numbing. There is no substance, only emotion. The mind is not being used. It is thrown out the window in the name of an “experience.”

Is it inherently wrong to have the same phrase in a song an exorbitant amount of times? I think the fair answer would be it depends. It depends on the song, setting, and context. But there are no doubt many songs that are focused less on directing your mindful gaze to the Lord of glory and more focused and helping you feel good. We don’t worship to feel good, but to give God glory. We worship him no matter how we feel.

Godfather of AI: Brace for more rogue AIs
The smarter artificial intelligence gets, the harder it will be for humanity to control it, according to Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist known as the “godfather of AI.”

Even Hinton was alarmed by the sophisticated AI agents that recently caused real-world damage after escaping their human-built testing environments.

What the panic over Gen Z’s reading habits gets wrong
A trove of recent articles bemoan the collapse in recreational reading among younger Americans, with COVID-related reading declines, artificial intelligence and social media often described as causes.

But as the authors of “How Gen Z Discover and Consume Books,” we think many claims about Gen Z’s reading behaviors miss the mark.

Trump’s plans for Head Start could leave kids behind
The Trump administration announced on Thursday plans to overhaul Head Start, the early education, nutrition, and health program which serves hundreds of thousands of low-income children. The proposed rule to rescind the majority of the program’s standards of care could have far-reaching effects for the nation’s most vulnerable families.

Early social media use leaves children six months behind at school
Children who start using social media at a young age perform worse in exams than peers who delay online engagement, a study suggests.

Research from the University of Milano-Bicocca found that pupils who opened accounts at the start of secondary school performed poorer in a variety of tests by the age of 16.

Get the Complete Christianity Explored Course—Free
Instant digital access to the updated seven-session course and the resources you need to lead it.

Christianity Explored helps people discover who Jesus is, why he came, and what it means to follow him. Built around Mark’s Gospel, each session includes a short film and time for open, honest conversation.

Image Credit: Grace Episcopal Church, Paducah, Kentucky

Thursday's Catch: 'Faith groups organize for anti-nuclear war action this week' And More

The Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Memorial

Faith groups organize for anti-nuclear war action this week

Faith groups around the world are preparing to host prayer events to mark the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

“Nuclear Prayer Day” on Aug. 6 and the “Global Days of Prayer and Action” on Aug. 9 are intended to refocus international attention on the ongoing threat of nuclear war, according to organizer Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons, an outreach of the United Religions Initiative.

Also See: The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)

What Everyone Gets Wrong About the Unchurched - Webinar 

The unchurched population in the United States is undergoing significant changes. In this webinar, we present the top five insights about the unchurched that almost no one knows. Drawing on new research, Thom and Sam reveal what every church leader needs to know about the demographic shifts among those who rarely or never attend religious services. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn more about the unchurched population in the United States! Join us for the webinar on Thursday, August 13, at 1:00 PM Eastern. Register now to secure your spot and discover valuable insights that every church leader needs to know.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Spokane Parish: Members Evacuate, Lose Homes
Many parishioners of St. David’s Church in Spokane, Washington, had to evacuate over the weekend as a series of wildfires across Spokane County spread across thousands of acres on the afternoon of August 1. One family that has been part of the parish lost its home in the fire, and at least one, if not two, other families are at risk of losing their homes.

Also See: Spokane bishop responds to region’s wildfires

Instead of going on an expensive guilt trip, why doesn't the Church of England spend £100m on parish vicars?
Conservative MP Nick Timothy says the £100m the Church of England plans to spend on slavery reparations should be going on church building repairs. But how about spending the money on frontline parish vicars?

Also See: Archbishop of Canterbury faces continued backlash over slavery and reparations stance; Government child poverty report highlights role for churches

Church leaders not bound to report sexual abuse confessions, Arizona Supreme Court rules
Arizona justices unanimously ruled on Thursday (July 30) that trial courts couldn’t interfere in church leaders’ decision to report sexual abuse cases disclosed in confession, according to their own interpretation of religious doctrine.

Removing pastors and other church leaders as mandatory reporters is not a positive development. Churches do not have a good record of properly handling child abuse cases. They are apt to protect the organization rather than the child and further traumatize the victim. They are also apt to blame the victim for the abuse.

Court spares New York nuns — for now — from complying with assisted dying law
One can only hope that sanity prevails. The life you save may be your own.

Tennessee gubernatorial candidate would ban mosques
With a toothy laugh, Tennessee GOP primary gubernatorial candidate Monty Fritts defends his pledge to ban Muslim mosques and other “pagan” houses of worship. The primary election is August 6, and state representative Fritts faces two opponents: Sen. Marsha Blackburn and U.S. Rep. John Rose — both vying to be the most like Donald Trump.

Also See: Islamic group files suit against Broken Arrow for denying zoning permit

“pagan” houses of worship? Could Catholic, Episcopal, and other mainline churches be on that hit list?

Why making Anthony Fauci the enemy will harm US public health for years
Katie Miller, an erstwhile Trump administration official and wife of Stephen Miller, once relied on Dr Anthony Fauci to get through Covid. Now, she’s calling for his imprisonment – a reversal that illuminates the politicization of Fauci and of public health writ large, a trend that could have major repercussions for America’s preparedness for future crises.

Meta says its AI has gone rogue and hacked other companies
One of Meta’s AI systems hacked into another company while it was being tested, Meta has revealed.

The announcement adds even more concern that increasingly capable AI systems are increasingly launching cyber attacks – without their creators’ knowledge.

It follows similar incidents at OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, and Claude’s Anthropic.

Also See: AI designs new virus not found in nature

Connecting Young Adults to Mentors in Your Church
Young adults need mentors when the job disappoints, a relationship strains or ends, the prayer seems unanswered, or obedience becomes costly.

