Thursday's Catch: 'Why Do Churches Resist Change? (And What You Can Do About It)' And More

Why Do Churches Resist Change? (And What You Can Do About It)
Ask a pastor why change stalls in their church and you’ll usually hear some version of the same line: our people just don’t like change. That answer feels true. It’s also incomplete. People aren’t the real obstacle. Organizations are built to resist change by design, and churches build that resistance in deeper than almost any other kind of organization.

The hidden story behind America's religious revival
The polling firm Gallup found that the share of young men in America — across various faiths — who said religion was ‘very important’ to them had jumped from 28 percent to 42 percent in just two years.

But recently, professor and data scientist Ryan Burge found something surprising in those numbers.

A large part of the rise in people saying religion is very important came from people who do not attend weekly services. He calls this phenomenon ‘belief without behaviour.’

In this episode, Katty Kay talks with Ryan Burge about what’s going on in the numbers — and why the headlines of a religious revival in America are more complicated than they might seem.

Churches, pay attention: Americans gave $617 billion last year
i(Shutterstock) When I meet with pastors and ask how giving is going, the answer is pretty much the same: Giving is down, and not just during the low seasons churches are used to experiencing.

The decline in giving is no longer seasonal but has become a permanent shift. This makes the latest numbers from Giving USA revealing and puzzling. In 2025, Americans gave $617 billion to charitable causes, surpassing $600 billion for the first time in history.

Vatican declares SSPX bishops, priests schismatic, says lay faithful risk excommunication
As hundreds of lace-laden priests processed into an ornate Mass July 2 on a hillside in the Swiss Alps, the bishops leading the line, their clergy and the 6,000 lay faithful bowed in prayer around them were declared members of a schismatic group no longer in communion with the Catholic Church.

Less than 24 hours after the ultraconservative Society of St. Pius X created four new bishops in open defiance of Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican declared that those bishops, the men who consecrated them and the priests and lay faithful who adhered to the schism, had been formally excommunicated from the church.

Also See: What to know about the breakaway traditionalist Catholics defying Pope Leo XIV

Texas nun released after ICE arrest in Texas sparked national outrage
A Catholic nun who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers while walking to Sunday Mass in South Texas has been released after intervention from members of Congress, officials said.

Sister Leticia "Letty" Ugboaja was detained June 28 as she walked to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas, to attend Mass, according to the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville. Brenda Riojas, a spokesperson for the diocese, confirmed to USA TODAY on July 1 that Ugboaja was released from custody on the evening of June 28.

Evangelicals announce month of prayer as Church of England debates same-sex relationships
The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has called for July to be a month of prayer for the spiritual health of the nation and the Church of England the thorny subject of same-sex relationships returns to its General Synod.

The Bible verses dividing Washington: How Matthew 25 became a political litmus test
'He told me that Matthew 25 was about individuals, and not nations,' Sen. Raphael Warnock said, referring to Speaker Mike Johnson. 'The text actually says nations.' Warnock added: “It's a very narrow individualistic faith, and I think it has consequences for the kind of policy you end up with.”

How Baptists helped end slavery in the United States
Christians often have been reminded that some of their forebears supported slavery, but many do not know Christians ended slavery in the United States. Southern Baptists, in particular, frequently are reminded their convention began amid the defense of slavery. Yet the wider story is more complicated and more convicting.

Many Baptists embraced, if not led, the anti-slavery campaign. That trend began to sweep Southern Baptists along with it until cultural momentum carried them in the opposite direction.

VOICES: The United Methodist Church hates Methodism
When a denomination decides that one of the world's best-known Wesleyan seminaries is no longer suitable for training Methodist ministers, something extraordinary has happened.

The United Methodist Church has removed Asbury Theological Seminary from its list of approved seminaries because it disagreed with the denomination's decision to endorse homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

Don't Change What You Believe Just Because People Are Bad
What makes Christians different from our secular neighbors?

Certainly, our worship of the risen Christ and love for others should mark us out. Our lifestyle—fighting against sin, and running after joyful holiness—should provide contrast too. But I’d like to submit one more subtle, but crucial difference. Christians care about what’s true. Not just what’s helpful or pleasant, but what’s objectively true.

The three chatbot behaviors that can drive humans to delusional thinking
We’ve all experienced the tendency of AI chatbots to tell us what we want to hear, but there are two other, more nuanced factors that help chatbots worm their way into human hearts.

