Saturday Lagniappe Is Back!

Bridges of God: The Church and the Rural-Urban Divide

Since the dawn of Christianity, God's people have been called to be a bridge across the barriers constructed by any given society. Read More

The Most Critical Step in Introducing Change

The way you introduce change is equally important to the change you introduce. Read More

A Key Change Component – Stakeholder Analysis

The longer I lead and manage people the more I realize that the most important element in leading and managing people is actually people. Read More

The Three Ways the Prosperity Gospel Has Infected Our Churches

So many of our churches – otherwise sound, godly, healthy churches – have been infected by the prosperity gospel. Obviously, we’re not handing out lifts across the world in our private jets. We’re not typically telling people that, if you just trust God enough, he’ll make you rich. But we definitely do believe some soft prosperity lies. Let me land on just three examples. Read More

The truth is that this kind of thinking--the idea that God rewards our good works and so we should engage in more good works to receive greater rewards from God--existed in our churches well before the arrival of the prosperity gospel on the scene.

Five Things Churches Can Learn from Guerrilla Marketing

Here are a few marketing “take-aways” every church, whether established or a new church plant, should consider.... Read More

Leading Your Church In This Time of Sexual Questioning with Bruce Miller [Podcast]

In this podcast Rich Birch talks with Bruce Miller, senior pastor of Christ Fellowship in Texas about his book Leading a Church in a Time of Sexual Questioning. Listen Now

8 Lessons about Church Budgets [Video]

Jamie Dunlop, author of Budgeting for a Healthy Church, shares eight important lessons he’s learned after nearly a decade of putting together a church budget. It ends with 25 minutes of Q&A. Watch Now

10 Items You Need In Your Children’s Ministry Tool Box

There are some tools that you need if you want to see success. These are all simple, practical tools that can make your work more productive and efficient. Let's look at 10 tools that you need in your ministry toolbox. Read More

How to Counsel a Gender-Confused Child

Here are three ways parents can care for their child. Read More

How to Stop Praying the Same Old Things

It doesn’t take long before rote prayers fragment your attention span and freeze your heart. Read More

Wilke: Scripture on Homosexuality ‘insignificant’ in the Grand Scheme of the Bible

Longtime United Methodist Church (UMC) bishop and prominent author Richard Wilke recently urged members of his denomination—currently divided about homosexuality—to “create a loving and inclusive community of faith.” In a 16-minute video posted online, Wilke speaks about his own family’s experiences and then reveals conclusions reached after his “in-depth examination of the Scriptures” on homosexuality. Read More

Latest Research: There’s No Such Thing As a ‘gay gene’

Researchers from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) teamed up to study the genetic profiles of almost half a million people. The researchers were looking for genetic factors that might indicate a person has a biological predisposition to same-sex behavior. Their conclusion: There is no such thing as a “gay gene.” Read More

Friday's Catch: Indispensable: Women Church Planters and More UPDATED

Indispensable: Women Church Planters

Articles posted on church planting websites refer to church planters as “guys” or “dudes.” For the most part, women are not viewed as church planters. Instead, references to women typically center on how the church planter’s wife can support her husband’s demanding ministry. Even in denominations that ordain women, the majority of church planters are men. The notion of a female church planter has become an oxymoron. But this was not the case in the beginning. Read More

4 Ways to Balance Leading the Church and Loving the Community

How do local pastors both lead our church and love our community well? And how does this calling inform the pastor’s leadership priorities and daily schedule? Read More

9 Signs It Might Be Time to Refresh Your Church's Interior Design

Here are nine signs it might be time to refresh your interior design. Read More

The Power of Prayer in Church Revitalization

On the inside of my favorite Bible, I have taped a half-sheet of paper with Mark Clifton’s six imperatives for replanting a church from his book, Reclaiming Glory. The first of those imperatives is “Pray Without Ceasing,” which comes directly from 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Read More

Seven Things We Should Celebrate Regularly in Our Churches

What you celebrate, you become. And today Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe discuss ways churches can celebrate how God is working in them and through them. Listen Now

Our Modern Ephesian Moment

Four markers of meaningful ethnic belonging in multiethnic congregations. Read More

5 Tips To Reduce Misunderstandings In An Information-Soaked Culture

No one is a perfect communicator. Even if our facts are correct, the way we say them matters. Read More

The Vital Link Between Church Attendance and Faith

To persevere in the faith, we cannot abandon the church. Read More

How to Kill Your Anger so You Can Represent Christ to the World

Our culture is angry. You only have to be on social media for five minutes to see this is true. And the amount of anger we’re seeing will only increase as the various sides of our culture move farther and farther apart from each other. The first response to disagreement, particularly online, is often anger, and herein lies a danger for all of us who are engaging people with apologetics: It’s easy to fall right into that cultural pattern in our own responses to people. This is something we need to fight. Read More

Top Songs from Christian Worship Services

FaithLife has compiled a list of the most popular songs being sung in Christian churches right now. The top five: “Build My Life,” “What A Beautiful Name,” “Ten Thousand Reasons,” “Amazing Grace” (the Chris Tomlin version), “Great Are You Lord.” Read List