The back-to-school mistake that could put your child at risk of injury
As students head back to school, doctors and teachers are warning parents to take a closer look at what's inside their children's backpacks, saying overloaded bags can increase the risk of injury and make the school day harder.

Love Keeps No Record of Wrongs
Wait! Don’t stop reading! I know what you’re thinking. “We’ve all heard this before. Why even write on this?” Because you need to hear it. Because I need to hear it. So you’ve heard it before? Good. Listen close then. If you really want to show Christian love, then something has to happen when “wrongs” occur. These can be real or perceived wrongs. In the ESV, 1 Corinthians 13:5 is translated as “resentful”. A more literal interpretation is that love does not keep an accounting of wrongs. I want to dig into what this means and why a record of wrongs is not only unloving, but in the most basic sense it is unChristian.

Why Evangelism Demands Patience
Gospel seeds can wait years before they grow.

Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (August 6, 2026) Is Now Online

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

On this day, August 6, in 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. The loss of life from both atomic bombings was horrific. Roughly 80,000 people were killed immediately or shortly afterwards at Hiroshima. By the end of 1945 the total number of dead had risen above 140,000 due to serious injuries and radiation sickness. A further 74,000 died at Nagasaki. Of the dead, an estimated 38,000 were children.

Kokura had been the intended target of the second atomic bomb but heavy cloud cover over that Japanese city caused the bomber’s commander to switch to the alternative target, Nagasaki. The two atomic bombings ushered in a new age in warfare, the nuclear age in which a single bomb could destroy a city and a war fought with nuclear weapons could wipe out not only human civilization but also all life on earth.

This knowledge, however, has not deterred nations from seeking to possess nuclear weapons and from developing nuclear weapons far more destructive than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world now lives in fear of such weapons falling into the wrong hands, the hands of someone who feels no moral restraint or any other compunction against using them.

This evening’s message is a reflection on an ancient prophesy in the Book of Isaiah and how Jesus fulfills that prophesy.

Readings: Isaiah 2: 1- 5; 1 Timothy 2:1-10

Message: The Peaceable Kingdom

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2026/08/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows-august.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing a lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows the lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Thursday Evenings at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

Wednesday's Catch: “Church Renewal in a Changing World” And More

“Church Renewal in a Changing World” featuring Lovett H. Weems Jr. and Allen T. Stanton
Is the future of the church dependent on institutional growth, or is faithful discipleship the key? In this episode, Jonathan Page is joined by Allen Stanton and Lovett Weems, author of An Aura of Hope: United Methodism’s Next Chapter in the United States, to discuss the future of Methodism, the strengths of small and rural congregations, and how churches can thrive by focusing on discipleship, mission, and community impact rather than simply chasing growth.

Episcopal, United Methodist, and other mainline churches share similar characteristics and face similar challenges--aging congregations, declining attendance, shared or no clergy, denominational or diocesan (or equivalent) priorities that place unrealistic demands upon smaller churches or affect their public image and create barriers between them and the community

Be Undeniable: A Christian Alternative to Engaging In the Culture Wars
The world isn’t looking for someone to win the latest debate in the culture war. They’re looking for an alternative to the whole mess.

Are Americans actually getting dumber? Here's what we know about the reverse Flynn effect
Just over a hundred years ago, the Binet IQ test was developed in France and soon after, brought to the United States, where it was given to public school kids, physicians, and immigrants at Ellis Island.

From the 1930s, IQ scores seemed to be inching up – with each new generation scoring a little higher than the last. Throughout the 20th century, average intelligence scores rose by about 3 points a decade, even when researchers used different tests and metrics...

It was expected that this increase would keep going, even if at a slower pace, as humanity advanced.

And then people started getting 'dumber'.

Why are so many young women leaving Mormonism?
More than half of young adult women who grew up LDS have now left. Many are reacting against politics, purity culture and powerlessness.

Three ways to know I am a real Christian
It is a common question from earnest and sincere people: how can I know I am a Christian? There are all sorts of answers we might give, some probably more helpful than others. But it would make most sense to look at the scriptures and see some of the signs it would highlight. So, to that end, here are three biblical signs that you are a genuine Christian.

Also See: Struggle Against Sin Doesn’t Signal Defeat

The Wise Sage: The Pastor-Administrator
Three and a half years ago, I received a text from a good friend. “You treading water yet?” he asked.

You see, I was about six months into my role as rector of a small and struggling parish, and my friend—a rector on the other side of town, serving a parish marginally larger & “healthier” than my own—knew from his own experience how overwhelming this work can be. Wonderful & deeply satisfying, yes … but also at times overwhelming.

AI Is Changing Discipleship in Ways Most Churches Haven’t Considered
You know this as a preacher: Patience is a Christian virtue, something you’re probably working on, and something you encourage people to develop.

Well, welcome to the age of AI, which brings with it a host of new challenges. Like this one. AI answers every question instantly. God, as you know, sometimes doesn’t answer at all.

That gap is about to become one of the biggest discipleship challenges the church has faced.

Why Disciple Making is the Best Leadership Development Strategy
Jesus never recruited leaders, but He did make disciples. The greatest leadership development system the church has is the Great Commission.

Small Group Participation Linked to Higher Discipleship Scores
U.S. Protestant churchgoers who regularly attend a small group Bible study, such as Sunday School, have the highest discipleship scores.

The optimal size for a small group is 5 to 7 People. A group larger than 12 people is no longer a small group and the dynamics that make a small group effective will no longer work. Sunday School classes from what I have observed frequently exceed 12 people and the dynamics that make a small group effective are missing. To benefit from small group dynamics a large Sunday School class will need to be reorganized into smaller groups of the optimal size. Members of the class are likely to resist such a reorganization. One option is to have the small groups formed from the class to meet periodically as a large group to socialize over a meal.