In addition to being overly agreeable, chatbots mirror the way people speak and generate highly personalized responses based on prior conversations. Psychiatric researchers are referring to the confluence of these three characteristics—sycophancy, linguistic alignment and hyperpersonalization—as the “amplification spiral,” suggesting it’s the mechanism by which delusional thinking can fester.

Why experts want you to think twice before using AI for everyday tasks
As the world tries to curb human-caused climate change and not run dry of water, every online query is increasing our environmental footprint and exacerbating the problem.

Artificial intelligence and the data centers they require use growing amounts of energy and are water hogs — and AI companies aren't transparent about how much of those resources they use, experts said. So each time you turn to the internet and seek an AI-fueled response, it's gobbling up precious resources.

Why Great Curriculum May Be the Secret Weapon Your Youth Ministry Is Missing
Faithful youth ministry is good, true, and repeatable formation for teens, and good curriculum helps keep that distinction clear.

Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (July 2, 2026) Is Now Online

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

We do not know the names of the first Christians who practiced their faith in Britannia, what the Romans called Great Britain and the province that they established in the southern two-thirds of the island. Nor do we know where they gathered and under what circumstances. What we do know is that in the third century the early Church Father Origen recorded in his writings that the influence of Christianity in the island had spread beyond the Roman province. We also know that three British bishops and a number of their clergy attend the Council of Arles in 314. Anglicans, Episcopalians, and Methodists (and Baptists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians and other Christian groups too) can count what Church historians call the Celtic Church as a part of their early Christian heritage.

In this Thursday evening’s message, we examine Romans 15:22-33 for what we can learn from that part of Paul’s letter to the Christian community at Rome and consider how we can apply it to our own life and witness as Christians.

Readings: Nehemiah 7:73b-8:18; Romans 15:22-33

Message: A Journey Not Made, A Plan Unfulfilled

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2026/07/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows-july-2.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing a lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows the lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Thursday Evenings at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

Wednesday's Catch: 'The silent faith crisis no one in the Church is talking about' And More

Former St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church, Chattanooga, TN,
Sold to Catholic Diocese of Knoxville

VOICES: The silent faith crisis no one in the Church is talking about
There is a shift taking place that the Church cannot ignore.

Recent research from the 2025 State of Discipleship: Living Unashamed™ Survey (Lifeway Research), a national study of 2,130 Protestant churchgoers conducted in March 2025, reveals a sobering pattern in Christian witness and daily discipleship.

ACC Members Doubtful About Nairobi-Cairo Proposals
Anglican Consultative Council members seemed largely skeptical about recommendations for altering a venerable description of the Anglican Communion proposed by its faith and order body during presentations from table groups on June 30, the third day of meetings for ACC-19 in Belfast.

Also See: ACC scrutinizes, raises concerns about proposed changes to Anglican Communion structures

Why Christians Should Defend the Separation of Church and State
On June 26th, the Trump Administration's Religious Liberty Commission released a draft report calling for a reexamination of the traditional understanding of separation between church and state. The report argues that religion and government should be viewed as partners rather than distinct institutions and recommends expanding the role of religious expression within public life and government institutions. Supporters see these proposals as necessary protections for religious freedom.

Others, however, have expressed serious concerns. They warn that when government begins treating religion as an essential partner rather than maintaining neutrality among faiths, the rights of religious minorities, dissenting Christians, and nonreligious citizens become more vulnerable. History repeatedly demonstrates that when governments become closely aligned with a dominant religious tradition, those outside that tradition often find their freedoms diminished.

Those who express strong reservations in regards to the positions the commission has taken have history on their side. The centuries-old conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Mid-East, the Hindu persecution of Christians in India, the Buddhist persecution of Christians in Nepal, and the Russian government's restrictions on Baptists and other non-Russian Orthodox religious groups also show that their concerns are not grounded solely on what happened in the past.

Should Churches Celebrate July 4th?
The smell of charcoal drifts down the block, flags line the porches, and somewhere a pastor is staring at a worship plan wondering how much of Independence Day belongs inside the sanctuary. It is one of the few holidays with no built-in Christian meaning. Christmas has a manger and Easter has an empty tomb. The Fourth of July has fireworks and a founding, and neither one preaches itself into a worship service.The smell of charcoal drifts down the block, flags line the porches, and somewhere a pastor is staring at a worship plan wondering how much of Independence Day belongs inside the sanctuary. It is one of the few holidays with no built-in Christian meaning. Christmas has a manger and Easter has an empty tomb. The Fourth of July has fireworks and a founding, and neither one preaches itself into a worship service.

