Church Trends UPDATE: AI Replacing Your Ministry, Women Leaving Church, + the Anti-Celebrity Pastor
Six months into 2026, four church trends deserve a closer look. Algorithms are discipling your congregation 49 hours a week. AI's biggest threat isn't prompts—it's disruption on a scale the church isn't ready for. Women are still leaving, and now we know why. And a new kind of megachurch pastor is quietly emerging. Here's what's changing and what to do about it.
Class May Exclude Many from Our Churches
“It’s the Economy, Stupid,” is a watchword from the first Bill Clinton presidential campaign that regularly reappears at election times. Attributed to political consultant James Carville, it serves to stress the economy’s impact on voter behavior. As we are beginning to discover, there may be economic factors that also are at the heart of the challenge churches are facing: the reality that large segments of people do not affiliate with churches today in the United States.
A Journey to Original Methodism: Circuit Riding on the Canterbury Trail
Few contemporary voices are exploring both the overlap and divergence of modern Methodism and Anglicanism from the perspective of Original Methodism. I have set out to remedy this. Last year, I wrote about the central influence of Methodists on the early days of the Reformed Episcopal Church, a founding jurisdiction of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). That was a historical account contained to the 19th century. Now, in the 21st century, you will find former Methodist laity who are confirmed Anglicans in pews, former Methodist elders who are Anglican priests, and even a few churches that disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church (UMC) and joined the ACNA. Asbury Theological Seminary, my alma mater, is an approved ACNA seminary with an Anglican Studies track, several ordained and lay ACNA faculty, and a thriving parish on the seminary campus.
Everywhere I turn I meet Anglicans with deep connections to Methodism. It is important to articulate why many faithful Methodists like me have found a home among orthodox Anglicanism, why it is appropriate, and how the original formulation of Methodism found within the Church of England in the 18th century still calls Anglicanism to faithfulness today.
Asbury Seminary Removed From United Methodist Church’s Approved Ordination School List
Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, has been removed from the United Methodist Church’s (UMC) list of approved learning institutions for candidates for ordination in the UMC.
According to Asbury, the decision was related to Asbury’s traditional stance on marriage, which clashes with the UMC’s recently revised stance, which affirms same-sex marriage.
Also See: Leaders drop Asbury from approved seminaries; Asbury Theological Seminary cut by United Methodist Church over same-sex marriage issue;and UMC removes Asbury and 3 others as approved seminaries
South America backs Nairobi–Cairo, but warns Anglican crisis is doctrinal, not structural
The Anglican Church of South America, led by its primate, the Most Rev. Brian Williams, Bishop of Argentina, has issued a strong endorsement of the Nairobi–Cairo structural reforms while warning that the real crisis in global Anglicanism is doctrinal, not institutional. At the same time, Bishop Williams’s visible role at GAFCON’s Abuja gathering shows the province aligning with the orthodox Global South while not formally joining the new Global Anglican Council.
SBC says it’s not possible to be gay or transgender and Christian
It is not possible to be a “gay Christian” or a “transgender Christian,” the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission says.
In a new social media reel posted by the ERLC, that question is answered by RaShan Frost, ERLC director of research and senior fellow “focused on issues of human dignity.”
Also See: What Is the Church of England For?
PCA General Assembly votes against female deacons, advances report on Christian nationalism
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) voted against an overture Thursday to allow women to serve as ordained deacons in the denomination, which has been conducting its annual meeting this week in Louisville, Kentucky.
Overture 37, which had been introduced by the Pacific Presbytery, sought to amend the PCA's Book of Church Order to strike the word "men" from diaconal criteria and open the office to qualified women at the discretion of the local session, while clarifying that only the office of elder is restricted to men.
A Catholic schism over women deacons? Many opponents have already left.
Those who reject papal authority are already out the door. The women who have given up hoping for change are on the way out, too.
Less than half of born-again Christians believe human life is sacred: study
While more than half of theologically identified born-again Christians strongly reject abortion as morally acceptable, less than half believe in the sanctity of human life, according to the latest installment of the American Worldview Inventory 2026 survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.
The sanctity of life refers to the moral and religious belief that all human life is inherently sacred, holy, and possesses an immeasurable worth. Still, just 44% of theologically identified born-again Christians, a term referring to those who believe they will go to Heaven when they die because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, believe human life is sacred.
The US founders’ other revolutionary choice: Separating religion and government
European colonial powers linked church and state. But the founders of the United States broke from that idea as surely as they broke from Britain.
Social media and rallies drive growth of Christian nationalism in UK
Christian nationalism is not only an insidious force in the far-right policies of the United States but is gaining influence across Europe.
In the U.S. and abroad, Christian nationalism grows by spreading polarizing, sensational rhetoric through social media and public rallies. The result in both Europe and America is policies that proliferate racial prejudice and radicalize voting populations toward conservative values.
Like SBC, Episcopal Church hopes to sell its headquarters building
The Southern Baptist Convention isn’t the only national denomination attempting to sell its headquarters building amid changing dynamics. The Episcopal Church announced June 17 that its 12-story Church Center building in New York City is on the market.
Two years ago, the SBC Executive Committee announced plans to sell its headquarters building in downtown Nashville, Tenn., but has yet to find a buyer. That seven-story building was built for $8 million in the 1980s and appraised for $31.7 million in 2021.
By some insider accounts, the once-hot Nashville real estate market has hit a wall that likely has cooled interest in the Baptist property.
The SBC sale was prompted by expenses accrued in investigating and defending allegations of clergy sexual abuse in the denomination.
What Is Modalism? The Most Common Mistake About the Trinity
Have you ever tried to explain the Trinity and accidentally committed a heresy? You are not alone. The usual suspect, perhaps, is Modalism.
Modalism may sound right to many believers. However, it critically misunderstands the nature of God as presented in Scripture.
Let us explore what this heresy is, why it matters, and how we can avoid it.
When Is an Elder Disqualified From Ministry?
Most of us own something we only bring out for special occasions. A good watch. The wedding china. A pen you would never let a stranger borrow. The rest of the time it stays protected, set apart from daily wear. Scripture uses that same idea for the men called to lead the church. A pastor or elder is set apart for God’s purposes. That does not make him more loved than anyone else in the family of God. It means God has marked him for a specific kind of service, and with that service comes a specific standard.
Across the New Testament, the titles pastor, elder, and overseer describe the same office and are largely interchangeable. A plurality of elders leads many healthy churches, and each of those men is held to the same character bar. The question is what happens when one of them falls short of it.
ACNA: Provincial Council Reveals Divided Church
Lawsuits, small parishes, theological differences, divided leadership, women's ordination rankle the orthodox Anglican denomination.
Only 6 per cent of US churches engage in some form of evangelism.
Reflections on the ACNA Provincial Council 2026
You may have heard the famous quote attributed to Mark Twain upon hearing reports of his death: “The report of my death has been grossly exaggerated.”