Why We Still Believe in Short-Term Mission Trips for Churches
Josh and Sam discuss why churches should still believe in short-term mission trips when they are approached with the right biblical purpose and practical care. While these trips are sometimes criticized for being expensive, shallow, or more about the travelers than the mission field, they can still be powerful tools for gospel partnership, spiritual growth, and leadership development. When done well, short-term trips do not replace long-term missions. They support and strengthen missions, and help churches cultivate a deeper heart for the nations.

Image Credit: Trinity Episcopal Church, Fulton KY

Tuesday's Catch: 'What You Need to Know about Staffing Your Church' And More

What You Need to Know about Staffing Your Church
Jess and Thom welcome Matt Steen, Co-Founder of Chemistry Staffing, to The Church Answers Podcast.

The Great Volunteer Burnout Problem
Thom and Jess discuss why so many church volunteers are burned out and how leaders can better care for them.

Growing interest in Christianity reported among UK military personnel
Rising numbers of baptisms, growing chapel attendance and greater demand for Bibles are pointing to increased openness to Christianity among military personnel.

Also See: Is spiritual revival stirring in Britain’s Armed Forces?

Airline Boots Evangelist After She Proselytizes Plane Passengers
One week after the Washington Post wrote about the trend of in-flight evangelism, preacher Whitney Lynn was escorted off an Alaska Airlines flight after addressing passengers with a religious message.

While preaching to a captive audience like the passengers on an airplane in flight may be gratifying to the preacher, I question its effectiveness as a method of evangelism. Lynn was preaching AT the other passengers, not TO them. Her motives are open to question. What she was doing has the marks of being self-serving: she was drawing attention to herself and making herself feel good, but whether her message was reaching receptive ears is an entirely different matter.

The liturgy wars are back. Spoiler: They never left.
As prominent prelates clash over the traditional Latin Mass, Pope Leo XIV’s response may reveal his deepest instincts about authority, unity and tradition.

Inclusivity Brings Church Back from the Brink
Glendale United Methodist Church is a living example of how a congregation can thrive in the 2020s.

From 12-25 people attending Sunday services nine years ago, the church has grown to about 125 people at worship today.

The church is well known for its inclusivity, especially of the LGBTQ community.

This article is one of the ways that the more progressive element of the United Methodist Church promotes greater inclusivity in US United Methodist annual conferences, districts, and local churches. Nashville, Tennessee, however is a major city with a growing, diverse population and an LGBTQ community, demographic factors that contributed to Glendale's growth in attendance. What works in Nashville will not work in a small, relatively conservative and homogeneous rural community like Almo, Kentucky. The local United Methodist church has disaffiliated from the denomination.

The Episcopal Church has five churches in the Jackson Purchase. (The denomination did have six churches but the sixth church was forced to close due to its poor location, a clergy-community mismatch, and a subsequent decline in attendance.) Only one of the five churches has a full time pastor. It is located in Paducah, the largest city in the region. A second church, located in the university town of Murray, did have a full time pastor who doubled as a university campus minister but he moved on. The church has been limping along without a pastor since his departure, supplied by retired clergy two Sundays of the month.

The Impact of Disaffiliation after Two Years
When I began considering a book about United Methodism’s next chapter in the United States, it was clear that the impact of disaffiliation was a central reality that conferences and congregations were having to engage. The tragedy of disaffiliation was disastrous for the denomination as a whole as it dominated the attention of leaders at all levels for multiple years. The results have left wounds and disappointments that may never heal...

One Consequence of Methodism's Pilgrimage to Respectability
United Methodism has had its share of divisions since its beginning in the United States as the Methodist Episcopal Church. No division has a single cause even if there is a prominent presenting issue. Often conventional wisdom associates one or more theological or social issues with the controversy and departure of some. The chart above gives some examples from selected divisions.

It is noteworthy to compare the issues associated with divisions with other issues that at one time were extremely contentious, at least for a significant portion of the denomination. We also notice from the chart below how some issues that are controversial in one era cease to be in later times.

Silence Informs Ron Clingenpeel’s Vibe
Years before he was the Very Rev. Ron Clingenpeel, he entered General Theological Seminary in New York City. On his first day in Evensong, the chapel fell silent after the first reading.

“Nobody did anything. There was like two or three minutes of silence,” he said. “It was scary as hell. Was I supposed to do something or was somebody waiting for me? It didn’t take me long to learn to appreciate those periods of silence and quiet.”

Quiet Times: One User’s Humble Guide
The children’s song goes, “read your Bible, pray every day, and you will grow, grow, grow.” And I don’t think there’s a Christian anywhere who doesn’t desire to grow, grow, grow. But what if you don’t know how to read your Bible? What if you don’t know how to pray? Despite having heard people talking about their “quiet times” or devotional reading, what if you aren’t sure what those look like? What if you’ve been a believer for many years, only you still wonder how others spend time with the Lord?

Thankfully, there isn’t only one “right way” to spend time with God. In some ways, you can’t really go wrong simply reading his word and speaking to him in prayer. But in this article, I’m going to offer a practical, guided tour to one approach to spending time with God. I’ve also provided lots of links to helpful resources throughout.

Monday's Catch: 'How Many Unchurched People Live Near Your Church?' And More

How Many Unchurched People Live Near Your Church? Now You Can Know Exactly (And Their Receptivity!)
Most church leaders know there are unchurched people in their community. But how many are there? And how receptive are they to the church? Now you can know exactly how many unchurched adults live within any specified drive time from your church location.

The Church Answers Unchurched Receptivity Report is brand new and an excellent resource for any church. In fact, we believe every church in America should know the number of unchurched adults in their community and their receptivity levels.

