We do not know our history like we once did—biblical history, family history, and our nation’s history. Why should we care? History gives meaning to traditions. History gives purpose to church practices. History provides insight into culture. History contains all the chapters leading up to the current narrative in the church. You cannot create an enduring story without history. Church leaders can—and should—honor the past. We can do so without losing the future.
15 Ways You can Encourage Your Pastor
When I wrote my second book 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them, I surveyed over 2,000 pastors through LifeWay Research and through an online survey through Christianity Today. In the CT survey, I asked pastors to share specific ways someone in their congregation ministered to them. I probed how people could (and did) encourage them. Here’s a sample of what they wrote. If you are not a pastor, consider doing one or two of these this week.
Online Communion? Theology and the Digital Church
A single blog is grossly insufficient to tackle this task, but perhaps I could suggest one way of thinking about one of the many questions being raised: If someone is involved in an online campus, should they be encouraged to participate in the Lord’s Supper as they watch?
Waking Up to the Realities of Preaching to Sleepy Congregants
We are at times frail. Love your sleepy congregants where they are. Even when that means they’re in the land of Nod.
Helpful Principles for Writing Public Prayers
How does one best begin writing? Start with a posture of humility. Light a candle. Seek the mind of Christ. Pray to be ushered into the mystery of co-creating with God, a grace-filled process surpassing our understanding. Acknowledge this as a holy privilege to which God has called us.
Who Killed the Prayer Meeting?
When we descend from the formal prayer meeting down to the smaller parts of a Jesus community and into our families and friendships, we encounter the same corporate prayerlessness that the evangelist experienced. Christians are praying, but they are doing it by themselves. According to a recent Barna study, 94 percent of American adults who have prayed at least once in the last three months do so by themselves.
Cultivate a Culture of Service in Youth Ministry
Serving the community together is an indispensable fruit that grows from the roots of a church that prioritizes God’s mission.
US Hispanic Protestant churches are young, growing and largely new to the country
'We see more and more English-speaking churches either planting a Hispanic church or adding a service in Spanish to their current congregation,' said Giancarlo Montemayor with Lifeway Recursos.
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