No 'Gay Gene' Can Predict Sexual Orientation, Study Says NEW

Sexual orientation cannot be predicted by a single "gay gene," new research indicates. Instead, a host of genetic and environmental factors play a role, according to a study published Thursday in Science Magazine. The findings provide insight into the complex genetics underlying human sexuality. But they do not explain it, wrote the international team of researchers who analyzed genetic data gathered from almost half a million people. Read More

Thursday's Catch: Revitalization and Replant Metrics and More

Five of the Most Common Metrics to Watch in Revitalization or Replant [Podcast]

In a revitalization or replant, there are more important and more specific metrics to measure and watch than in growing churches or church plants. In this podcast Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe look at five. Listen Now

9 Questions to Ask before Addressing Cultural Issues at Your Church

The preacher must assess both the culture and the congregation in order to determine whether to engage certain concerns that arise. Clarity in this matter is essential, but how does the preacher gain such clarity? Read More

Is Your Church Making Incomplete Disciples

How effective are our churches at making whole disciples—disciples who are growing in both truth and fellowship? Read More

In an Epidemic of Isolation, ‘Relational Ministry’ Isn't Enough

Can the church offer our loneliest students something more than a place to make friends? Read More

How to Turn Hot Topics into Relational Bridges

Here’s a few things to remember when a friend/spouse/neighbor/coworker/family member (who we totally now are not trying to change in one conversation) drops a bombshell question out of nowhere.... Read More

Constantly (Dis)connected: How Online Habits Form Us

The challenge that living with a digital imprint presents the people of God is to hold onto an inheritance of faith that is challenged at many points by digital existence. Read More

Love from the Margins: Lessons from 4 Pastors in China

We recently asked four Chinese house church pastors what we should know about loving our cities from the margins. Read More

Wednesday's Catch: Sharpening Your Church's Gospel Focus and More

Seven Steps Toward a Greater Gospel Focus in Your Church

Eighty percent of churchgoers believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith, yet 61% of them had not told another person about Christ in the last six months. The vast majority of Christians believe they should share their faith, but few actually do. Christians should be eternal optimists. The good news should compel us outward with love. If you’re leading a church, what can you do about the fact that most believers don’t share their faith? Read More

4 Ways to Diagnose "Vision Vertigo" at Your Church

Vertigo is a dizzying sensation that feels like the room is spinning. This is what pastors and members experience when they hear fuzzy declarations of vision, purpose, values, and mission. If you suspect your church may have vision vertigo, please allow me to help by asking four probing questions about your vision. Read More

Expanding the Digital Footprint of Our Churches

We have an opportunity to provide countless people with the hope of the gospel. Read More

Nothing on Your Phone (Including TGC) Can Replace the Local Church

As much as we should celebrate this age of abundance in Christian resources—what my colleague Sarah Zylstra calls “theological affluence”—I worry about some of its side effects. Namely: why is the rise in access to theological material coinciding with a decline in Christian church attendance? Could it be that our easy access to theological content is, in a twisted way, making us see church as unnecessary? Listening to a Christian podcast or devotional app, after all, is much easier than getting out of bed on Sunday morning and going to a church building. But is it the same? Read More

9 Things You Should Know About Ulrich Zwingli

This year marks the 500th anniversary or Reformation in Switzerland begun by Ulrich Zwingli in 1519. “That date, no less than October 31, 1517,” Timothy George says, “can answer the question, ‘When did the Reformation begin?’” Here are nine things you should know about the influential Swiss Reformer. Read More

Churches Say Worship Wars Are Over, But Most Still Use Pianos and Hymnals

For most pastors, the so-called “worship wars” over the style of the music used in their church have subsided, if they ever even felt that pressure. A new study from LifeWay Research found 15% of Protestant pastors in the U.S. say the biggest challenge they face in the area of music is navigating the varying preferences of members. Read More

Parents, Stop Sunday Schooling your Kids out of Church

This will be the first installment of a two-part series. Tim Wright here and Jonathan Aigner here have significant ideas which are worth our attention in thinking through our “theology of the church” with respect to the participation of children and students in the life of the church.

Tim Wright notes the shift the western church has made over the last 40 years to enculturate kids with their own programs. Unfortunately, one of the unintended consequences of this increasingly ubiquitous model of the church in North America is that many young people are losing — and have forever lost — any meaningful touch points with the rest of the congregation. He argues that by segregating our kids out of worship, we never fully assimilated them into the life of the congregation: “They had no touch points. They had no experience. They had no connection with the main worship service—its liturgy, its music, its space, its environment, and its adults. It was a foreign place to them.”[1]

Not coincidentally, once kids finished with the children or student ministries departments of the church….many simply left the church as young adults. Former youth group kids, now in their 20s and 30s, figured, “Hey, my parents dropped me off at sports. My parents dropped me off at piano. My parents dropped me off at church.”