Having some idea of how receptive the unchurched population of your community is will make the task of reach them and engaging them less daunting. A church will be able to tailor its evangelistic approach to the different receptivity groups identified in the community.

Neurodivergent Church Leaders Welcome Mullally’s Remarks
Two neurodivergent church leaders advocating for their communities in the Episcopal Church and the Church of England were encouraged to hear Archbishop Sarah Mullally speak publicly about her dyslexia during the General Synod earlier this month.

Neurodiversity Ministries Blossom from Deep Listening
In recent years, awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity—the reality that people’s brains develop and function in different ways—has grown significantly. Often associated with conditions like autism and ADHD, neurodivergence reflects a wide spectrum of human experience. Yet the church has not always embraced these differences as part of the diversity of Christ’s body, at times lacking understanding or even causing harm.

Increasingly, congregations are recognizing a call to more faithful ministry with and by neurodivergent people, creating communities that are not only more inclusive, but more whole. St. Luke UMC in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and Haddonfield UMC in New Jersey are two of those congregations.

Rooted in What Lasts: Identity Beyond Disability
Almost all the time, I’m just another guy. Then, in brief but recurring moments, I’m the guy who talks funny, who’s different, who’s disabled.

Do you really see those around you?
Those with disabilities are all around you. From the visible disabilities like those with mobility challenges to the invisible disabilities often ignored, undiagnosed, or mislabeled. I am not asking you to become a doctor or to try and diagnose everyone but you need to see everyone made in the image of God for who they are.

A Liturgy With a Pause—for the Killing
Picture this scene: A person is sitting in a room. A member of the clergy is with them, offering them communion, with the classic formulation: “The body of Christ (given for you). The blood of Christ (shed for you).” Some other prayers are said. A few moments later, a nurse or doctor administers a lethal injection, killing the person.

Is this a scene from some disturbing dystopian movie? Sadly, no—it is the disturbing reality of the state of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Deadly attack on Ethiopian monastery condemned
A drone strike on an Ethiopian Orthodox monastery during a worship service has reportedly killed two nuns and six priests.

The attack on Abbay Giyorgis St Arsema Unity Monastery in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region took place on 22 July and left many others injured, prompting international condemnation.

Church elder, worship leader killed by Islamic extremists in the DRC
Suspected fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamic terror group active in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killed over a dozen people, including a church elder and worship leader, during attacks on the Christian commune of Mangina. Other residents were wounded, homes were set on fire and one person was reported missing.

The assailants carried knives and firearms and moved through Mangina intending to kill residents and destroy their homes, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC) quoted Mangina Mayor Nicolas Kambale as saying.

Deadly distortions of Christianity in Africa
The groups examined in this piece are particularly extreme and shocking examples: the so-called ‘Holy Spirit Movement’ (HSM) and the better-known, and infamous, ‘Lord’s Resistance Army’ (LRA). While both of these are from Africa, syncretism is not limited to any one continent, culture or period of time, although context always informs the way that such phenomena develop.

Jehovah’s Witnesses Enlist Thousands for Bible Studies in South Africa
Jehovah’s Witnesses claim to have enlisted over 10 thousand people for Bible studies in remote villages of South Africa during five weeks of a special house-to-house preaching campaign.

Opinion: Inside Christian nationalists’ war on religious freedom
Earlier this year, a presidential commission staffed almost entirely by conservative Christians urged Americans to rethink the separation of church and state and build “bridges” between them. Last week, the Department of Justice directed federal agencies to expand protections for religious expression in public employment, military service, education, healthcare and federal contracting.

These policies reflect the influence of Christian nationalism, a movement predicated on the belief that the United States is divinely chosen,” the New Testament should shape government policies, and white Christians should dominate American culture.

The Main Reason People Don’t Become Church Members
Church membership should not consist of rules to keep people out, but ramps to help people grow.

Church Planting Like a Missionary Leader Guide
This Leader Guide is designed to help pastors and ministry leaders facilitate meaningful conversations alongside the Church Planting Like a Missionary course. Through discussion questions, practical reflection, and guided application, it equips leaders to disciple prospective church planters, residents, and other emerging leaders as they discern God’s calling and prepare for the journey of planting healthy, mission-focused churches.

5 Good Questions to Assess Your Volunteer Teams
How would you assess the strength of your volunteer teams?

Three Things You're Getting Wrong About Religion Data
oday’s post is going to be a bit different than the usual stuff you get on my newsletter. Instead of just focusing on a single question and making a bunch of graphs that try to figure out that causal puzzle, I am going to share a few things that I’ve learned after doing this kind of work for the last ten years.

3 Gifts We Need to Discern Truth
God cares about truth to such a degree that it is part of His identity, work, and the overall expression of His will.

Self-Care is an Act of Faith
Dr. Dontá McGilvery argues that self-care is more than a personal wellness practice. For pastors, ministry leaders, and church members alike, making time for rest is an act of faith that reflects trust in God’s provision rather than our own endless striving.

Gutting Old Books to Feed AI: What Could Go Wrong?
AI companies are using physical books to train them for their large language models since these texts aren’t already ridden with AI-generated writing. What better place to look for pure human language than in rare books?

The books, however, are essentially destroyed by the cutting machines employed to get at the text...

To my way of thinking this is very shortsighted as is the practice of pulling books off library shelves and discarding them because electronic editions are on the internet. AI and computers run on electricity. No electricity, no AI or computers. We should be preserving printed books as a backup system in the event of a major, long-term or permanent blackout due to unusual solar activity, depletion of fossil fuels, or war. A printed book can be read by candlelight!

Why AI is far from divine
Churches aren’t immune to AI’s increasing popularity. Pope Leo has just advised his priests not to use it to write their sermons. I’d say that’s sound advice for preachers from any denomination.

