What can a church of any size do to help people stay connected through life changes? Here are four suggestions.
Why Congregations Sometimes Change
Systems resist change because their core function is to ensure people repeat established behaviors. However, systems can change when they believe it’s essential for survival or maintaining core values. Dan Hotchkiss writes that church leaders can facilitate this by understanding the system’s resistance, valuing consistent efforts, and introducing change at the right moment.
6 Questions to Answer Before Going Multisite
After three decades of coaching churches in multisite strategies Jim Tomberlin has concluded there are six common issues and corresponding questions that every church considering multisite must address.
Part-time Pastors and Gift-filled Congregations
Lovett H. Weems Jr. describes the growth of part-time pastoral leadership, particularly in older and established traditions where part-time ministry has not been considered the norm. He outlines five ways that churches with part-time pastors can flourish by embracing a shared ministry model that focuses on the congregation’s unique gifts and callings.
Why Many Churches Seeking a Full-Time Pastor Can’t Find One
"The ad made me smile at first," writes Thom Rainer. "Then, I realized my reaction was wrong. The church ad said it was seeking a full-time pastor and provided the following information. My response should have first been sadness. It was yet one of many churches that are unrealistically seeking a full-time pastor."
7 Questions to Help Follow Your Calling
How does a ministry “calling for a lifetime” work in a culture that shifts, moves and often chases the latest trends? Of course, all those who are followers of Jesus are called to serve, even for a lifetime, and there is freedom in that serving. But a vocational calling to ministry is a unique assignment from God and requires specific elements to make it work for a lifetime.
In letter citing Pope Francis, Vatican doctrine czar ends push for women deacons
The issue of women deacons had been a major theme of the current Vatican synod on how to make the Catholic Church more welcoming and transparent.
While Catholic traditionalists will hail this development, Catholics who support the ordination of women deacons will be deeply disappointed.An Honest Conversation on Christian Nationalism : Caleb Campbell
What is our responsibility as pastors and ministry leaders in understanding and addressing Christian nationalism? In this week’s conversation on FrontStage BackStage, host Jason Daye is joined by Caleb Campbell. Caleb is the lead pastor at Desert Springs Bible Church in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a doctoral student at Fuller Theological Seminary and a regional director for the Surge Network. His most recent book is entitled Disarming Leviathan. Together, Caleb and Jason look at what Christian nationalism is and what it is not. Caleb also shares some practical ways that your local church can engage in mission, honoring God, loving others, and addressing Christian nationalism.
Fighting demons: The New Apostolic Reformation is waging a holy war against democracy
“You do not attack the enemy — you attack the enemy’s strategy,” and the strategy of the Christian right “has always been to master the tools of electoral democracy in order to erode and to end it.” That advice, quoting Sun Tzu, came from Frederick Clarkson, a senior researcher at Political Research Associates (and Salon contributor), in a recent webinar, "The New Apostolic Reformation and the Threat to Democracy In Pennsylvania."
The Holy Privilege of Preaching
A sermon is more than a speech — it is a spoken word within the relationship between preacher and hearer, infused by the Holy Spirit. It draws us into God’s Word of scripture and God’s Word incarnate, who is Christ. A sermon may be written into a carefully crafted manuscript, typed into an outline, jotted on a sticky note, or just held in mind. These forms all have their benefits and their drawbacks as they balance formality, precision, and elegance with responsiveness, connectivity, and openness to the present movement of the Holy Spirit. But at its heart, all preaching is a three-way communication between the preacher, the hearer, and God, who is present with us through scripture and the presence of the Holy Spirit....
Leading by preaching
"Since truth is in such short supply today, we must speak the truth as best we understand it from Scripture and to the best of our ability," writes Bill Ireland.
Are You Scattering Bad Seed?
Every day good seeds are being sown into the lives of the people around us, the people we love and are called to serve. And every day we are tempted to plant thorns among them, to sow weeds among the wheat and tares among the crops. We are tempted to add doubt to faith, discouragement to hope, evil thoughts to pure and holy desires. We are tempted to do the work of the devil instead of the work of the Lord.
How Small Groups Can PARTNER for the Gospel
Your church’s small groups have incredible potential to be evangelistic hubs in your community. Evangelism, like the other four purposes God has for us, cannot be accomplished alone. We need other people in our lives because we’re better together. We’re more evangelistically effective when we partner with others. Small groups are the perfect place to put this into practice. That’s why it’s so important for you to encourage your small groups to PARTNER together to share their faith. Here are a few specific ways they can do this.
How to Help a 9-Year-Old Make Their Faith Their Own
Many children in the modern West don't go to church as an expression of their own faith. They go to church because it's what their family does. For these kids, church "just being part of their lives" sometimes makes it hard to grow in and own their faith. Though this will look different for every family, here are some ideas for helping kids growing up immersed in Christianity to develop their own faith and involvement in Christian community.
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