But now? Young adults can easily connect the dots: “Now, I don’t play sports; now, I don’t play piano. I guess church was in the same category – a passing fancy of my childhood, an age-appropriate activity to eventually out-grow.” Read More

Related Articles:
Sunday Schooling Our Kids Out of Church
Killing the Church with Sunday School

Segregating kids from the rest of the church was recognized as a problem in the early 1970s. The late John Westerhoff and others drew this problem to the attention of those who were willing to listen. For a summary of Westerhoff's views, see “An Evaluation of the Contribution of John H. Westerhoff III to Religious Education.”

The Freedom of Long-Term Worship Planning

For much longer than I’d like to admit, I lived in the weekly tyranny of song selection. Monday morning would come, the upcoming Sunday would again be approaching (they have a way of doing that), and I’d be back where I was a week earlier. I’d put together a list, look at the Scripture readings and sermon topic for the coming week, consider anything special coming up (baptisms, communion, etc.) and try to find the right balance.

Oftentimes, I’d look at the upcoming readings or sermon, and realize that the *perfect* song was a song I had just used a week earlier, so I couldn’t use it again. Bummer.

Similarly, I’d realize that a particular song would work great as a sermon response, or as a service closer, but the congregation didn’t know it. If only I had taught it for a couple of weeks before. Bummer again.

And on many occasions I’d realize that I was going back to my favorites too often. Or we weren’t cycling through enough of the wonderful hymns that my congregation knew. Or we weren’t going back to new songs quickly enough to reinforce them. This weekly cycle I was stuck in wasn’t good. But it was all I knew. And it was how I thought I could stay “fresh”. And it was awful. Read More

8 Ways to Impact Your Community By Blessing Local Schools

Perhaps the best way to get a foot in the door is to come with an agenda to serve. Schedule an appointment with the principal for the sole purpose of asking about their vision for the school and how your church can partner with them to help.

Another question you can ask is, “What projects would you love to tackle if you had the ability or resources to accomplish them?”

When you approach a school leader with this posture of humility and the desire to serve, they will usually have a list of ways the church can partner with the school.

If the principal has no projects in need of attention, here are a few suggestions for starting points. Read More

Monday's Catch: Church Planting Support Mechanisms and More

Church-Planting Shifts, Part 4: Supporting Planters

With the rising tide of secularism and the ultimate decline of Christian nominalism, we may need to rethink our denominational/traditional church planting support mechanisms. There’s no doubt that nominalism has provided us with a ready base to plant and launch churches. We could plant faster with a Christian base and nominal Christians to reach. But that is changing. Read More

6 Things the Church Should Learn From Chick-Fil-A

I’ll pass along the valuable lessons during the past 13 months that we can learn from Chick-fil-A. Read More

Five Questions to Help You Cast Vision

The goal of young adult ministry is to reach, develop, and deploy young adults for the mission of God and the growth of the local church. It may sound easy, but the reality is that people don’t always move the way and when you want them to. So here are five questions to help you cast vision for young adult ministry in your church. Read More

How the Shortage of Young Men in Churches Affects Marriage

American churches don’t just have a deficit of men—they have a shortage of unmarried young men. This trend makes it harder for young women to find mates who are spiritually compatible. Read More

5 Hidden Dangers in Ministry

Many churches are wonderful and safe. But others would test the abilities, wisdom, and patience of an apostle. Read More

3 Reasons It's Okay to Be Left Alone Just Before You Preach

Generally speaking, one of two things are on the minds of those who say, “Pastor, I need to talk to you now before the service starts!” Read More

5 Ways to Get Feedback on Your Preaching Without Crushing Your Feelings

Carey Nieuwhof offers insight into how we can receive sermon feedback which will help us grow as communicators. Read More

Five Trending Developments on Sermon Length

One thing is for certain regarding the proclamation of God’s Word: preaching is still primary for both pastors and church members. Read More

Some Simple Practices That Will Make Your Preaching Better

Here’s to shortcuts. Five of them actually—for every communicator and preacher. Read More

3 Ways to Follow Christ This School Year

The rhythms of the school year present challenges for a lifestyle of faith. Here are ways to live it out. Read More

3 Lessons from a Vineyard Farmer about Your Growth

Here are three lessons from a vineyard farmer about how God grows us spiritually.... Read More

Four Investments that Lead to Missional Power

Jesus gives us a masterclass on missionary living through his own example in John 4. Read More

Friday's Catch: The 5 Components of a Healthy Church and More

Assembling the Five Components of a Healthy Church

Everyone wants to be a part of a healthy church, but not everyone knows how to get there. There are numerous resources available on what a healthy church is and what a healthy church should look like. But, if we were to boil it down to five necessary components, what would they be and what would that puzzle look like? Read More

Six Reasons Longevity Is Critical for Change Leadership

Change in a church does not happen overnight. Leading a group of people to change takes time. In this podcast Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe look at six reasons why longevity is so critical to change. Read More

7 Reasons It's Tough to Stop Being Negative

You probably know somebody like this—that person who’s negative about just about everything. It’s almost as if this brother or sister would see something bad even if God rained down His blessings. There are multiple reasons for this attitude (including these I posted two years ago), but I also think it’s really hard to change this attitude, whether it’s ours or someone else’s. Here’s why.... Read More