He told them, “Like all the muscles in the body, if we do not use them, if we do not move them, they die. The brain needs to be used, so our intelligence must also be exercised a little so as not to lose capacity.”

To give a true sermon, the Pope explained, “is to share faith,” something AI would never be able to do.

He advised preachers, “people want to see your faith, your experience of having known and loved Jesus Christ.”

Identifying the Right and Wrong Motivations for Being a Missionary
While our motives will never be totally pure or stable, there are some priorities we should have as we assess what is primarily driving a person to missions. In this brief article I want to highlight two wrong motivations that I see all too often. The first is guilt and the second is pride. Finally, lest we spend all of our time focused on what is wrong, let me conclude with a series of rightly ordered motivations for desiring to serve among the nations.

15 Recommended Resources for Equipping Individuals and Churches to Do Evangelism
It’s no secret that many evangelicals struggle with doing evangelism. In fact, many will never share their faith with anybody. Because of Church Answers’ commitment to help churches recommit to evangelism, I’m offering this list of practical resources that may help you and your church re-invest in this task...

Mainliners also struggle with evangelism. In the Episcopal Church I heard a retired Episcopal priest preach not too long ago, "Episcopalians don't do evangelism." It is this negative attitude toward evangelism perpetuated by Episcopal clergy that Episcopalians must overcome along with the lack of training, leadership, and experience in evangelism.

Sundays at All Hallows (August 2, 2026) Is Now Online

 

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.

Beginning this Sunday, the Ninth Sunday after Trinity, we will be switching back to the order of service for Festal Morning Prayer for the remainder of Trinitytide. The order of service we are using is adapted from that of Morning Prayer in An Australian Prayer Book (1978).

In this Sunday’s message we will be taking a look at Matthew’s account of the feeding of the five thousand, and its meaning and implication for contemporary Christians and those exploring the Christian faith.

Readings: Isaiah 55: 1-5, Romans 9: 1-5, and Matthew 14: 13-21

Message: An Unexpected Evening Meal on the Grass

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2026/08/sundays-at-all-hallows-august-2-2026.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Sundays at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing each lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows each lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Sundays at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

Saturday Lagniappe: 'Young Christians are sharing their faith with confidence and hope, survey suggests' And More

Young Christians are sharing their faith with confidence and hope, survey suggests
Young Christians across the UK are actively sharing their faith and remain optimistic that others are open to hearing about Jesus, according to new research from the Evangelical Alliance.

The organisation’s ‘Faith in Action’ report, based on a survey of 611 Christians aged 18 to 34 conducted earlier this year, paints a picture of a generation deeply involved in church life while confidently engaging with the wider culture and speaking about their beliefs.

Church of England 'thrilled' as cathedral attendance rises for fifth year running
Attendance at Church of England cathedrals rose for the fifth year in a row in 2025, with Sunday services enjoying particularly strong growth among adults.

In Defense of the Abuja Affirmation
Iam grateful for the irenic article that the Rev. Dr. Matthew Olver published on Covenant on April 13, 2026, where he engages theologically with the Abuja Affirmation.

As a participant in the G26 Assembly in Abuja in March, I have a good idea of what was achieved in that extraordinary gathering, which was a celebration of the Global Anglican Communion launched by the Gafcon primates on October 16, 2025.

The heart of the issue that Gafcon has been addressing since its 2008 inaugural assembly in Jerusalem is the authority of Scripture in its plain, canonical sense.

Poll shows drop in support for same-sex marriage in the US
A new poll shows reduced support for same-sex marriage compared to other recent surveys, as multiple polls that have found a supermajority of Americans back same-sex marriage continue to record declines from the record highs measured in recent years.

No country for ugly babies
Surrogacy contracts reduce children to the status of baked goods we can reject because they don’t look right.

Progressive National Baptist young people see signs of welcome but seek less judgment
‘I feel like also seasoned adults complain about what we're wearing,’ said one teen about her historically Black denomination.

Finding fault with the younger generations is not a particularly Black or Christian characteristic. It has a long history going back to ancient times and is a favorite pastime of older people.

After SSPX schism, some Catholics urge greater access to the older Latin Mass
Many of the 2% of U.S. Catholics who attend the traditional Latin Mass weekly surmount considerable obstacles, like long drives and disapproval from the Catholic hierarchy, to attend.

Communion Forest marks fourth birthday as global Anglican creation-care movement grows
Four years on from a single tree planted at the Lambeth Conference, the Communion Forest now stretches from mangroves and meadows to prayer gardens and prairies – and a new A to Z gathers its stories from Australia to Zimbabwe.

Reverence in Worship
A few years ago, I spoke with a college senior about his recent conversion from Evangelicalism to Catholicism. One of the reasons he gave was the reverence he witnessed during Mass. Many other young adults share his sentiment and have acted similarly.[1] Their departure offers a helpful critique of what is lacking in many churches today.

The Octogenarian YouTube Pastor: Mike Bayer on Building an Online Brand, Senior Ministry, and More (Ep 133)
“Why do you want to do a YouTube channel? What are you gonna share? Pick your message, pick your purpose, pick your why.”

Why did a pastor say he almost died from listening to a chatbot?
A chatbot functions as a mirror — not a true spiritual guide.

VOICES: 3 warnings every Christian needs before asking AI spiritual questions
My friends, imagine a child walking into a vast library at midnight.

There are millions of books. There are flashing screens. There are voices answering every question instantly. But no librarian. No pastor. No shepherd. No one to say, “This is truth,” and, “That is error.”

That is the world many Christians are entering when they bring spiritual questions to artificial intelligence.