That quote, whether it’s accurate or not, was fresh on my mind as we concluded the ACNA Provincial Council meeting last week in Tulsa, Oklahoma...
Episcopal Church joins ecumenical discussion in Germany
The Rev. Kirsten Guidero, The Episcopal Church’s ecumenical and interreligious relations officer, met this week with ecumenical leaders at the Ecumenical Centre in Frankfurt, Germany, which is the Council of Christian Churches in Germany’s headquarters. They discussed how The Episcopal Church can contribute to ecumenical cooperation in the European country.
EPC Votes To Ordination Of Celibate “Same-Sex Attracted” Pastors
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) voted last week at its General Assembly to approve a “pastoral letter” to churches that opens the door to ordaining celibate, same-sex attracted individuals—a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from within the denomination.
Are Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App Safe for Church Donations?
Venmo and Cash App are designed to move money quickly and conveniently. Meanwhile, churches are responsible for documenting donor intent, maintaining financial controls, protecting donor trust, and producing reliable contribution records. Those differing objectives can prove problematic at times.
Regulators, prosecutors, and consumer protection agencies continue issuing warnings about increased fraudulent activities tied to digital payment applications.
The Ongoing Shortage of Student Pastors (Where Did They Go?)
Many churches are asking the same question: “Where have all the student pastors gone?” In this episode, Josh and Sam explore the ongoing shortage of youth ministers and the structural reasons behind it.
‘Please Don’t Ever Get Stupid’: The Blunt Warning This Pastor Has Never Forgotten
If you want to last in ministry, there are some things a pastor should never do. The list is not complicated. Most of these are obvious, and that is exactly why they are dangerous. We talk ourselves into them slowly.
Dear Pastor, Pursue God, Not Merely a Quiet Time
Are you seeking to feed your flock but starving yourself? Have you lost sight of the riches of an entire life lived before God?
Who Should Be Admitted to the Lord’s Supper? 4 Views
Today, the table is celebrated less frequently and more languidly by many. It shouldn’t be so—everyone (but especially church leaders) needs to consider the supper’s frequency, significance, and benefits. I want to help you think more deeply about who should be admitted to the supper. If communion is a precious and profound privilege, who participates is important.
Singing the Shepherd Psalm: A Tune for Three Texts
The following article, though not typical for Reformed Worship, is well worth spending some time on. Pastors, musicians, and worship planners alike can benefit from considering the pairing of text and tune and the challenges that arise from a plethora of choices. In addition, several denominations are in the process of developing new hymnbooks for congregational song. This series of articles provide a peek into some of the detailed discussions that take place when considering the pairing of texts and tunes.
A number of articles by Carl P. Daw, Jr., Episcopal priest and hymn writer, are found on this website.
How to Involve Your Small Groups in the Great Commission
If you want your church to balance God’s purposes and grow in a healthy way, your small groups must lead the way.
No One Drifts Into Godliness—Why Spiritual Growth Is Not Accidental
The Christian life isn’t accidental; it doesn’t unravel or flourish randomly. It is shaped by a small number of deeply embedded patterns that quietly, steadily form everything else. Christians have called these patterns ways, paths, or even disciplines. In our current cultural language, I prefer to call them keystone habits. They are practices that don’t just exist alongside the Christian life, but actually shape it at the heart level when practiced in the Spirit’s power.
How to Help Someone Share the Gospel
A few years ago, I watched a friend come to faith after running from the Lord for several years. When he came to faith, it didn’t take long before he was telling everyone he knew about Jesus. He may not have known much, but he knew that Jesus saved him, and that was reason enough to tell his friends.
I’ve watched this pattern play out over and over again. New Christians are often some of the most zealous evangelists. But not everyone begins that way. Some people know they should tell their friends about Jesus, but they feel unprepared, awkward, and afraid. So how do you help someone start sharing the gospel when it does not come naturally?
Also See: How to Start Sharing the Gospel
Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.
A church may be described as a reflection of the people who form its congregation, a sign or result of what they are or of what they have become.
One of the ways that Jesus’ parable of the wise builder and the foolish builder applies to churches, to their congregations, is the topic of this Thursday evening’s message.
Reading: Matthew 7: 21-29
Message: A Church Built on Rock
Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2026/06/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows-june_01760743906.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.
A Church Split Doesn’t Just Divide a Congregation, It Can Cost People Their Faith Forever
A church split does not feel like a disagreement. It feels like a death. One week people are singing next to each other and praying for the lost, and the next they are choosing sides. If you are living through that right now, hear this first: surviving a church split is hard, but people do survive it, and so can you.
I have sat with heartbroken pastors who never saw it coming. I have also talked with believers who walked away from church entirely and never came back, still carrying the wound years later. It happens far too often, and it almost never has to.
Gen Z Churchgoers Attend More but Often Lag in Application
Gen Z churchgoers frequently attend church on Sunday, but their faith often fails to shape their lives during the week.
Also See: Why Gen Z is losing faith in America
Becoming a Church for the Engaged, the Skeptics, and Everyone in Between
How can a church invest in all their neighbors, reaching those who are engaged, those on the edge, and outright skeptics at the same time?
The Lost Superpower Every Leader Needs to Recover
Most leaders don’t think of themselves as creative. Al Gordon says that’s the lie keeping you stuck. Al, founder of Renaissance, lead pastor of SAINT in East London, talks about why creativity is the church’s lost superpower, how stress and algorithms are quietly killing your imagination, and what it actually takes to unlock creativity in yourself, your team, and your church.
Also See: David Epstein: The Truth About Talent and the 10,000 Hour Rule
ACNA Leaders Cite Growth, Resilience Amidst ‘Annus Horribilis’
The chief governance body of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) took steps to admit a new diocese, advanced a comprehensive re-write of its disciplinary canons, and posted attendance growth during its annual gathering June 17-19 at Cornerstone Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
A Defense of the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals
Theologian Katherine Sonderegger argues that the Church’s deepest crisis may also be its most profound ecclesiological moment.
Nobody dislikes Southern Baptists more than Al Mohler
I am disappointed in Al Mohler for a great many reasons. But the Doug Wilson podcast appearance last week is an unsurprising development in a pattern of disappointments.
Mohler has a proven history of disregarding the very people he is supposed to serve.
How women pastors became public enemy No. 1 in the SBC
Southern Baptists have long believed that only men can be pastors. But for decades, the denomination took no action to expel churches where women pastors served. Then, in the middle of an abuse controversy, it became a denominational crisis.
Pastor Douglas Wilson Argues the Bible Supports Using Obscene, 4-Letter Term for a Woman in a ‘Prophetic’ Way
Pastor Douglas Wilson believes he is justified in using a vulgar word referring to female genitalia in certain cases based on his argument that the Bible itself uses vulgarity prophetically. Wilson has been unapologetic about his use of the c-word in a March 2019 blog post, and he explained his reasoning in a recent podcast with The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles.