Preaching Through Depression

Seasons of emotional darkness are no respecter of persons, but there is hope. Read More

Screens Are Changing the Way We Read Scripture

As digital reading habits rewire our brains, how will we process the Bible differently? Read More

What Missionaries Can Teach Us in Post-Christian America

Three things American Christians can glean from our brothers and sisters on international missions. Read More

If I Share The Gospel, I Might Ruin Our Relationship

I know that every situation is different and that it takes a lot of wisdom, but generally speaking, I think that Christians wait too long to share the Gospel with loved ones. I want to encourage you to consider the following points to see if these are reasons why you haven’t pulled the trigger yet, and if they are, I encourage you to overcome your fear and to obey Christ by sharing Him with your friend. Read More

In Christ, Alone: Most Believers Say They Don’t Need Others for Discipleship

US Christians are growing in their faith, but many do it on their own, according to LifeWay Research. Read More

Americans Split on the Impact Pastors Have on Society

Most Americans believe pastors are good for the country, but fewer believe they have the positive impact of teachers or doctors. Read More

Thursday's Catch: Why Read Peter Martyr Vermigli and More

Why Read Peter Martyr Vermigli?

Confronted by the persecution, force, and cruelty of this world, Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499–1562, pronounced Vayr-MEEL-yee) urged Christians to recognize two realities: their identity in Christ and the sure hope of one day seeing God face to face. This, he contends, is “man’s ultimate happiness,” the delight that surpasses all worldly pleasure—to be accepted by the eternal Father in Christ. Read More

Seven Reasons a Guiding Coalition Is Vital in Church Revitalization [Podcast]

Many times when we talk about church revitalization, we talk about change. And when you change things, you will need a guiding coalition to help implement and support the change. Listen Now

8 Reasons Sunday School Classes or Small Groups Turn Inwardly

My evidence is anecdotal, but my experience is that many, if not most, Sunday school classes or small groups turn inwardly at some point. Even those that start with the strongest outward focus sometimes lose this battle. Here are some reasons this shift happens.... Read More

Is the Church an Instrument?

In several articles (see the most recent here), I’ve been interacting with Mark Galli’s series “The Elusive Presence,” which makes the point that in our zeal for doing good things for God, our love and passion for God Himself has been eclipsed. I resonate with this diagnosis of the malaise within evangelicalism. Where I part ways with Mark is in his broad and ill-defined understanding of the “missional church” as the culprit, as if missional thinking is an activity-generating philosophy that leaves us exhausted. Read More

3 Lies About Student Evangelism

Here are three lies about student evangelism that youth leaders and students should never believe. Read More

Millennial Christians, Smaller in Number, But Just as Faithful as Older Generations

There are fewer millennial Christians than in previous generations, but those young adults who do follow Christ do so just as faithfully as older believers, according to a Barna study. Read More

Practical Advice for Pastors and Lay Peachers #52

6 Reasons Why Pastors Must Be More Courageous Today

Thom Rainer believes we are in the midst of a cultural shift--and it's no time to shrink back from our calling. Read More

Four Lessons New Communicators Need to Learn Before Taking a Major Stage

How do you know when a new communicator is ready to take on a major stage? Read More

How Can I Keep My Preaching from Getting Stale?

How do we break the preoccupations of our preaching that not only dull hearers to our messages but also blind them to the implications of the Lordship of Christ over the whole of life? Read More

5 Words to Avoid in Sermons

Certain words will strengthen most any sermon. Conversely, some words weaken the sermon. If used at all, they should be used knowingly and sparingly. Here are five words that almost always weaken sermons. Read More

Nervous Before You Prepeach? 3 Sure Remedies

All eyes are on you. Staring. Waiting for you to say something. Many people are sweating just thinking about it. Read More

Wednesday's Catch: Seven Massive Changes Dramatically Shaping Our Churches and More

Seven Massive Changes Where Churches Must Respond

These seven massive changes are dramatically shaping our churches today. Read More

How to Talk to Your Kids about Sexual Abuse

Talking to children about difficult topics can be terrifying for parents, yet such conversations must take place. We cannot act like our world is not fallen and in need of redemption. There are evil people in the world that intend to do harm to others. If we are going to love our neighbors as ourselves (which must necessarily include the children that God has entrusted to us), then we must also warn them about evil in age-appropriate ways. Read More

For more information on child sexual abuse, read this article and similar articles on PubMed Central.

Celebrating Small but Significant Churches

When small churches are true to what they are and what they have been called to do, they too can make a big impact. Read More

The Church Multiplication Challenge

Across the United States, in churches of all shapes and sizes, God is breathing new life into his people as increasing numbers of leaders embrace the kingdom call to not just grow, but to reproduce and multiply. Read More

5 Ways to Ruin Your Meetings

Avoid these five failures, and you give yourself a better chance of success as you lead your team to greater productivity and efficiency. Read More

The Heart of the Gospel: Penal Substitutionary Atonement: August 2019

The latest edition of 9Marks Journal is online. Read Online or Download

What Sins of Ministry are You Killing Today?