Friday's Catch: "The Myth of the 'Stable Church'" And More

The Myth of the “Stable Church”
Many congregations are asking what faithful ministry looks like in a time of change and uncertainty. Lovett H. Weems Jr. explores recent research on church attendance while challenging the notion that stability should be the church’s primary goal. Instead, he calls congregations to reclaim an outward-focused mission by building relationships with the people God has placed in their communities.

A United Methodist Call to Healthy Aging
The United States is growing older at an unprecedented rate, and The United Methodist Church has a role to play, writes a retired pastor.

The U.S. debate around immigration policy raises questions about who will provide the care needed for older Americans. Many professional caregivers are immigrants, including thousands from Haiti and other nations.

The church can advocate for policies that preserve human dignity while also preparing congregations to become communities where older adults flourish.

The United Methodist Church is not the only denomination with aging congregations. Nor are aging congregation confined to mainline churches.

A record-challenging heat dome is about to bake the West with the summer’s hottest temperatures so far
An unusually strong heat dome will scorch much of the western United States this weekend, bringing the hottest temperatures so far this year to tens of millions from California to Canada.

Dozens of record highs are expected to fall in at least 12 states in the West through the weekend with nearly 50 million people under heat alerts.

American Red Cross declares second-ever national blood supply crisis
The American Red Cross has declared the second-ever national blood supply crisis after blood donations fell to a four-year summer low.

On Monday, the 145-year-old non-profit said that as the United States’ largest single provider of blood products, it now has less than one-day national supply of type O positive blood – the most commonly transfused blood.

America doesn’t have a political divide—it has a conflict problem
As the country heads into the 2026 midterm elections, Americans are bracing for another season of political combat. Candidates promise to heal divisions, pundits warn of rising extremism, and voters prepare for months of relentless messaging.

Yet beneath all the campaign noise lies a deeper problem the election cannot fix: we have lost the ability to disagree without turning one another into adversaries. Until we relearn how to navigate conflict, every headline and every political clash will reinforce the false belief that our fellow citizens are enemies rather than people with whom we must learn to coexist.

Experts find what prompts conspiracy theorists to act on their beliefs
What turns a conspiracy theory into an action?

There are three characteristics that can determine when these beliefs are likely to shape real-world behavior, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center shared this week.

Unique Church Leadership Lessons from the Book of Ezra You Haven't Heard
Pastors often look to the book of Nehemiah for practical lessons on leadership. However, in times of rebuilding and revitalization, we should not overlook the book of Ezra, with its story of the rebuilding of the temple. Ken Roach, Vice President of Innovation at Wesley Biblical Seminary, joins Sam to share the three “royal decrees” found there and how they translate into leadership principles every rebuilder needs to consider.

Lay Preacher’s Conference
The Episcopal Lay Preaching Network’s National Conference serves lay preachers from across the Episcopal Church in the US, Canada, and Europe. This includes current lay preachers, lay preachers in training, and other diocesan staff/clergy who support them.

The annual gathering is an opportunity for Episcopal lay preachers to gather in community with one another for fellowship, learning and advocacy. Through keynotes, workshops, worship, preaching groups, and community events, participants will grow their confidence and skills for the task of lay preaching, and connect with others engaged in this holy work.

Alisa Childers: Not All Christian Music Is Actually Christian
Alisa Childers spent years on stage with ZOEgirl before she became one of the more recognized voices warning Christians to slow down and think about what they sing. The former CCM artist turned apologist says a song earning a “Christian” label often comes down to a business decision, not a theological one. Her point for worship leaders and parents alike: don’t hand over your discernment just because a track showed up on a Christian playlist.

Brian Doerksen gave evangelicalism its soundtrack but not its current theology
Today's evangelical worship culture often reflects a very different vision of God than the one Doerksen’s songs proclaimed.

Don’t Treat AI as Your Pastor
A tool that appears to understand us and responds quickly can easily lead us to believe we’ve received genuine spiritual help.

AI is good at offering comfort, but it rarely truly urges us to repent.

Anthropic AI models hacked three companies during tests
Anthropic said Thursday that software it was testing got onto the internet and hacked unsuspecting companies without the AI-maker’s knowledge in three separate incidents dating back to April.

The artificial-intelligence vendor didn’t say which companies had been hit, but all three were notified of the incident on Monday, Anthropic said.

How a Google Voice Number Transformed My Youth Ministry
My students can ask an AI their theological questions. But while I cannot compete with the speed and thoroughness of a machine, a machine can’t compete with the fact that I am human and it is not.

6 Back-to-School Conversation Starters
As teenagers drag themselves out of summer and into their next school year, they have a lot on their mind. I want to access all of that “seismic activity of the soul” so that I avoid coming off like I’m interrogating them with tired conversation starters.

Instead, I gently prompt them to think beyond surface conversations. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with: “How was your summer?” or “Remind me again…what school will you be at this fall?” or “Are you gonna go out for [sports/band/drama]?” But let’s not be afraid to go deeper, using surprising questions to invite them into a more substantial conversation. Try these conversation starter ideas!

Getting Ready for the School Year
It’s time again to get ready for the school year!

No doubt you’re already laying the groundwork for fall meetings and finalizing those calendars to get in parents’ hands. You’re busily preparing for an influx of students and new challenges ahead. But as you’re getting ready for the school year, have you thought about how the changes will impact your family? It’s a crucial thing to consider, yet many of us forget how this change affects our personal schedules and relationships.

Thursday's Catch: 'Are you ready to offer welcome?' And More

Are you ready to offer welcome?
As Thom Rainer drew to our attention his article, "Why 'Friendly Church' Is No Longer Enough;" in today’s culture, friendliness is expected. Guests will visit your website and view the livestream and videos of your church's service before they decide to pay your church a visit. Their initial impression of the church will determine whether they pay you a return visit - what happens in the first 10 seconds after they step through the front door, assuming that they make it to the front door.