Why Women Are Quietly Walking Out of Your Church’s Women’s Ministry
Some women love women’s ministry. Others will never walk through the door, and they have reasons. If you lead women in your church and you cannot name those reasons, you are already losing people you were called to reach. I have spent years watching this play out, and I keep landing in the same place. The problem is rarely the women. The problem is the model.
I am an optimist by wiring. I can stand knee-deep in a mess and still see what something could become. I have looked at struggling teams, fading organizations, and people the room had written off, and seen value other people missed. I bring that same hope to women’s ministry, because the potential here is enormous and the current version is leaving most of it on the table.
Why I stay in the SBC as an ordained woman
For me, staying is as much a calling as my ordination.
Countries worldwide call for abolition of surrogacy: Stop exploitation, harming children
Governments from multiple countries have launched a political declaration calling for an international moratorium on surrogacy, as a step toward permanently banning a practice they say exploits women and children worldwide.
Italy and Chile led the effort, presenting the declaration at a high-level event on the sidelines of the 62nd session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, according to the Christian legal advocacy organization ADF International that moderated the proceedings.
Bonfires, Maypoles and a saint’s day: How Europe celebrates the longest day of the year
Midsummer celebrations throughout Europe coincide with the solstice. Many blend pre-Christian and Christian traditions.
What Does a Healthy Small Church Look Like?
Numbers can help us understand some realities of a healthy church. But they’re not the only thing.
Church Planting Like a Missionary - New Churches Course
Church Planting Like a Missionary will equip church planters to faithfully engage their city, make disciples, and plant healthy churches. God wants to work in you so He can work through you, your leadership, and your church plant.
Alabama church breaks ground for first permanent worship space in its history St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church in Chelsea, Alabama, broke ground on June 14 for its first permanent church building after nearly two decades of worshiping in borrowed and temporary spaces.
St. Michael's Episcopal Church, planted in the mid-1980s, occupied its first permanent building in less than a decade. We opted for a multipurpose building, choosing function over form. Buildings with traditional features like arched windows and in which form is the determining factor in the building's design are much more expensive and far less practical. Our research also showed architectural evangelism is an ineffective form of evangelism. By the 1990s we had gone from two services on Sunday morning to three and a mid-week service on Wednesday nights.
Five Major Shifts in Churches Influenced By AI
Most ministry positions are not vulnerable to advancing AI capabilities, especially those that are people-to-people ministries. Thom looks at other aspects of AI influences on the church.
Why Too Many Pastors Are Not Fully Relying on the Holy Spirit
Thom welcomes Dr. Chris Lohrstorfer, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Enrollment and Professor of Wesleyan Theology at Wesley Biblical Seminary. He talks about how many pastors ascribe to theologically orthodox trinitarianism, but haven't really thought through what it means for their ministry, especially the fullness of the role of the Holy Spirit. As a pastor himself and an educator of pastors, he is seeing the surprising shifts that can happen when the light bulb switches on for leaders about what it means to partner with the Spirit in ministry.
Most Americans still believe religion is good for society: Gallup
A majority of Americans say the nation would be better off if it were more religious, according to a new Gallup survey, even as fewer U.S. adults view religion as a positive force in society than they did in 2013. The survey also found Americans are split on whether the government should be involved in promoting moral values.
Haitian immigrants revived a church. Now the pews are empty.
With the Supreme Court set to rule on whether Haitians will lose Temporary Protected Status, fear is emptying church pews. At St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the Haitian immigrants who brought life to the congregation are gone.
Except for white evangelicals, Americans have soured on Trump’s leadership
Nearly 70% of Americans agree that core democratic freedoms are in danger of being lost while 59% consider President Donald Trump to be a “dangerous dictator” whose powers should be limited, according to a new survey by Public Religion Research Institute.
Jesus Said to Love Your Enemies. So Why Are Christians So Angry on Facebook?
Open any feed for five minutes and you will find people who claim to follow Jesus tearing into politicians, mocking other faiths, and treating old grudges like trophies. The man they say they follow looked down from a cross at the people killing Him and asked God to forgive them. Somewhere between that cross and our comment sections, something got lost.
How Church Abuse Affects People’s Faith Long After They Leave
When some people leave the church, they leave behind the version of themselves that believed healing was possible there.
That sentence lands differently depending on where you stand. And you may already know which side you’re on. If you’ve lived through church abuse or church hurt, you can relate. If you’re a pastor trying to understand why people left and never returned, it’s an invitation to stay in the discomfort.
Your Best Leaders Are Leaving. Here's Why
Losing your best volunteers? It might not be them, it might be you.
In this video, I break down the 6 most common reasons high-capacity volunteers quietly walk away from churches and non-profits — and what you can do to change it.
If you've ever wondered why gifted, motivated leaders show up once and never come back, this one is for you.
Where Are the Young Men? Ministry and the Crisis of Formation
The shortage of young men entering ministry is not simply a recruitment problem. It is a formation problem. Before the church asks why fewer young men are becoming pastors, we may need to ask why fewer young men are being formed into men capable of embracing costly, durable, public, spiritual responsibility.
12 Trust Killers Pastors Miss Until It’s Too Late
Pastoral trust is fragile because it is personal. People hand you their faith, their families, and their deepest wounds. When that trust cracks, it usually is not one scandal. It is a pattern that went unaddressed for far too long. Below are twelve of the most common patterns, and what to do about each one before the damage is done.
Why Pastors Are Unknowingly Sabotaging Their Church Media Teams
Most pastors and ministry leaders say they want to reach more people. They talk about impact, influence and “taking the message further.” But behind closed doors, many are sabotaging the very media teams capable of helping them do it.
And usually, they don’t even realize it.
Why Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Is Essential for Churches in the Age of AI
The age of artificial intelligence (AI) is not only powering some great advances in technology, but also some great advancements in evil. We should all desire to be good stewards of our data and that stewardship requires good security practices.
Tips for Using Cell Phones for Church Directory Photos
Let the phone do the work! This is the first thing a professional photographer said when we asked about using smartphones to take church directory photos. Phones can do a lot of the work for you without the expense of a separate camera, especially if you follow a few key tips outlined below. You’ll quickly find that the camera won’t be a barrier to getting your church photos. That will still be getting your members all together and holding still for a photo!
Raising Kids in the Faith Is Simpler Than You May Think
A new report finds that the single biggest factor in whether children keep the faith isn’t their church, their youth group, or their peers but their parents. The more surprising finding is what works at home, and how often well-meaning Christian parents get it backward.
4 Practical Ideas for VBS Follow-Up
Strategic follow-up plays a huge role in making the most of your VBS. In fact, intentional follow-up should be an important part of your regular VBS planning, right from the beginning. That means as you’re rounding up supplies, handing off VBS manuals, and putting up decorations, you’re also preparing to make a strong post-event impression.
The Discipleship Opportunity: Leading a Great-Commission Church in a Post-Everything World
Help your church thrive in a post-everything world.
The world is a very different place from what it was just a few years ago. Today’s post-everything world is arguably more divisive, political, indifferent, and impatient than ever. While many believe that the best course of action is to find a way back to how things used to be, is that actually the best way forward?
