Thursday, September 14, 2023

Thursday's Catch: 'Change Your Church’s Scorecard' And More


Change Your Church’s Scorecard
Each week, pastors stand in the pulpit and look out on half-empty sanctuaries, preaching the Word with power and conviction, but fewer and fewer people are hearing the message. While pastors and lay leaders fear the future, they must begin to recognize that with God, they can overcome any challenge and obstacle that is before them. It starts by seeing Jesus in those around them. Realize there is not a lack of people but a lack of sowing into the gospel field as a missionary for Christ.

Ed Stetzer: Thoughts on the Megachurch
...megachurches, which is the group represented by the largest churches list, are neither the answer to the problems in the church in America nor are they the sole source of them. Are there unhealthy, even ungodly, ways to grow a church? Certainly. But are all growing churches inherently unhealthy? Hardly. We all know better.

Three Ways a Disorganized Leader Holds Back a Team
Some great leaders are simultaneously good managers and gifted in administration. But not all leaders are. At the same time, leaders must reach a threshold of organizational skill or their disorganization becomes a debilitating weakness and holds back the team they are leading. It is bad leadership for leaders to shrug their shoulders and laugh about their disorganized leadership. Here are three ways a disorganized leader holds back a team....

Christian nationalism: How evangelical Christianity became a political religion
If you’ve been paying attention to the news over the last six years, you’ve probably noticed the phrase “Christian nationalism” being tossed around with increasing frequency. This is due to the fact that there has been a surge in the number of people who identify as Christian nationalists. Their influence as a voting bloc has wielded huge influence on the direction of politics in the United States.

Death and Dying: A Catechism for Christians
We present this catechism (or primer) on death and dying by Dr. Ewan Goligher and pastor Kyle Hackmann. With the advent of MAID or euthanasia becoming legal in Canada, Christians need to re-examine how they think about death and dying. To that end, we hope that this catechism will help you and your church more clearly understand what the Bible says about death and dying—especially as the eligibility criteria for MAID continues to expand. Soon mental illness alone will make one eligible for MAID (March 17, 2024). The pastoral challenge will be (and is) immense. This catechism is one resource to help you meet this challenge.

Why We Are Tempted Not to Pray
Many Christians struggle with prayerlessness. From here does prayerlessness arise?

10 First-timer Tips for New Small Group Leaders
If you had 2-minutes to share a handful of tips to help a brand new group host / leader get started in building community, what would you say? Here are some great tips for new small group leaders.

The Global Future May Be More Religious
A global survey in 26 countries found Generation Z is often more religious than baby boomers and frequently in surprising nations.

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