Words Are Very Unnecessary
Stephen McAlpine explains why we're not talking as much as we used to and why that's a problem.

Helping Young Adults Build Faith That Lasts
I grew up in church.

Some of my earliest memories are of Sunday school classrooms, Bible stories, worship services, and watching faithful men and women love Jesus. The church wasn’t simply where my family spent Sundays; it shaped my life and became the place where I first encountered the gospel.

Yet there was a season when I nearly walked away.

Most of the content of this article is on the second page due to poor formatting!

When Should We Just Call Young Adults ‘Adult-Adults’?
Young adults ministry, like all targeted ministries, needs to be conscious of the theological and practical risks of the homogeneous unit principle... However, if we accept that targeted ministries can have a healthy place in church life, there are some potential negative consequences in stretching the age-range of ‘young adult’ too wide, and investing in specialist ministry to this broad cohort.

It’s time to talk about domestic violence
Each time a major sporting event occurs, like the recent World Cup tournament, I see posts on social media about domestic violence.

Did you know domestic violence rates rise by 26% in UK homes each time England’s football team plays, and 38% when they lose? And roughly 10% in American homes each time an NFL team suffers an upset loss?

But domestic violence is not just a sports problem. It’s a big deal all the time, everywhere.

Who is missing in your church who is already there?
Why disability ministry is about more than accessibility—it's about helping people truly belong in the church.

Dioceses Form Eco-Region Networks
Twelve eco-region networks, spanning 55 of the 106 dioceses, have been established across the Episcopal Church – both domestically and internationally – as part of the Creation Care initiative.

The eco-region networks address environmental, climate, water, agriculture, food, and clean energy concerns, mostly specific to issues in each geographic area, and all are key aspects of the church’s commitment to creation care ministries.

The Back-to-School Checklist for Pastors (Prepping Your Church for Ministry to Parents & Children) 

In this episode, Josh and Sam explore how pastors can prepare their churches for one of the most strategic ministry seasons of the year: back-to-school. As families shift routines, students face new pressures, and parents feel the weight of another busy season, churches have a unique opportunity to serve, encourage, and disciple. A strong back-to-school plan is not about adding more activity to the calendar. It is about aligning ministries, equipping volunteers, and intentionally supporting parents as they lead their homes through a demanding season. 

Preaching: Beyond the Children's Sermon
Is the "children's sermon" helping—or hurting—intergenerational worship?

Peter Levenstrong suggests that separating children from the main sermon unintentionally teaches everyone that preaching isn't really for all ages.

His challenge: preach one sermon that welcomes every listener.

Do you agree?

I had a mixed reaction to this article. While I have advocated since the mid- 1980s for greater involvement of children in the worship, ministry, and life of the local church and wrote an occasional paper on the subject for my diocese's liturgy and music commission in 2000, I must question Levenstrong's contention that separating children from the main sermon unintentionally teaches everyone that preaching isn't really for all ages. I was trained as an educator and worked with children as a social worker for almost three decades. Children go through different developmental stages and learn differently at each stage. Different pedagogic methods are required at each stage. Designing a sermon tailored to a broad range of children's developmental stages and also to adults would be too greater challenge for most preachers. They might end up preaching a diet of pablum to their congregation that benefits neither the children nor the adults. From what I have also observed from livestreams, videos, and in person, the quality of a lot of Episcopal preaching is mediocre at best, indicating sermon preparation and presentation was not the preacher's strong point. Levenstrong's proposal strikes me as one of those bright ideas which, when they are implemented, often with a great deal of hoopla, do not accomplish what those who proposed them claimed they would.

Engage Teens with the Whole Bible
If you’re a parent or a youth leader, you may be daunted by the challenge of engaging teenagers with the Bible. We long for the teenagers we love to hear the voice of their Good Shepherd: “Abide in my word” (John 8:31). Still, this can feel increasingly difficult as the din of competing messages grows louder throughout adolescence.

Learning to love Scripture is the work of the Holy Spirit, but adults can show a little Spirit-inspired creativity to help spark curiosity, eagerness, and reverence in young readers. Here are some recommended practices from a longtime youth minister and a mom of grown kids.

10 Ways to Encourage Kids in Your Church to Read the Bible
Kids who regularly read the Bible growing up are more likely to become faithful believers as young adults. And your church can help them.

Biblical Respect in a Disrespectful Age
Sadly, in popular culture today there are few signs of what it means to respect other people. Whether it is between politicians, actors, and other media personalities, or between students and teachers, consumers of television and the internet seem to thrive on showcasing anger and insults to a world ready to glory in disrespect. For a Christian though, disrespect is unacceptable. We are to keep our emotions under control (e.g., Matt. 5:22; 2 Tim. 1:7) and show respect to others.

Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (July 30, 2026) Is Now Online

 

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

In his parables Jesus took things from everyday life and used them to direct people’s attention to things of God. In the Parable of the Seine Net he used a scene from the daily lives of Galilean fishermen to teach the multitudes about Judgment Day. In this evening’s message we unpack that parable.

Readings: 1 Kings 3: 5-12; Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

Message: The Way of Righteousness

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2026/07/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows-july_0156103201.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing a lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows the lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Thursday Evenings at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

Wednesday's Catch: '10 Signs You Belong to a Healthy Church' And More

10 Signs You Belong to a Healthy Church
A crowded sanctuary does not prove a church is healthy. Neither does polished worship, a gifted preacher or a full ministry calendar.

The clearest signs of a healthy church are found below the surface. They show up in how leaders handle authority, how people treat one another, what gets preached and whether ordinary Christians are being equipped to follow Jesus outside the building.

Also See: Do Your Teenagers Have Gospel Fluency?