Given the many ways that our world has changed, it’s time for Christian leadership strategies to change, and for churches to approach making disciples, evangelism, and preaching differently than yesterday. The Discipleship Opportunity is a powerful tool for church leaders seeking to navigate the challenges of our rapidly evolving, post-pandemic, post-Christian, and post-everything world...
Image Credit: St. Peter's of the Lakes Episcopal Church, Gilbertsville, Kentucky
Thriving Campus Ministries Make New Disciples
One of the issues with creating successful campus ministry is that, unlike in evangelical churches, there’s much less guidance available for Episcopal campus chaplains. “I wish I had the training to have a strategy,” said the Rev. Mary Catherine Young, associate rector of campus ministry at Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, near UNC at Chapel Hill.
The Rev. Allen Wakabayashi, who began his career working for the evangelical campus ministry InterVarsity, has been frustrated by this. He rejects the idea that evangelical campus ministries attract more students because of their more conservative beliefs. “I don’t think it’s the theology,” he said. “I think it’s the gap in terms of money and people.”
Their experience is not new. When I was a university student in the late 1960s-early1970s my university's Episcopal student center was locked except on Wednesday night when it was opened for the weekly Canterbury Club meeting, consisting of an abbreviated Holy Communion service, followed by a fried chicken dinner, hosted by the community's only Episcopal church, Grace Memorial. The Baptist, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic student centers were open seven days and seven nights a week! Among Ryan Burge's research findings was that the Episcopal Church retains only 5 percent of its young people, an insufficient number to arrest, much less reverse, its decline!
4 Realities of Rural Ministry You May Have to Accept Challenges in the church are often problems to be solved, but for rural pastors, some might just be realities of that ministry context.
Lonely Nation, Quiet Church: How Sports and Recreation Ministries Solve Both
We are living in a lonely nation and serving in quiet churches.
Our nation and our churches are operating at two deficits:
1. A societal deficit: the collapse of social capital.
2. A church deficit: the collapse of ongoing evangelism emphasis.
I will first explain the problem, then how I believe sports and recreation ministries can solve both.
How else might a 'quiet church' realistically overcome these two deficits. How well does your church really know your community and understand its needs. The original vision for my former parish included a baseball field. However, our community had no shortage of baseball fields but it did have a dearth of soccer fields and of the two sports, soccer was the most popular. The soccer field that we opened to the use of local soccer teams helped us build social capital in the community.
Church Marketing Crash Course for Pastors
This crash course consists of seven videos produced by Church Fuel and covering such topics a social media, word of mouth, content marketing, SEO, and more.
Social Media Guide (PDF) Women have served in ministry throughout the history of the church even as their courage and tenacity have been mostly overlooked and forgotten, said theologian Yolanda Pierce, dean of the Vanderbilt University Divinity School.
Therefore, it is important to begin the task of archiving the stories of women who quietly sustained families and congregations — and often faith itself — through eras of intense poverty and oppression for the church and for women, Pierce said during the Baptist Women in Ministry June 18 dinner at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Jacksonville, Fla.
Also See: It’s bad interpretation, not the Bible, limiting female pastors
Anglican Church in North America Announces Key Governance Decisions from Provincial Council 2026 and Court Announces Delay of Trial for Archbishop Stephen D. Wood
The Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) concluded its annual meeting this week in Tulsa, taking several significant actions that will shape the life and mission of the Province. It subsequently received an administrative schedule update from the Court for the Trial of a Bishop.
How the Antichrist infiltrated politics
The Antichrist is back in American political discourse. After President Donald Trump posted an AI photo of himself depicted as Jesus on Truth Social, many of his Christian followers were up in arms. Trump later claimed that he was supposed to be a doctor in the photo, but the damage was already done. Prominent far-right advocates like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, and Nick Fuentes began wondering if Trump was the Antichrist.
Disclosure Day
As a high school chaplain, I get a lot of questions from my students about aliens. Every year I am asked if I think there are aliens, if aliens could be baptized, if it is possible that God became incarnate on alien worlds in the same way that he did on earth, and a host of other related questions. It is a subject that sparks their imaginations, and I admit that I share their excitement to talk about it. Our longing to know we are not alone in the universe is a spiritual longing.
Steven Spielberg’s new film, Disclosure Day, explores this theme extensively. Part action adventure, part mystery thriller, part philosophical symposium, and part sci-fi fever dream, the movie is difficult to summarize. It follows the journeys of Daniel Kellner and Margaret Fairchild, played brilliantly by Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt, as they seek to share the truth about the existence of aliens with a world on the brink of war. Both Daniel and Margaret discover that they have special abilities. At times, these gifts frighten and confuse them, but at other times they give them a sense of purpose and calling. There is a deeper truth to what it means to be human than what most people have accepted, and Daniel and Margaret come to believe that sharing that truth can transform the world.
Are witchcraft and paganism a threat to Christianity in modern Britain?
Across Britain, interest in witchcraft and modern Pagan spirituality has become increasingly visible. Once relegated to folklore, Halloween imagery and historical myth, it now sits within a broader, more complex religious landscape in which traditional Christianity coexists with a growing range of alternative spiritual expressions.
While the trend is evident nationally, it is particularly noticeable in parts of Britain with a strong Celtic heritage, where landscape, folklore and a deep sense of place continue to shape cultural identity. In such areas, nature-based spirituality has become increasingly visible within wellbeing culture, online communities and public discussions about faith. What was once regarded as a fringe interest now enjoys a degree of cultural legitimacy that would have seemed unlikely a generation ago.
Pastoral Ethics: 13 Standards Every Church Leader Needs
A pastor can preach a flawless sermon on Sunday and lose the trust of the whole congregation by Monday. Not because of bad theology, but because of a quiet ethical drift that no one named in time. Pastoral ethics are the guardrails that keep that drift from ever starting. They protect your calling, your family, and the people who trusted you with their faith.
The headlines make the stakes plain. Well-known leaders have stepped away from ministry over failures that began as small compromises and grew in the dark. The encouraging truth is that integrity is built the same way it erodes, one decision at a time. Below are 13 standards that hold a ministry steady, with practical ways to live each one out.
Also See: An Open Letter to Pastors: 15 Things It’s Time to Stop Doing
Spiritual Maturity Keeps Maturing
In Colossians 1:28, Paul states that the aim of his ministry is to “present everyone mature in Christ.” This aim raises questions: What does it mean to be “mature in Christ”? How will we know when we arrive at spiritual maturity? Is spiritual maturity something believers can even attain this side of heaven?
Image Credit: Grace Memorial Episcopal Church, Hammond, Louisiana
Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.
This Sunday is the Third Sunday after Trinity. It is also the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. It marks the beginning of the astronomical summer and is the longest day of the year.
In this Sunday’s message we consider what is the measure of a true disciple.