Another question I sometimes ask people in ministry, the right context, is: ‘What sins of ministry are you killing today?’ Read More

Also see "What Sins are You Killing Today?"

7 Ways Preaching Bad Sermons Can Help You Preach Better Sermons

There will be times when you feel uninspired, unprepared and empty. Preach anyway. Read More

3 Reasons to Preach the Psalms

I’m far from an expert on preaching, let alone qualified to tell other preachers what to do. However, I’d like to offer three reasons I think you can and should preach through the Psalms, not around them. Read More

How Long Should a Service Be?

By Robin G. Jordan

On his blog Chuck Lawless has posted seven evaluative questions that he offers to the students in his pastoral ministry classes when they ask him, "How long should a worship service be?" These questions are useful in deciding what should be included in a service and what should be trimmed from it.

As I have pointed out in a number of posts, a common obstacle that North American Continuing Anglican churches face in reaching the unchurched and lightly-churched population of their communities is the length of their Sunday services. These services as a rule are too long. While the regular attendees of a Continuing Anglican church may not experience the services of the 1928 BCP as tedious, visitors do, not just young people but older people too. The length and tiresomeness of the Prayer Book services is one of the main reasons that they do not return for a second visit. It is also one of the main reasons that they are not likely to recommend the church to their family and friends after a visit.

The chief reason for their length is that those planning the services do not take advantage of the 1928 BCP's rubrics that permit the omission of a number of elements from the services of Morning Prayer and Holy Communion. The fault, however, is not entirely that of the worship planners. The congregation may have become so accustomed to the inclusion of various optional elements in the service and unauthorized additions to it that they are likely to complain if these optional elements and additions are omitted. The church may also have a pastor, supply priest, or other service leader who does not appreciate the need for brevity in the Sunday service.

In this post I am going to suggest several ways of shortening the service of Morning Prayer which is often the primary Sunday service of Continuing Anglican churches that do not have a priest of their own--a not uncommon situation in Continuing Anglican jurisdictions as aging priests retire from active ministry due to declining health and shrinking congregations are unable to pay the stipend for a part-time priest, much less a full-time one. They are:

1. Omit the opening hymn and eliminate a procession with processional cross and torches. A procession is traditionally a part of the entrance rite of a service of Holy Communion, not Morning Prayer.

2. Use only a single opening sentence of Scripture. Isaiah 57:15 is a good penitential introduction to the General Confession that follows. Serving as a penitential introduction was the original purpose of the opening sentences of Scripture at Morning Prayer.

3. Omit the long Exhortation and use the shorter Invitation to Confession. Pause after the Invitation to Confession to give the congregation an opportunity for self-examination.

4. Substitute a metrical version of the Venite for the prose text in the Prayer Book service and use it it as the first opening hymn of the service.

5. Limit the Psalms to one. Sing Henry Greatorex's "Glory be to the Father" or a metrical version of the Gloria Patri after the Psalm.

6. Substitute a short metrical version of the Te Deum, Benedicite, or Benedictus es for the prose texts in the Prayer Book service.

7. Place the sermon or homily immediately after the Second Lesson and not at the end of the service. When the sermon or homily is stuck on the end of the service, visitors are often too exhausted or bored to give their full attention to the message.

8. Substitute a short metrical version for the Benedictus Dominus Deus or Jubilate for the prose texts in the Prayer Book service.

9. Use the Apostles' Creed rather than the Nicene Creed. It is not only shorter but is traditionally used at Morning Prayer.

10. Take advantage of the rubric, "And NOTE, That the Minister may here end the Morning Prayer with such general intercessions taken out of this Book, as he shall think fit, or with the Grace," and substitute for everything that follows this prayer from Forms of Prayer to be used in Families:

...accept, O Lord, our intercessions for all mankind. Let the light of thy Gospel shine upon all nations; and may as many as have received it, live as becomes it. Be gracious unto thy Church; and grant that every member of the same, in his vocation and ministry, may serve thee faithfully. Bless all in authority over us; and so rule their hearts and strengthen their hands, that they may punish wickedness and vice, and maintain thy true religion and virtue. Send down thy blessings, temporal and spiritual, upon all our relations, friends, and neighbours. Reward all who have done us good, and pardon all those who have done or wish us evil, and give them repentance and better minds. Be merciful to all who are in any trouble; and do thou, the God of pity, administer to them according to their several necessities; for his sake who went about doing good, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

11. Sing a closing hymn. If a collection is taken, it may be taken during this hymn.

12. Conclude the service with this prayer from Forms of Prayer to be used in Families:

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us, and give us peace, this night and evermore. Amen.

What suggestions do you have?

Your Church Needs More Time for Personal Testimonies

If you’re reading this, you probably have a strong view of expositional preaching, corporate prayer, and the church ordinances (baptism and communion). You also might get nervous when someone emphasizes the value of personal experience. It might send a small shiver down your theological spine.

