Emerging from a period of paused physical gatherings, pastors and churchgoers are considering what regular church attendance means.
5 Secrets for Ordinary People to Build Extraordinary Community
People will attend and stay at a church where they have friends. But what role do the church members, not the leaders, have in creating such an environment? I want to offer five ways for church members to create extraordinary community. You’ll notice that these are more pragmatic in nature. I didn’t mention things like small groups, Bible study, etc. Those are sort of assumed. I’m talking here really of just developing friendships.
4 Ways to Make Your Church Safer
With a variety of safety concerns, how can churches take the next step in providing a safer and more secure place of worship for congregants?
UMC bishop detained in Nigeria over visa dispute amid Church leadership debate
United Methodist Church bishop has been detained in Nigeria, reportedly over a visa dispute, as he traveled to the country amid a debate over who controls the regional denominational body. Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa of Zimbabwe was detained last Friday by the Nigeria Immigration Service while meeting with members of the UMC Southern Nigeria Annual Conference, The Herald reported. At issue was the effort to establish new leadership for the Nigerian Episcopal Area amid disputed claims over whether the regional body is still affiliated with the UMC.
Public Support for Polygamy Grows
Few U.S. adults (11%) believe having an affair is morally acceptable, but more than twice as many (23%) don’t have any issues with polygamy, according to Gallup.
Singing 'Amazing Grace' may be good for heart health, study finds
A new study has found a possible link between singing "Amazing Grace" and improved heart health. The study was carried out by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin to find out what effect singing the much-loved hymn might have on the cardiovascular health of older people with coronary heart disease, Premier Christian News reports.
4 Solutions to “I Hate Choirs”
As recently as 15 years ago, you’d find a choir in the typical church, even the smaller ones. After hundreds of years of dominance, the choir has strangely had a rapid and sad decline in a very short time. What happened? Let’s look at the problems and see if we can come up with solutions.
This may be a problem in some churches. In the early 1980s, his book, Renewal in Worship, Bishop Michael Marshall drew attention to the fact in their attempts to imitate the worship of large churches, many small church choirs were attempting to perform music that was beyond their ability to perform. He recommended that small churches tailor their worship according to their circumstances and not try to imitate large churches.
What I have found is that many worship bands are no better at encouraging congregational singing than choirs. Many contemporary praise songs are NOT participatory. They are pitched at an uncomfortable range for the average singer in the congregation. The worship band may have to rehearse them several times before performing them. The worship band does not repeat even the easier-to-sing ones with enough frequency for the congregation to learn and master them. Consequently churches are losing the bonding and mood elevation that group singing fosters and the other benefits of congregational singing.When Bible Reading Doesn’t Produce a Neat and Tidy Takeaway
In our desire for a takeaway from our daily Bible reading, we may simply be confusing forms of Bible intake. Bible reading, Bible study, and Bible meditation are certainly related, but they are not the same.
The Early Church and Small Groups
How could the 120 disciples in the upper room possibly have taken care of 3,000 new converts? (See Acts, chapter 2.) These disciples were trained by their Master to take responsibility to disciple these new believers.
How to Help a Group Member Facing a Crisis
Whether it’s due to a crisis or to physiological causes, you will inevitably get the opportunity to help a fellow group member through his or her struggle with depression. The following, adapted from the chapter “Depression: Supporting Your Friend in the Darkness,” offers many practical ways to do just that....
4 Hopes for the Lausanne Congress (L4) in Seoul, Korea
Our world and its ideologies, worldviews, and cultural norms are constantly changing. Evangelicals must remain faithful to our mission and the historic Christian faith by clearly and boldly stating our beliefs in light of such issues. While I do not speak on behalf of the Lausanne Movement, I do want to share some reflections on defining our stand with clarity, and my four hopes for the theological commitments we make in Seoul at L4.
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