Readings: Jeremiah 20: 10-12; Romans 6: 1b-11; and Matthew 10: 24-39
Message: The Measure of a True Disciple
Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2026/06/sundays-at-all-hallows-june-21-2026.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.
10 Things Church Visitors Never Want To Hear
A first-time guest decides how they feel about your church in the first few minutes, often before the music starts. One careless sentence at the door can undo a month of invitations. The words your people use on a Sunday morning carry more weight than your signage, your bulletin, or your sermon series.
You have been a visitor somewhere yourself. You know the feeling of walking in and hoping nobody says the wrong thing. Most of the phrases below are not cruel. They are casual, well-meant, and said by friendly people who would be horrified to learn they cost a guest a second visit. Here are ten of them, and what to say instead.
The Church Summer Slump: What Every Pastor Should Know
Many pastors feel it every year: “I hate summer attendance!” In this episode, Thom and Sam unpack real-world insights gathered from conversations with pastors across the country about the predictable, and sometimes preventable, summer slump.
Why the 1990s Changed Everything in American Religion-Replay
If you missed Thursday's Church Answer's webinar with Sam Rainer and Ryan Burge, l am posting this link to the replay and the following link to the slides.
Also See: Why the 1990s Changed Everything in American Religion-Slides
While the 1990s Decade of Evangelism was a denomination-wide flop in the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church continued its slide down what Ryan Burge describes as a "ski slope," my parish grew rapidly during that period, going from two services on Sunday morning to three and a midweek service on Wednesday night. We did not experience any decline in attendance until the first decade of the 21st century. It was precipitated by a church split which initially began as a disagreement over a proposed building project but became a conflict over the leadership of the parish's rector. This dispute led to the resignation of most of the members of the vestry and the loss of the music director and a third of the parish's member households. The election, confirmation, and consecration of Vicky Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop in a major Christian denomination believing in the historic episcopate would have a profound negative impact across the diocese, resulting in a diocese-wide drop in attendance and giving and the subsequent disbanding and closure of two new works, both of which had been enjoying substantial growth.
Missouri Program Helps Congregations’ Challenges
Sometimes a congregation and a bishop are faced with complex decisions concerning the future of a church – maintain or close? Change or abandon?
An innovative program from the Diocese of Missouri – Requiem or Renaissance – provides a process and a way forward to face the tough choices, while focusing on opportunities and spiritual health.
To Preserve or to Repurpose?
Is it more faithful to preserve a dying congregation — or to repurpose its financial assets for new life?
VOICES: Church hurt is real. Could microchurches be the cure?
The last eight years or so have been rough on the Church — scandals, COVID, deconstruction, church hurt, political polarization, pastoral burnout, institutional distrust, etc. But there’s some exciting good news. There’s a movement of microchurches that is challenging the prevailing church model and bringing healing to people who would otherwise give up on church.
The emphasis is small group discipleship that ministers to people individually, leadership/missional development of every member, and “minimal ecclesiology” to avoid the pitfalls of denominations. It is the antithesis of the “launch large” strategy of church planting organizations for the last few decades.
It’s difficult to know how many of these microchurches exist in the USA, but a moderate estimate would be around 20,000. BraveFuture.org lists a collective of 28 networks. In March, I attended their conference in Tampa, where workshops helped people navigate the microchurch concept. Many churches don’t belong to any kind of network and go uncounted.
There’s a revolution taking place in local journalism – but churches could be missing out
Scores of new independent local media titles are opening up across the UK, the US and other countries, as enterprising journalists seek to bridge the gap left by the decline of traditional newspapers.
In the UK, an estimated four million people live in ‘news deserts’ without a dedicated news outlet, as the move of advertising to ‘Big Tech’ social media platforms and readers seeking their news online – and for free – have led to many local newspapers closing down.
Over a million abortions took place in the US last year
Abortion estimates released by the Society of Family Planning’s #WeCount project show a slight increase in abortions and highlight how telehealth abortions are undermining state abortion restrictions in the post-Dobbs era.
The #WeCount project report published earlier this month estimated that 1.13 million abortions took place across the United States in 2025. The Society of Family Planning’s (SFP) research initiative stated that the number of abortions in 2025 was slightly higher than it was in 2024.
Also See: Does the U.S. Have a Fertility Crisis?; The potential impacts of the U.S. birth rate decline
If mainline and evangelical churches are to arrest and even reverse their present decline, they need to have more children as well as make more converts to Christianity, according to research findings.
3 Things the Church Got Right in My Journey Through Gender Dysphoria
It’s important for the church to show love to the individual facing gender dysphoria. Here are three actions for the church.
The Return of Enthusiasm in Modern Evangelicalism: Recovering the Spirit Through the Means of Grace
Last Sunday, the church celebrated Pentecost—the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church. And yet one of the great errors of contemporary Evangelicalism is the return of Enthusiasm. Not “enthusiasm” in the modern sense of excitement, but Enthusiasm in the historic Reformation sense: seeking God apart from the outward means He Himself has ordained.
Nine Different Personality Types Shaping Church Staffing Roles
Every church staff has a mix of personalities. Some people dream big. Others keep the calendar organized. Some quietly hold the team together, while others create tension that must be addressed. A healthy church staff does not require everyone to be the same, but it does require wisdom to understand how different people work together for the mission of God.
Overcoming Discontent: Chris Maxwell on Finding Contentment in Life and Ministry (Ep 130)
“Face your questions, your own wounds and your hurts, and refuse to let business take the place of that calmness and contentment that the Lord has for us.”
How to Conduct Faithful Pastoral Visits: A 10-Step Guide
Every pastor I know agrees that visiting church members in their homes is a good thing to do. Generally, none would dispute that a shepherd should do his best to know the sheep in his flock. But are pastoral visits a prescribed practice? Are they scripturally necessary or simply beneficial?
How to Handle Church Conflict Biblically Without Tearing the Church Apart
Handle church conflict the way Jesus handled the cross. Refuse to retaliate, refuse to take sides in a power struggle, commit the outcome to God, and protect the unity of the church above winning the argument. No issue is worth tearing a church apart.
Experts give warning about AI consciousness
We are in danger of making a fundamental mistake about artificial intelligence, a group of researchers have warned.
A new paper from neuroscientists at the Université de Montréal and Johns Hopkins University says that we need to be sure to distinguish between AI’s intelligence and it actually being conscious.
How Churches Can Prevent AI Scams, Impersonation, and Payment Fraud
Not every message that sounds like your church’s pastor or leader is actually that person.
In today’s world, an AI-generated voice memo, video clip, or text thread can trick church staff into sending real money to criminals.
Summer Ministry’s C+ Temptation
outh ministry in the summer has always been a struggle for me. Ministry momentum slows way down because my teenagers refocus their time on summer jobs, family vacations, camps, and trips to grandma’s house. Attendance is frustratingly inconsistent: Without warning, we can go from 24 kids to 87 kids any given week. And that drives me a little crazy.