After all, you don’t want experience to crowd out exposition. I get it. There are a lot of cautions and concerns we might justifiably have about people giving testimonies. Nonetheless, we should consider implementing personal testimonies, that is, the practice of remembering God’s wondrous works and celebrating his mighty deeds in our lives and churches. Read More

Personal testimonies is an element that is frequently missing from Anglican services of public worship--at least here in the United States. Personal testimonies not only glorify God, they also build up the faith of those attending a worship gathering. They let the Body of Christ know how God has been working in its members.

Tuesday's Catch: From Church Split to Church Plant and More

From Church Split to Church Plant

Healthy steps toward forming a church plant after a church split. Read More

Church Planting Shifts, Part 3: Preparing Our People for Witness

Our call is to help all Christians more faithfully and fruitfully share the gospel in a society that is less nominally Christian, and more intentionally secular. Read More

Ministering to International Students

God has chosen this moment to bring hundreds of thousands of international students to our shores. Read More

The Power of Biblical Hospitality

Four characteristics that distinguish biblical hospitality from merely entertaining guests. Read More

Hell Is More Than a Choice

My concern is that statements like “God doesn’t send anyone to hell” or “The people in hell want to be there” are misleading when made the main focus of our apologetic on hell. As I hope to show, they capture something true, but they also run counter to clear biblical statements and risk making hell seem more bearable than Scripture presents it. Read More

How to Make a Theological Argument

Have you ever wondered how to make a theological argument? While many tools can help us make arguments, there are four overlapping steps to making a theological argument. Here they are.... Read More

Six Reasons Pastors Must Become Change Leaders [Podcast]

Determining the correct pace of change is often the most important aspect of leading change—because change is needed in nearly every church situation. In this podcast Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe discuss why change is essential and how to do it well. Read More

Am I Truly Born Again?

Four evidences that you are new. Read More

One of the Least Wanted Traits of a College Roommate--Being an Evangelical Christian

As college freshmen move on to campus in the coming weeks, some may be praying their roommate is not an evangelical Christian. Read More

A Priest to the Temple or, The Country Parson: His Character and Rule of Holy Life

Being desirous (through the Mercy of God) to please Him, for whom I am, and live, and who giveth me my Desires and Performances; and considering with my self, That the way to please him, is to feed my Flock diligently and faithfully, since our Saviour hath made that the argument of a Pastor's love, I have resolved to set down the Form and Character of a true Pastor, that I may have a Mark to aim at: which also I will set as high as I can, since he shoots higher that threatens the Moon, then he that aims at a Tree. Not that I think, if a man do not all which is here expressed, he presently sins, and displeases God, but that it is a good strife to go as far as we can in pleasing of him, who hath done so much for us. The Lord prosper the intention to my self, and others, who may not despise my poor labours, but add to those points, which I have observed, until the Book grow to a complete Pastoral.

So the celebrated seventeenth century Anglican poet-priest George begins his classic work, A Priest to the Temple or, The Country Parson: His Character and Rule of Holy Life. The complete work in modern spelling is found in The Sweet Remains of That Singer of the Temple George Herbert. Sweet Remains also contains Izaak Walton and Barnabas Olney's biographies of George Herbert, Jaculum Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, a collection of proverbs by George Herbert, and a collection of Herbert's letters. Readers who are unfamiliar with the vagaries of seventeenth century English spelling will find this edition of The Country Parson more readable.

Monday's Catch: What a Famous Poet Can Teach Rural Pastors and More

Salisbury Cathedral

What a Famous Poet Can Teach Rural Pastors

Stephen Witmer suggests just three reasons (admitting that there are many more) we should read and re-read the seventeenth century Anglican poet-priest George Herbert's only published prose work, A Priest to the Temple or, The Country Parson: His Character and Rule of Holy Life. Read More

A Priest to the Temple or, The Country Parson: His Character and Rule of Holy Life is available for reading online on the Project Canterbury website. I must admit that I have read this classic work numerous times. For the same work in modern spelling, see the article, A Priest to the Temple or, The Country Parson: His Character and Rule of Holy Life.

Celebrating The Essential Role Of The Historically Small Church

Let’s help today’s small churches be as great as yesterday’s small churches. Read More

The Power of Small Church Outreach

Leverage your advantages to reach your community. Read More

Trends in New Hispanic Church Plants

As with most other church plants, new Hispanic church works see exponential growth during the first few years. Read More

Millennial Men: Dispelling the Myth of the Unreachable Generation

The belief that Millennial men are part of an unreachable generation is a myth. Read More

8 Reasons Why We Preachers and Teachers May Be More Boring Than We Think

I admit that I debated whether to write this post – primarily because I might be unknowingly describing my own teaching and preaching. At the same time, I don’t want to suggest that most preachers and teachers are boring. I don’t believe that’s the case at all. My point here is to challenge all of us—beginning with me—to consider these issues/reasons as we preach and teach. Read More

How to Pray in Spiritual Warfare

This article is part of the How to Pray series. Read More

How The Church Became “Missional”

In the past few columns ... we’ve looked at Mark’s critique of the missional movement and his proposal for a different outlook. Today, I’m putting his critique in wider context, to show how missiology moved from what was essentially a church-centered view to a mission-centered view in the past seventy years or so. Read More

Reviving Evangelism for the Next Generation

A majority of practicing Christians do not consistently support evangelism, and almost half of millennial Christians believe it is flat-out wrong to evangelize. Now what? Read More

Friday's Catch: Rural Church Replanting and More

4 Keys to Replanting Rural Churches

There are no-name places all over the nation. These are places the rest of the world has forgotten about (it’s called fly-over country for a reason). But in these places are people serving God faithfully who want to see the Kingdom of God expand. Not to mentions scores of people that need Jesus. Read More

Why Are There So Few Resources For Churches Under 50?