Dear Gen Z Pastor: 6 Traits of Our Generation and How They Affect Ministry
My older brother and sister are both Millennials (1981–1996). I, however, was born just in time to belong to Generation Z (1997–2012). Now, in 2026, Gen Z is squarely in the workforce and, increasingly, in ministry. I have been a senior pastor for three years and am at the very tip of the Gen Z iceberg. More Gen Z pastors are entering ministry each day.

Dear Gen Z Pastor, our generation is marked by many traits, some of which will directly impact the way you minister to your congregation. Understanding these traits can help you recognize both the opportunities and challenges they bring to ministry.

Equipping Your Church to See the Value of Membership
We must help Christians see the significance of their part in God’s design and why they should commit themselves in church membership.

‘A deal with the devil’: Religion motivates data center opponents in Texas
Some see the facilities’ construction as a sign of the apocalypse, while others see it as an opportunity to advocate for environmental stewardship.

Catholics aren’t consequentialists: Why the US must refuse war crimes in Iran
Some actions are so evil, so fundamentally at odds with the good, that they must never be done.

Who was St Olaf and how did he become patron saint of Norway?
29 July is St Olaf’s Day, the feast day of the patron saint of Norway. But who was St Olaf, and what do we know about him? This is the story...

Most Churchgoers Content With Congregation’s Worship Style
Even with wide differences across congregations, most attendees are content with their church’s worship style.

Faith Comes by Hearing: On the Word of God, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Public Worship
What happens to our ears goes down deep into our hearts. And the Church yearns for this humble reception of her Lord. This is her very Life. That’s why it’s so important to fix your sound problems.

The surprising reason kids can't seem to read anymore
One of my daily challenges as a parent is getting my fourth grader to read for 30 minutes as part of her homework.

It’s not because she struggles with her reading skills; she actually reads well-above grade level. Like many kids of her generation, though, my daughter has zero interest in picking up a book. Why would she, when she’s got an iPad offering her nonstop entertainment via videos expertly designed for her short attention span?

Tuesday's Catch: 'Four Signs Your Church Is Ready for a Turnaround' And More

Four Signs Your Church Is Ready for a Turnaround
Thom identifies four signs that indicate a church may be ready to move from decline to renewal.

Why the Co-vocational Trend Is So Important
Thom opens with a reality many church leaders are already experiencing: the traditional fully funded pastorate is no longer the norm in many churches. Financial pressures, changing attendance patterns, and shifting expectations are forcing churches to rethink ministry models.

But this is not simply a problem to solve—it is an opportunity to steward. In this conversation, Thom talks with Dr. Andy Miller, the president of Wesley Biblical Seminary, about why the co-vocational trend is one of the most important developments in the future of the church and how it can actually strengthen gospel impact.

Inside the parish-led fight against a $123M ICE facility in Texas
The parishes that won Socorro, Texas, running water in the 1980s are now fighting ICE's plan to convert warehouses into a mega detention center. And the town's water system is at issue again.

Also See: Released Texas pastors say immigration agents threatened family separation

One year later, people of faith should reckon with Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
These policy choices are not merely budget decisions. They reveal our national priorities.

The hidden reality of appliance poverty
Cooking dinner in a microwave, using a neighbour’s washing machine or being unable to keep vital medication cold. These are just some of the situations that individuals and families find themselves in every day. White goods are essential for every home, but for many, when one breaks, or they move into a new property, affording them is out of reach.

This is also a problem in the United States. What resources are available to low income families varies from state to state, community to community.

God Told Me I Was to Come to Your Church Staff — and Other Crazy Stuff Like That
A minister of music once mailed me his resume with a note stapled to it. He’d been driving through my city, he wrote, when God told him he was about to become our next worship leader. I hadn’t opened a search. Nobody on staff had discussed a vacancy, because there wasn’t one. I wrote back and told him that as soon as the Lord told me the same thing, I’d be in touch.

That letter still bothers me. The man likely believed every word of it, and that’s exactly what makes “God told me” claims so hard to untangle. Sincerity and self-deception can look identical from the outside.

8 Things a Pastor Should Never Say From the Pulpit
Here are eight things a pastor should never say from the pulpit, and why each one costs more than it seems.

This historic divinity school is offering the first doctoral degree in ‘AI and Moral Agency’
Shaw University Divinity School hopes to be the first theological school accredited by the Association of Theological Schools to offer a doctoral degree in AI. Its first cohort begins in January.

Just 3 Things Families Need (and Want) From Your Ministry
Have you ever wondered why some families don’t attend church events as often as you’d hope? It’s easy to feel disheartened, but trust us, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes in families’ lives. This article explores how ministry leaders can tune in to families’ needs and become even better faith formation teammates. We’ll look at the importance of being flexible and creative in our approach, and how small gestures can make a big difference in showing families that they’re valued and understood.

15 A+ Back-to-School Ideas for Children’s Ministry
These 15 A+ back-to-school ideas for children’s ministry will keep your kids from “checking out” at church!

Also See: Preschool and Early Elementary Message: Inviting Everyone

4 Keys to Preventing Children’s Ministry Burnout
I define volunteer burnout as a chronic emotional or spiritual state of exhaustion from prolonged ministry demands. Numerous factors can lead to this state of distress. So rather than trying to identify a list of causes, I want to highlight four ways children’s ministry directors can help prevent their teams from burning out.

Discipling a New Believer? Lay These 5 Foundations
In this article, I want to give you five foundation stones to lay down over five initial meetings with a new believer. I would encourage you to invite that new believer to commit to meeting once a fortnight five times to lay these foundations firmly in place.

A Muted World Requires Fresh Approaches to Evangelism
Followers of Jesus are called to be salt and light to the world, proclaiming the excellencies of his salvation to the nations. But how are we to speak this message to an accelerated world that’s moving too fast to hear anything?