If I’m honest, I’m often tempted to give summer ministry my C+ effort. I’m not saying it’s right, it’s just how I feel. When our numbers are down we have fewer musicians for the student band, fewer student leaders to help with the “meat and potatoes” of our ministry, and fewer adult leaders I can count on. I can schedule and plan with my “A” game, but if something always happens to mess it up, it hurts motivation.
Summer Is a Liar
Jesus reminds us that real love is defined by the way we love our enemies, so I guess we need to honor summer back. Summer means well. Here are a few tips we use to maximize our time during the summer months, without driving us insane.
Is the Bible Invited to the Juneteenth Cookout?
God doesn’t want to abolish only slavery but also the whole world order in which slavery exists.
Alex O’Connor Says Scripture Supports Slavery. He’s Wrong.
When read as a unified whole, Scripture tells a story that dismantles oppression and makes slavery unimaginable.
In Richmond, churches retrace the path of the enslaved to confront their own history
Just as the country prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — and Juneteenth — Virginia Episcopalians are trying to reckon with the role of their city and their denomination in slavery as a founding reality of the United States.
For preservers of lynching history in the US, Juneteenth is a religious reckoning
The Equal Justice Initiative’s Bryan Stevenson says confronting America’s lynching history is a matter of faith that demands truth-telling and repentance — especially on America’s most recently recognized national holiday.
Is this the civil rights moment of our day?
The hard-won gains of the civil rights era are steadily being eroded by political pandering to white anxiety in the midst of growing diversity.
Also See: ‘Show up and do something,’ ACLU leader urges
Democracy as a moral practice, not just a system
A common life depends on whether we’ve learned how to live with those we didn’t choose without needing them to become something else. Character formation produces people who refuse to use a lie even when the crowd is asking for one.
Fewer Americans believe faith is good for the country
A new opinion poll from Gallup has suggested that while most Americans believe their country would benefit if more people were religious, the proportion has declined.
Nearly two thirds (65 per cent) felt that more religious people would be good for their country, down from 75 per cent who agreed with that view in 2013.
How have the events of the last two decades contributed to this change in attitude?
VOICES: Inside ‘The War for Normal’: How a Christian conference ended up selling Nazi propaganda
To a nerdy homeschooled teenager in the deeply churched South, conferences were a normal part of life. I remember singing martial psalms in the Blue Ridge Mountains during an all-day family seminar, being introduced by my pastor-grandfather to Tim Keller at a beachside denominational assembly, and the thunder of fireworks at a Jamestown quadricentennial.
But I would have been shocked, as many were online this week, to discover a conservative protestant conference with a vendor hall table hosted by America’s best-known Neonazi publishing house, stacked with materials glorifying Adolf Hitler. This was reality at the ironically named “The War for Normal” conference in Ogden, Utah. The conference was put on by New Christendom Press, a protestant publishing house associated with a local independent Reformed congregation called Refuge Church.
Christians urged not to 'demonise' each other over politics
Pastor Jonathan Oloyede, founder of the National Day of Prayer & Worship, has issued an open letter calling upon Christians of all political persuasions to set aside their differences and follow the example of Christ in seeing the humanity in those they disagree with.
Oloyede, a convert from Islam, noted that the national conversation around a range of issues, from immigration to war and from government failures to economic injustice had become “increasingly heated”.
Conceding that much of the anger around such issues stems from genuine hurt and legitimate grievances, Oloyede warned that such anger threatened to further divide both the Church and wider society.
Episcopal Church seeks to offload Manhattan headquarters in ground lease for affordable housing
After decades of deliberations about relocating from their midtown Manhattan headquarters in New York City, the Episcopal Church is now looking to offload the nearly $52 million property at 815 2nd Avenue through a long-term ground lease with a group that would redevelop the 12-story building into affordable housing.
A ground lease agreement typically allows tenants to rent land from the property owner for a period of 99 years or more. In the case of the Episcopal Church, which also owns the large building on the land, the tenant would own all improvements to the building. If the lease expires without renewal, ownership of the building could revert to the church, and the development group would have no claim to the property.
Also See: Episcopal Church to market its NYC headquarters building for possible sale, redevelopment; Episcopal Church Center in NY Will Soon Hit the Market
Church of Ireland ready to welcome Anglican, Episcopal leaders from 38 provinces to ACC-19
Representatives from 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion, including The Episcopal Church, are expected to travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland, from June 28-July 4 for the 19th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council, and the Church of Ireland is ready to welcome them.
Festival celebrates Anglesey pilgrimage route
The Diocese of Bangor has announced a festival celebrating a 57-mile pilgrimage route on the island of Anglesey.
The route, known as Llwybr Cybi a Seiriol (The Cybi and Seiriol Path) takes its inspiration from the story of two sixth-century saints, Cybi and Seiriol who are said to have set up religious communities at opposite ends of the island.
Is the culture of silence helping the conservative cause in the Church of England?
The secrecy around recent ‘alternative Anglican ordinations’ in London raises serious issues about the culture of the conservative evangelical constituency in the Church of England.
Professor Andrew Atherstone, a member of the General Synod and author of a biography of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, has reported on these alternative ordinations.
ACNA Provincial Council kicks off in Tulsa
The 17th Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) opened Wednesday evening, June 17, at Cornerstone Anglican Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Bishops, clergy, and lay delegates from across the Province gathered for the Opening Eucharist, beginning three days of worship, fellowship, prayer, and legislative work that will continue through Friday, June 19, 2026.
Pastors announce formation of The Baptist Network
A group of Baptist pastors announced formation of The Baptist Network to foster collaboration and encouragement between minsters and congregations in a time of intense social and political conflict in the American church.
“While affirming historic Baptist convictions, the Network seeks to create spaces of connection for leaders who desire to prioritize the kingdom of God above political ideology, institutional tribalism and unnecessary division,” the coalition said in a June 12 news release.
“The Baptist Network is not a new denomination, nor is it an effort to encourage churches to leave their current affiliations. The Network strongly encourages pastors and churches to prayerfully consider remaining in friendly cooperation with the Baptist fellowships, conventions and associations where God has called them to serve.”
Pope Leo is very popular, though partisan polarization is growing, survey finds
More than three-quarters (78%) of US Catholics expressed favorable views of Leo, and about one in 10 (12%) expressed unfavorable views.
Report documents Trump admin’s neglect of children in detention
An average of 25 children age 3 or younger are in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody daily while no fewer than 500 infants and toddlers have been detained since President Donald Trump took office last year, according to a study by The Marshall Project and MS NOW.
“Parents in ICE detention have complained of substandard conditions that frequently left their young children sick, isolated and regressing in their physical and intellectual development,” according to the analysis of data obtained by the Deportation Project, a group of attorneys and academics who share federal immigration records.
Also See: Nonprofits aiding immigrant kids say Trump admin intimidating them
Support for patriotic July 4 church services drops sharply among pastors
As Americans prepare to celebrate Independence Day and the nation's upcoming 250th anniversary, fewer Protestant pastors believe patriotic displays belong in church worship services.
