The House of Deputies raced to get through its agenda on June 28, the final afternoon of the 81st General Convention. Deputies worked with the knowledge that the House of Bishops had already called it a day, meaning that if the deputies amended a piece of legislation already approved by the bishops, they would effectively kill it. The pressures of time led to a number of widely-supported compromises: new liturgical canons that secured protections for conservatives alongside prayer book revisions desired by progressives, and a concession to the bishops’ insistence that the State of Israel is not an “apartheid” regime.
Related articles: Bishop Rowe’s Remarks to Deputies and PB-Elect Chooses a Simpler Installation.4 Ways to Successfully Navigate Change
Great leaders manage change well. Great pastors also manage change well. But it’s not easy. In my research for my book, Brain-Savvy Leaders: the Science of Significant Ministry, I learned that brain insight can help us navigate change successfully. Consider these 4 ways to successfully navigate a change you’re facing.
The biggest challenges facing church leaders and churches in this decade are to avoid the pitfall of politicization and to make the transition from a maintenance mindset to a mission mindset.3 Approaches to Recruiting Volunteers Among Infrequent Church Attendees
How does less frequent attendance impact volunteer recruitment? There are three mindsets church leaders may have as they recruit volunteers.
Obstacles to Prayer
According to an early historical document called the Didache, the first-century Christians maintained regular prayer meetings three times per day (third, sixth, and ninth hour). But a century later, the Christians held their prayer meetings only twice per day–Sunrise and sunset. It seems like the passion for prayer started slowly decaying, even up to this present day where statistics say that t 20% of church members never pray and the vast majority only do so occasionally.
Related articles: The Importance of Prayer, Prayer through the Holy Spirit, part 1, and Prayer through the Holy Spirit, part 2.How to Resurrect the Prayer Meeting
All four articles are available in Korean, Portguese, and Spanish as well as English.
The book of Acts is a book of prayer. Private prayer, however, is rarely mentioned. Instead, whenever the church needed the Spirit’s power for evangelism, they gathered for a prayer meeting (Acts 1:14). When they faced persecution, they launched a prayer meeting (Acts 4:23-31). The early church had only one response when their pastors were imprisoned. They started a prayer meeting until their leaders were set free (Acts 12:1-5).
Young Adults in Church: How To Retain Your Teen Graduates
Many blog posts and books cover the subject of keeping young adults in church after high school graduation. But I want to narrow it down to four practical solutions. When congregations use these tips, they’re more likely to retain young adults in church after graduation.
5 Steps to Create Maximum Student Impact
Follow this plan to dramatically increase the effectiveness of your youth ministry.
How to Create a Gospel Advancing Network
Whether you’re already part of an existing youth leader network or you’re creating one from scratch, the following simple steps will help you share the Gospel Advancing approach with other youth leaders in your community.
Worship Unleashed: Engaging Youth in Praise and Worship
What does worship unleashed mean? And how does it apply to teen ministry? Read on for insights about engaging kids in life-changing worship.
The older Christian music also attracts today's teens as does global music, songs from the World Church. Some popular worship music has a powerful message and some does not. Churches can learn from the Asbury Outpouring: the music was fairly simple and was accompanied largely by piano and acoustic guitar. For this reason, I would encourage the use of a wide-range of musical styles and songs with a clear Biblical message.Are You Sharing the One Story?
Children have a faith that’s ready to go. So let’s not waste that opportunity by delivering a mere morality tale in Sunday school and children’s church. We need to share the Gospel message and Gospel Truth.
Singing Praises: Music and Worship in Children’s Church
Partner with your church’s worship leader to create joyful praise experiences for kids. If you’re on your own or don’t have a musical background? Don’t worry! You can still get kids singing praises to God. Discover practical tips about children’s worship.
Download a simple gift you can bless your volunteers with as you transition from summer to fall and invite them back to serve another year.
A number of hymns and worship songs work well in a church's Sunday services, Sunday school and children's church. One of the things that churches learned in the 1970s and 1980s was that if the worship experience in children's church was too different from that in the Sunday services, children would have difficulty in transitioning from children's church to the Sunday service. They would come to prefer the kind of worship experience offered in children's church over that offered in the Sunday service.An Easy Way to Say Thank You to Volunteers (and invite them back!)
Download a simple gift you can bless your volunteers with as you transition from summer to fall and invite them back to serve another year.
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