Friday's Catch: Outdoor Worship during the Pandemic and More

Churches Embrace Outdoor Worship during Pandemic

As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic requires social distancing and vigorous cleaning, churches must weigh whether to continue only worshipping online or reopening buildings in limited capacities. Others have begun to move outside. Read More

Connecting Without Live Streaming

Everyone is feeling the effects of COVID-19. Many churches aren’t able to worship in-person right now, but some churches have easily made the switch to live streaming. For a myriad of reasons, streaming to Facebook or other platforms might not be a great option—especially for churches with smaller congregations, in rural communities, or with older demographics. Beyond Sunday worship services you might also wonder how to have community with the church when you’re not physically together. Here are some other options to stay connected with your congregation when you’re unable to connect in-person. Read More

Pandemic Challenges Music Ministers, Choirs

United Methodist music ministers are coming up with creative ways to keep music going and keep choir members engaged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More

I am having to cast my nets wider in search of articles that may prove helpful to churches during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am running across too many articles that treat the pandemic as a thing of the past or a non-occurrence, not as a present reality. These articles are not helpful to churches that are struggling with how to do church in the midst of a serious epidemic without endangering their congregations and communities.

5 Ways Your Church Can Use Text-Messaging to Reach More People

As the church begins to utilize social technologies, the youngest generation may already be moving on from social networks to much more personal means’ of communicating, especially texting. Text-messaging, as an outreach and communication tool, is HUGE! I believe rather strongly that we should stop asking people to turn their cell phones OFF during worship services and instead, ask them to turn them ON and use them.... Read More

‘The Social Dilemma’ and the Bigger Dilemma

Often our concerns about AI are centered on when it will overcome our strengths and outperform us in various tasks, rather than on how it has already overcome our points of weakness by fostering addiction and fueling dissent. Read More

A small but growing number of Christians are taking a break from social media because it encourages division and conflict and gives free rein to those peddling inaccurate or false information. A friend of mine, when she announced that she was taking a break from Facebook, gave as her reason the intensifying hatred on both sides in the upcoming presidential election. It was too much for her. What I have also noticed is that individuals who identify themselves as Christians act no differently from those who make no such claim. Loving your neighbor, much less your enemy as well as each other, and the Golden Rule, doing to others what you would want done to you, has gone out the window and I fear will not return.

Should Your Church Use Facial Recognition Technology

You may read that headline and wonder how in the world someone could ask that question when many churches are still not able to meet in person or are having hybrid services to cut down on the spread of COVID-19. Technologies like facial recognition seem like such a far off dream that you likely haven’t even considered the possibility of using it in your church or ministry. But in light of the questions concerning regathering together as the church, social distancing, security, health risks, and even new member assimilation, there will be increasing pressure on church leaders to implement these types of tracking tools to keep people safe and connected. Read More

7 Ways to Keep Politics from Blowing Up Your Bible Study Group

Today I am re-posting an article I wrote in mid-January 2020 – you may have missed it (I’ve added a seventh suggestion in today’s post). Now that we are just a few months away from a presidential election, and with the country polarized around candidates and political parties, I thought this is a good time for a quick refresher. Don’t let politics blow up your group as it already has in some places. The stories are just sad to hear – groups splitting over politics. Here are 7 ways to keep politics from blowing up your Bible study group. Read More

Bringing up politics and political figures is guaranteed to take your small group off track and tear it apart. Politics and political figures have become idols in the lives of many Christians and political opinions have taken the place of the teaching of Jesus and the apostles.