If you’ve learned something practical about pastoring a very small church, we need to get that information out to others. Read More

What Should Pastors Know About Generation Z?

Five experts discuss the ways this emerging demographic is helping them rethink preaching, parenting, and service. Read More

Six Reasons Why the Minimization of Numerical Metrics Is Dangerous [Podcast]

Metrics have a bad reputation in some churches. In others, they’re too much of the focus. In this podcast Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe discuss why you should take a balanced approach to metrics. Listen Now

Is There a Difference between Pastors and Elders? (1 Timothy 3)

This article is part of the Tough Passages series. Read More

7 Reasons Why Pastors Must Invest in a Few Young People--and How to Begin

I listened intensely today as I heard a great, mature preacher talk about the influence of his pastor as he grew up. This pastor gave a young man time, energy, and prayers – and now decades later, this preacher remains grateful and faithful. Here’s why we pastors must invest in at least a few young people.... Read More

The Two Biggest Influencers in a Child's Life

Children are heavily influenced as they grow up. Who influences them the most? Read More

Video Switchers: How to Enhance Your Livestream or Video Production with Multiple Cameras and Effects

A video switcher is an important component of video production and livestreaming. But what exactly is a video switcher and what value does it provide to videographers, vloggers, and other content creators? Read More

Overcoming the Fear of Evangelism

Some of you don’t struggle with such things. That’s awesome. I’ve envied you before. But for those who like me have experienced butterflies in the stomach at times when you think about speaking the gospel to the lost, here are a few things that help me. Read More

5 Actions of Faithful Evangelists

As a Christian you want other people to get saved. You know that God uses means in the salvation of others and you want God to use you but you might not know how. Here are five actions of faithful evangelists. Read More

W. H. Griffith Thomas: "A Sacrament of Our Redemption"

An Enquiry into the Meaning of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament and the Church of England

W. H. Griffith Thomas wrote two books on the Lord's Supper, "A Sacrament of Our Redemption" An Enquiry into the Meaning of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament and the Church of England, and a shorter work, What Did Our Lord Mean? Notes on The Holy Communion. Both are available to read online or download on the Internet Archive website. "A Sacrament of Our Redemption" (Second Edition) is available to read online on the Church Society website. As Griffith Thomas notes in the Preface of the first edition of "A Sacrament of Our Redemption,", "The present little work is offered as a slight contribution to the cause of Bible truth and genuine Church doctrine on this important subject." Both are works are recommended reading for anyone who wishes to learn more about the historic Anglican understanding of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

Should the Church Strive to Be Relevant?

A friend once told me about seeing an advertisement for a new church that had launched in town. Printed on the ad in bold lettering were the words, “Relevant to your life.”

“I knew immediately to steer clear of that church,” my friend said emphatically.

While no one wants to be in a church that’s irrelevant to their life, the idea of “churches being relevant” can elicit a negative response for those who associate it with gimmicks, pageantry, and shallow messages short on the gospel.

But it shouldn’t be this way.

The Bible paints relevancy as a godly attribute that’s required for disciples to communicate the gospel of Christ to an ever-changing culture. But just like any attribute, relevancy can be twisted beyond its God-given intent and misused by sinful people.

Here are three reasons churches should strive to be relevant and three pitfalls to avoid when doing so. Read More

3 Non-Negotiables for Revitalizing a Dying Church

Pastors Bobby Owings and Brian Moss share a penchant for going to places no one else wants to go.

For them, it meant being called to lead dying churches—congregations in steep decline, or even on the brink of shutting down.

When Owings came to Surf City Baptist Church (SCBC), located in a resort town near a military base on the southern coast of North Carolina in 2009, each Sunday service had around 50 people in attendance—on a good day.

Today, Owings preaches four sermons each Sunday to a total of around 500.

Moss entered the ministry in 1999 after nearly two decades in the information technology industry. His first pastorate—at Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Salisbury, Maryland—brought him to a church that boasted around 30 for a weekend service.

He’s still at Oak Ridge, along with around 1,200 more members than he started with.

Owings and Moss shared a few vital actions churches must take if they want to not only stay alive, but also be effective. Read More

Using Part-Time Ministry Leaders in a Revitalization or Replant [Podcast]

When a staff member leaves, most churches automatically search outside the church for a replacement. In this podcast Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe offer a different perspective on staffing. Listen Now

7 Characteristics of Constructive Criticism

Here are some ways to determine if criticism is actually constructive.