A new Lifeway Research survey released Tuesday found that only 45% of Protestant pastors say it's "important to incorporate patriotic elements into worship services" held on or around the Fourth of July.
“Magnifica Humanitas”. The Chart of Roman Catholic Humanism and Its Theological Problems
t is not a written rule, but a recognizable pattern: the first encyclical of a Pope sets the tone of the whole pontificate and Pope Leo XIV’s “Magnifica Humanitas” (MH) – released after one year since his election – does exactly that. The document will probably shape the future papal teaching as its overarching framework. As the subtitle indicates, the Pope’s concern is “on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.” This is going to be the main concern of his reign as Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
Also See: Series Round-Up: Magnifica Humanitas & AI; A deeper look at Pope Leo's encyclical: Catholic social teaching's purpose in AI age
Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.
How does faith come? In this evening’s message we will give thought to that question.
Reading: Romans 10:11-21
Message: How does faith come?
Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2026/06/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows-june_02068483037.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.
The Main Reason People Don’t Become Church Members
Church membership works best when you emphasize vision, values, teamwork, and life change. Growth still matters, but aim it at the growth of the person, not the growth of the church.
The Top Ten Most Common Low Attendance Days in Churches
Every church has them—the Sundays when attendance predictably drops. Drawing from feedback from over 400 church leaders, Josh and Sam break down the most common low-attendance days and why they occur.
Why NOT To Build A Bigger Sanctuary
I know the blessings and the very real challenges that come with having a church sanctuary that is full. I also understand the arguments for building something bigger. Hear me well…I realize there are times when building a bigger sanctuary is the best and wisest thing to do. But that is not necessarily the case for every church. In fact, building something bigger can sometimes backfire in ways you didn’t expect. This is why you, your leaders, and your congregation need to “count the cost” and carefully, prayerfully think through your theological, philosophical, and pastoral convictions as it relates to space.
The size and use of your sanctuary will greatly affect the culture of your church moving forward. Let me humbly offer a little different perspective on this topic, especially for those of you in churches that are outgrowing your space. Here are 5 reasons to potentially NOT build a bigger sanctuary...
At the Episcopal parish which I had helped to plant in the mid-1980s and where I ministered for 15 years, the proposal to build larger sanctuary or worship center exposed divisions in the congregation, which resulted in a church split and a loss of a third of the parish's member households. The parish entered a period of decline, exacerbated by the events of 2003 and the negative impact that those events had upon the Episcopal Church's public image in the diocese, and was reduced to mission status. It had been the fastest growing parish in the diocese.
Grant applications for new Episcopal communities now open
New Episcopal communities interested in applying for a grant from The Episcopal Church are invited to register for an informational webinar on July 1. Because the grant process has undergone significant updates, those considering applying are encouraged to carefully read all the new application materials and attend the webinar, which will include time for questions and answers. Grant applications are due July 15.
This new granting approach grows from a 2025-2026 churchwide assessment that included a network of church-planting leaders and looked closely at what is working well in Episcopal dioceses and congregations, where gaps exist, and how best to empower local efforts through flexible, context-driven models of funding, coaching, and other forms of support.
'They have already suffered enough': Central African clergy respond to US deportation
Faith leaders say they would welcome migrants deported from the United States but question the decision to send vulnerable people without ties to a nation still healing from years of sectarian violence.
'Not a day off': For Juneteenth, some faith leaders promote political causes
‘As we acknowledge the contributions of the African American community to America, it’s appropriate for us to lead the way in unifying and making a call for unity,’ said evangelist Alveda King, niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
New York’s ‘Season of Freedom’ is among Episcopal commemorations planned for Juneteenth
The holiday Juneteenth, which celebrates Black freedom in commemoration of the end of American slavery, also will serve in the Diocese of New York as the start of a “Season of Freedom” to mark the United States’ 250th birthday.
Study: Climate change brings too much rain for Maine to absorb
A new study from Dartmouth College showed climate change is consolidating rainfall into heavier storms, leaving less water for the land to absorb.
Researchers said when a year’s worth of rainfall is packed into bigger storms, it can lead not only to more flooding but to more dry days between storms and even drought.
Perspectives: The Moral and Relational Crisis Beneath American Division
One of the deepest questions many activists, organizers, faith leaders and community leaders ask today is this: Why don’t people seem to care anymore?
After violence, cruelty, corruption or public dishonesty, many people feel exhausted and bewildered. It can seem as though empathy itself is disappearing. Some conclude that America is in a moral crisis.
Others argue that we are facing a relational crisis — a collapse of trust and connection between people and groups. The truth is that we are living through both. We are experiencing a moral-relational crisis.
We Don’t Hate and Then Harm—We Harm and Then Hate
Mistreat someone, and over time, your antipathy toward them will grow. Treat someone unfairly, and over time, you’ll feel a growing sense of contempt. The harm comes first. The hatred follows.
Confessing Sin, Then and Now
The words and phrases we use to confess our sin imply something significant about our understanding of sin.
The 1928 revision of the American Prayer Book makes a number of significant changes in the American Prayer Book, which Steven Wedgeworth does not acknowledges. This is also true of the 1662 revision of the English Prayer Book. The changes that revision made in the English Prayer Book are not inconsequential. It only became the so-called "gold standard" by default.
10 Tips for Becoming an Excellent Bible Interpreter
Becoming a skilled interpreter of Scripture is not a complicated task. It is hard, but it isn’t complicated. God does not hide the riches of his Word from the simple; he hides them from the proud and ungodly. Right interpretation, then, is first a matter of personal character and piety, and then a matter of methodology.
Here are ten basic tips. There is much more to say, of course, but you must start here.
Why a neuroscientist worries outsourcing thinking to AI could weaken your brain's defenses against dementia
A neuroscientist worries some people are letting AI do too much of their thinking.Over time, she says, that could weaken cognitive reserve, a key defense against dementia."How you use AI, not how often, will determine its impact," Vivienne Ming told Business Insider.
Why I’ve started reading like a medieval monk
Importantly, the process of reading was, for the medievals, not some kind of fact-acquisition. Wisdom, for them, was not seen to be in a set of ideas. It was in our encounter with words, with friends, and with God. Knowledge acquired from reading was only “useful” insofar as it helped us to become more connected to God.
Neuroscientists discover previously unknown cognitive benefits of reading physical books
A new study published in the journal PLOS ONE provides evidence that reading comic books on physical paper helps the brain absorb and connect story details more easily than reading on a digital tablet. The findings suggest that physical books provide stable spatial and tactile cues that lower the brain’s workload when a reader tries to recall complex plot points later. This research offers fresh insights into how digital reading formats might subtly alter human reading comprehension and memory.
What we lose when we stop writing by hand
This week, we explore how the ways we teach handwriting in the classroom have changed over time, and the impact it’s having on education as a whole. Plus: What are we missing when we don’t write by hand? We find out all of that and more on the latest episode of Explain It to Me, Vox’s weekly call-in podcast.