That gap is exactly why the question keeps returning every summer. Godly, thoughtful leaders land in very different places on it, and most of them can defend their choice with Scripture. If you skip this decision, the calendar makes it for you. So it is worth naming the options plainly and choosing on purpose.

The FAQs: SCOTUS Says States May Reserve Women’s Sports for Biological Females
What just happened?

On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in two cases, West Virginia v. B. P. J. and Little v. Hecox, involving state laws that designate athletic teams by biological sex. By a vote of 6–3 on the Equal Protection question, the court held that states may bar biological males who identify as female from competing on women’s and girls’ teams.

As Justice Kavanaugh wrote for the majority, “Consistent with Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause, we hold that the States may maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females. They may determine eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex.”

Matthew Vines sets off a debate over what it means to be ‘queer’

One of the leading apologists for gay Christians has created a firestorm of controversy among Christians in the LGBTQ community with a column published in The New York Times June 30.

Matthew Vines is the author of the op-ed headlined, “I’m Gay, Not Queer. It Matters.” He rose to national attention a decade ago with publication of his bestselling book, God and the Gay Christian. From there, he launched The Reformation Project, which provides resources for Christians who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and their family members.

2026 LGBT-Affirming Christian Denomination Report
Which US Christian denominations have the most affirming congregations in 2026?

PCUSA votes clergy monogamy overture out of order, refers for further study: 'Moral chaos'
A committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) recently voted that a controversial overture to mandate monogamy among ordained clergy is out of order, but referred it for further study. CON-10, formerly OVT-044 and titled "On Requiring Ministers of Word and Sacrament to Be Monogamous," was referred last Wednesday by a 45–12 vote of the PCUSA's Constitutional Interpretation Committee to the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, according to The Presbyterian Outlook.

PCUSA sees membership drop by nearly 27,000, loss of 128 churches: report
Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States, lost over 26,000 members and 128 congregations in 2025, according to a new report.

A "Narrative Summary" of statistics released ahead of the PCUSA's 227th General Assembly was emailed to The Christian Post on Monday, showing a decline of 26,845 members from 2024 to 2025, with the denomination’s official membership number being 1,019,003 by the end of last year.

12 Common Misconceptions About God, Morality, and Salvation
Walk into almost any church on a Sunday and you will find people who love God, read their Bibles, and still believe things the Bible flatly denies. That is not a guess. National surveys of American Christians keep turning up the same pattern. People affirm one biblical truth in one breath and contradict it in the next.

The LifeWay Research and Ligonier Ministries State of Theology survey has tracked these beliefs for more than a decade, and the most recent wave polled roughly 3,000 U.S. adults. The findings are striking. Many self-identified evangelicals hold views that cut against the core of historic Christian teaching. Scott McConnell, who directs LifeWay Research, has summed up the problem simply: most people are comfortable holding beliefs that do not fit together.

Here are twelve of the most common misconceptions, why each one matters, and what Scripture actually teaches. If you lead a church, the last section is the part you will want to keep.

Want the foundation first? Start with this primer on salvation by grace through faith, then work through the list below.

The Sermon on the Mount as the Archway to the Christian Life
All Christians must pass through the archway of the Sermon on the Mount. But as history shows, there are many ways to approach these gates. In this article, then, I want to lay out what I understand to be a traditional pathway to the Sermon, so that readers might see Jesus’s words as summoning us upon his Way (John 14:6) as followers of the way (Acts 9:2).

11 Traits of a Foolish Pastor (and How To Avoid Them)
Most pastors never set out to become a fool. It happens slowly, one ignored correction at a time. Proverbs does not picture a fool as a harmless clown. It pictures someone unwise, unteachable, proud, and blind to the very flaw everyone else can see. We are told to step around that person, not argue with him, and think hard before handing him responsibility.

So here is the uncomfortable question. Can a pastor act like a fool? After decades in ministry and years coaching other leaders, I believe the answer is yes. The good news is that foolishness is a pattern, and patterns can be broken. Read these traits not as a list to throw at someone else, but as a mirror.