Constructive Criticism

You’ve heard the term. As a leader, I hear it all the time.

If you’re a leader then you’ve certainly had people offer criticism. Some even say they are just giving “constructive criticism.” Or they believe so at the time.

Most of my pastor friends have heard, “Pastor, let me give you a little constructive criticism”—sometimes just as they are about to deliver the weekly message.

So, what does “constructive criticism” mean?

I’m thinking we often misuse the phrase. Read More

Am I Really a Christian?

How do I know if I’m really a Christian?

That’s an eternally important question, and yet, sadly, it’s one that many Christians struggle to answer. They may not realize that it’s possible to have assurance, or perhaps they’re looking for assurance in the wrong places or in the wrong ways. Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us in the dark when it comes to our standing before Him. He wants His children to know that they belong to Him.... Read More

3 Overlooked Ways to Do Pre-Evangelism

Most of us need another strategy to reach unsaved people around us. If ever there was a time when “people were ready to receive Christ” (and I doubt it was ever that simple), those days are gone. But how do we start?

Here are three strategies for pre-evangelism that might help your friends move from “Are you crazy? Christianity is ridiculous, narrow-minded, homophobic, and stupid!” to “Well . . . maybe I need to rethink this” to “OK, I’ve not been fair in the ways I’ve pigeonholed religious people” to “All right, I’ll take a look at that book about God you gave me.” Read More

W. H. Griffith Thomas: The Catholic Faith: A Manual of Instruction for Members of the Church of England (New Edition)

PREFACE

While an apologetic preface s always unnecessary, a few words explanatory of the writer's aim may rightly be allowed.

This Manual represents an endeavour to answer two questions: (l) What is the Church of England? (2) What does the Church of England teach? The answers to these questions are found, first, in the Prayer Book and Articles considered in their plain and obvious meaning. An attempt is then made to indicate the fundamental principles of the Church of England, to show how those principles are expressed in the formularies of doctrine and worship, and to point out what the principles imply and involve in the life of those who are bound by them. It is also shown that the Prayer Book and Articles need consideration in the light of their origin and compilation, and in view of the circumstances which gave birth to their present form. The Church of England formularies are thus seen to be the direct outcome of great movements of thought and life in the English nation.

The treatment of the various subjects is necessarily brief and incomplete, but an attempt has been made at least to touch upon all essential matters.

The substance of the book represents teaching given in the course of parochial work, in Confirmation Classes and Sermons, together with some theological lectures to missionary candidates and congregations in various localities. All possible care has been taken to verify the statements made, but in a book of this kind it is obviously necessary to deal with results rather than with processes. As the book represents the reading and study of several years it is impossible to acknowledge indebtedness in detail, but special mention must be made of help and suggestion derived from several Manuals of Doctrine and other similar books. After working over the ground myself I naturally consulted other works, and I gladly acknowledge my indebtedness for suggestions even when I could not agree with particular interpretations. I refer especially to The Church Catechism Explained, by Rev. A. W. Robinson; Confirmation Lectures, by Canon Barnes Lawrence; The Prayer Book and the Christian Life, by Archdeacon Tiffany; and The Church Catechism, by Canon Stowell. The summary of Church History in Part II. is intended to be a brief statement of the link of connexion of the Church of England with the Church of Apostolic days, and an explanation of how she has come to be what she is. It is mainly a bare narration of facts based on several well known works. Litton's great work, An Introduction to Dogmatic Theology, has been referred to and used throughout. For twenty years past that book has been a constant and treasured companion.

While I am of course responsible for the general treatment and conclusions of the Chapter on the Ornaments Rubric in Part III., I am greatly indebted to the criticisms of a friend who does not wish his name mentioned, but whose knowledge of this thorny subject is thorough and reliable.

I submitted to several friends the first draft of the synopsis of this work, in order to obtain the benefit of their criticisms. Among these I must mention Canon Stuart and Canon R. C. Joynt, of whose great pastoral experience I naturally wished to avail myself for the greater usefulness of the book. To Canon Barnes Lawrence I am particularly grateful for his trouble in reading through the entire manuscript and for giving me the benefit of his sound judgment and valued criticisms.

It remains to express the hope and prayer that this endeavour to show what it means to be an English Churchman may be blessed of God to the confirmation of members of the Anglican Church in "the faith once delivered to the Saints" as it now stands embodied in the Word of God and enshrined in the Prayer Book and Articles of the Church of England.

NOTE TO NEW EDITION

OPPORTUNITY has been taken to give the book a careful revision, to consider some of the recent Church problems, and to make modifications and additions in the list of works recommended for reading.

This edition of W. H. Griffith Thomas' The Catholic Faith: A Manual of Instruction for Members of the Church of England was published by Longmans, Greenman, and Co. in 1920 and is available for reading online or free download in several formats on the Internet Archive website. It is an excellent introduction to the faith of the Reformed Anglican Church. It is also available as a free e-book on Google Books.