Scientists Have Found A New Human Sense And It's A Bit Mystical
We are all familiar with our main senses, right?
Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and a myriad more depending on which scientist you speak with. In fact, according to the Sensory Trust, we could have over 20 of them.
Now, researchers at the Queen Mary University of London have unearthed a new sense that is a little different to the main ones we’re familiar with.
6 Principles for Building a Youth Ministry
The hardest part of starting a student ministry is just that: finding the place to start. Most pastors haven’t led student ministry, and some may have never participated in it, having come to faith later in life. Even those who have led student ministry in the past face a drastically changed cultural climate.
What does it take to build a student ministry? Here are six principles to start the student ministry ball rolling.
8 Practical Tips for Getting Kids Into the Bible
Want to get kids into God’s Word? (Who doesn’t?) Here are 8 practical tips for getting kids into the Bible.
How Did We Get Here? Where 70 Years of Church Growth Took Us
...somewhere in the middle of the growth, a question started following me around that I did not have the courage to say out loud.
Are we making disciples? Or are we making church attenders who need us to keep producing for them every single week?
10 Dangerous Myths About Church Growth That Are Quietly Destroying Congregations
Most church growth advice assumes one thing: a bigger crowd is the goal, and anything blocking it is a problem to fix. That assumption quietly drives a lot of bad decisions. Pastors copy a model that worked somewhere else, pour money into a building or a program, and still watch the room stay half empty. The issue is rarely effort. It is the myths underneath the effort.
These ten beliefs about church growth sound spiritual, even obvious. Read closely and most of them fall apart. Some are merely unhelpful. A few are dangerous enough to wreck a healthy congregation while everyone congratulates the leader for trying.
Why Your Church Needs Senior Adults: 8 Roles Older Believers Fill
Some of the most committed people of prayer in any congregation are older. They have prayed through decades of crises, answered prayers, and long silences, and they have stayed faithful anyway. That kind of endurance is rare and worth building around.
If your church does not have a prayer ministry, this is the place to start. Invite senior adults to lead it and most will say yes. Pair that conviction with a clear discipleship pathway and you give their prayers a structure that shapes the whole body.
Church Payroll Mistakes To Avoid: Employee vs. Independent Contractor Explained
Churches often rely on a mix of paid staff and outside workers to carry out ministry.
Musicians, custodians, bookkeepers, and technology and other specialists may serve a church in different ways.
But an important question arises whenever someone is paid for their work: Is the person an employee or an independent contractor?
It’s a critically important question because it addresses how income taxes are handled under federal tax law.
How Christians Can Celebrate Juneteenth
Church leaders are often called to shepherd their congregations through complex cultural conversations. Nathan A. Finn encourages us to see the holiday as an opportunity for discipleship, helping believers reflect on America’s history while pursuing Christ-centered reconciliation and service.
Utah bishops oppose massive federal immigrant detention facility in their state
The Episcopal bishop in Utah has joined with her counterpart in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in opposing plans to build a massive immigrant detention facility in their state.
Also See: Trump empties Florida’s alligator Alcatraz amid soaring costs
Episcopal Network Partners with AME Church to Open Community House
A network of intentional communities connected with Episcopal parishes in the Boston area has launched a new community house in connection with an African Methodist Episcopal church. Christened Jubilee House, it received its first eight residents over Memorial Day weekend.
Gloucester churches come together to bless River Avon amid pollution concerns
Churches in the Diocese of Gloucester have taken the concept of praying for good health, but also taking one’s medicine, into a whole new realm.
On Sunday Tewkesbury Abbey and St Mary’s Magdalene, Twyning will be gathering to bless the River Avon as part of a broader campaign against river pollution.
Should the ACC Endorse the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals? Answer 3 of 3
The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-19) will convene in Belfast, Northern Ireland from June 27 to July 5, 2026. This essay is the third of three essays each responding to the same question, Should the ACC approve the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals? Covenant hosted Answer 1 and Answer 2 earlier this week. Each essay brings a very different perspective and a different answer. Readers may also wish to see a series of essays on the NCPs which appeared on Covenant in 2025 and another series evaluating the Abuja Affirmation which appeared on Covenant in Spring 2026.
New poll: 250 years in, Americans prefer religious diversity
A new poll by PRRI shows two-thirds of Americans still prefer a nation made of many different faiths, despite the growth of Christian nationalism in the public square.
Are Altar Calls Biblical? 4 Mistakes That Quietly Distort the Gospel
Walk into most churches and the altar call feels like the natural close of a sermon. People come forward, the music swells, and the moment feels holy. But that familiar scene hides a question many pastors never stop to ask. Is the altar call helping people trust Christ, or is it quietly putting something in front of the gospel that does not belong there?
Used well, an altar call points people to Jesus. Used carelessly, it can confuse the very message it is meant to deliver. The difference is not small, and most of the danger hides in habits we rarely examine. Here is what the altar call gets right, where it goes wrong, and how to invite people to Christ without tripping over your own method.
Is AI Out of Control?
As AI quietly integrates into everyday tools and church practices, ministry leaders are finding that their choices are increasingly shaped by forces outside their control. A survey by researcher A. Trevor Sutton on technology use in congregations points to how quickly new technology can be adopted, both willingly and not.
One flu shot change may have big consequences for older adults
Receiving a higher-dose flu shot may reduce hospitalizations for older adults, according to a new study.
6 Ways to Prepare Men in Your Church for Fatherhood
The local church has a role to play in developing men into godly fathers. Here are six ways the church can help prepare men for fatherhood.
Who Should Disciple Children: The Church or Parents?
A few summers ago, my son tagged along with a friend to another church’s Vacation Bible School. When my wife picked him up on the final day of VBS, we assumed that would be the end of our family’s connection to that local church. Instead, it was just the beginning.
Every week after the VBS, the kids’ ministry team sent parents a simple email—not just reminders about upcoming church events, but practical resources to help us continue spiritual conversations at home. As a parent, that meant a lot to me.
They understood something many churches miss: Church programming is an important part of a child’s faith formation, but discipleship of the next generation can’t stop there. Children’s ministry should be a partnership between the church and the home.
When It Comes to Outreach, Where Is the Fruit?
There are between 350,000 and 400,000 churches in the United States. Imagine if every one of these communities of believers was equipping each congregation member to share their faith in natural ways?
Sadly, the vast majority of churches aren’t engaged meaningfully in outreach. A small percentage of churches are seeing people come to faith in Jesus on a regular basis. An even smaller number are discipling these new believers into Christian maturity.
I have the honor of talking with top evangelism leaders, denominational executives and pastors around the world, and I keep hearing similar themes. Almost every church leader desires to see healthy growth through people coming to faith in Jesus. Most of them live with ongoing disappointment in this area of their church ministry.
I’d like to clarify some of the primary roadblocks to consistent and effective outreach in the local church, and suggest a practical step for each to begin reversing this trend of loss in evangelistic fervor.