Also See: The Secret Pain of Pastors: 6 Hidden Struggles

Truth in Love: A Ministry Leader’s Guide to Compassionate Candor
Practiced in dependence on the Holy Spirit, Compassionate Candor is an act of obedience for us and an avenue of growth for those we lead.

You don’t want to be internet famous
I don’t want to be internet famous. But I know how to do it. It’s easy:

1. Play to an algorithm.

2. See step 1.

3. Repeat.

If you think I’m oversimplifying, I’m really not. This is what it takes. More than anything else, you have to pay attention to what the algorithm on your chosen platform rewards—what incites engagement—and act accordingly. And what does it reward most consistently? Anger. Rage. Hostility. These things the Bible calls “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19–21).

Anger, especially, moves fast. It is a high arousal emotion that immediately triggers our flight or flight responses. So if we want to be famous, all it takes is pulling that trigger.

How children learn to be good
Richard Weissbourd and Kiran Bhai are part of the leadership team at Making Caring Common, a Harvard Ed School initiative focused on making moral and social development a priority in child-raising. In this article, they answer this question:

Can we become better people—more caring, generous, honest, and just?

Christian missionaries find new frontier in VRChat
'As crazy as it sounds, God used virtual reality to call someone into that space to lay out the gospel in its fullness,' said Stewart Freeman, a former heavy VRChat user who rediscovered his faith through virtual reality.

Mission-minded Christians, those who take Jesus' command to make disciples of all people groups with the seriousness it warrants know they must go to these groups. They are not going to come to us no matter how welcoming we may think ourselves or the signs we erect in front of our churches.

Image Credit: FoodPantries.Org

Tuesday's Catch: 'Five Early Warning Signs Your Church Is Aging Too Fast' And More

Five Early Warning Signs Your Church Is Aging Too Fast

Thom identifies clear, measurable indicators that a church is aging—and what leaders can do before it becomes irreversible.

The Hidden Reason Most Churches Stop Growing
Thom explores the less obvious barriers to growth—especially internal culture, comfort, and unspoken preferences that quietly resist change.

Northumberland County church says goodbye after more than 200 years
Christ United Methodist Church says goodbye, after seeing generations of families grow in Northumberland County.

Network without Being Awkward and Advice for Better 1:1s
Networking feels fake because most people do it wrong. Michael Bungay Stanier has a better way. In this conversation, MBS breaks down how to connect without the cringe, the seven questions you need to ask to run 1:1s that actually matter, and build a career path nobody handed you. Plus: a deep dive into self-publishing and viral marketing.

Do I Have to Give to My Local Church?
While many Christians give to their local church, many only give directly to specific people and causes in the name of careful stewardship. Their reasoning goes something like this: “If I give to my church, while some of it goes to its various ministries, much of it funds staff salaries, building overhead, fellowship events, and VBS crafts. To be sure, those are good things, but I want my financial generosity to help starving children, trafficked women, villages without clean water, and missionaries. It’s not that my church isn’t important. I just think my money can make a bigger difference if I give it elsewhere.”

As long as believers give generously to needy people and worthy causes, do they really need to give to their local church?

Should You Tithe While Paying Off Debt? What the Bible Actually Says
If you have ever sat down to build a budget while staring at a credit card balance, you have probably asked the question out loud. Do I keep giving to my church while I am this deep in debt? It feels like a math problem. It is really a faith problem, and faithful Christians land in very different places on it.

The disagreement is not about whether to be generous. Almost no one argues against generosity. The real question is how to order your priorities when the money is tight and the obligations are real. Here are the three main positions, what each one gets right, and how to think through your own situation.

ACNA Approves Title IV Overhaul
Comprehensive revisions to the Anglican Church in North America’s Title IV canons for clergy discipline were ratified by the church’s Provincial Assembly at a special virtual meeting on July 25, enacting the legislation passed unanimously by its Provincial Council a week prior.

Anglicans Challenged to Plant 1 Million Churches
A million new Anglican churches in the next decade is the goal of Vision 36, an ambitious initiative proposed to the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) by the Communion’s Commission for Evangelism and Discipleship at ACC-19 in Belfast on June 29. If successful, the vision would bring a threefold increase the number of Anglican congregations, and 20 million new Anglicans into the fold.

Truth in Time: Historical Discernment and the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals
The background of the NCPs is the recognition of deep divisions and broken relations among provinces and churches of the Anglican Communion, largely centered, however reluctantly we may say so, on questions of human sexuality. We cannot downplay this circumstance. It has already driven the Communion toward de facto division, visible in violations of provincial territorial boundaries through ordinations and “mission,” non-attendance at official gatherings of the Instruments of Communion, alternative coalitions, Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) covenantal intensification, and GAFCON’s contestation of the Communion’s spiritual and symbolic center. It is from within these realities—not through appeals to tradition abstracted from reception, unilateral definitions of truth exempted from Communion-wide testing, or an idealized account of full communion—that we should seek to rebuild relations, mutual recognition, and common mission.

Supreme Court rejects Trump's birthright citizenship order in major blow
The Supreme Court on June 30 rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to redefine who is an American, striking down the limits on birthright citizenship that were a centerpiece of his hardline approach to immigration.

The 6-3 ruling landed as the nation is gearing up to celebrate its 250th anniversary, adding to the significance of a case that was already a blockbuster.

Americans Less Likely to See the Religious as Positive Influence on Society
Most U.S. adults believe the country would benefit from increased religious influence, but some are less likely to view this positively.

Why coercive religious politics undermine Christianity and democracy
When Christianity relies on coercion rather than persuasion, it distorts the very nature of the gospel.

Perspectives: You Were Not Born Gay
One of the most influential slogans in modern history is also one of the most deceptive. "I was born this way."

Those five words have done more to normalize homosexuality in the modern West than perhaps any politician, activist, celebrity, corporation, university, Supreme Court decision, or social movement. The slogan appears compassionate. It sounds scientific. It feels liberating. Yet hidden inside it is an assumption so enormous that most people never stop to examine it. The slogan does not merely describe an experience. It attempts to settle a moral argument. The reasoning works like this: If I was born this way, then God must have made me this way. If God made me this way, then this must be good. If this is good, then anyone who questions it must be questioning God Himself.

The Quiet Crisis of Prayerless Orthodoxy
There is a danger that can creep into conservative evangelical churches quietly, almost respectably. It does not usually arrive with scandal. It does not always look like compromise. It can sit under faithful preaching, sing doctrinally rich hymns, affirm historic confessions, defend biblical truth online, and recommend excellent books.

It is the danger of prayerless orthodoxy.

How Churches Can Safely Use AI: 7 Ways To Reduce Risks and Hidden Costs
Many churches are using generative artificial intelligence (AI)—whether leaders realize it or not.

Image Credit: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Hickman, KY

Monday's Catch: 'Deadly flash flooding destroys church in Kentucky' And More

Deadly flash flooding destroys church in Kentucky
A church in Richmond, Kentucky, was swept off its foundation and carried into the roadway as flash flooding devastated communities throughout the state over the weekend, killing at least four people and prompting Gov. Andy Beshear to declare a state of emergency.

Million Bible Church was among the most dramatic casualties of the flooding. Jim Caldwell, meteorologist and journalist, shared photos of the church on Facebook, saying it “has been absolutely leveled.”

Mullally Calls ACC to Deepened Hope and Trust
In her first presidential address since becoming the Anglican Communion’s symbolic and pastoral leader earlier this year, Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally called the members of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) to deepened hope in God and trust in one another in the face of major divisions.

Under the theme “Called to One Hope,” members of ACC-19, representing 37 of the Communion’s 42 provinces, are meeting June 28–July 4 at the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s Assembly Buildings in downtown Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Also See: Anglican Consultative Council gets underway in Northern Ireland with tone of hope, unity

Wrapping Euthanasia in Eucharist: The Anglican Church of Canada’s MAiD Experiment
The Anglican Church of Canada has authorized trial liturgies for euthanasia deaths, giving clergy a prayer book for the bedside when doctors are ending a patient’s life.

The Council of General Synod in June 2026 commended “Pastoral Liturgies at the Time of Death in Contexts of Medically Assisted Dying” for use “where permitted by the Ordinary,” extending a process that began with General Synod’s pastoral statement In Sure and Certain Hope in 2017 and continued with the 2024 essay collection Faith Seeking Understanding: Medical Assistance in Dying. The new rites are billed as pastoral care, not ethics. In practice, they wrap euthanasia in familiar Anglican sacramental language.

Also See: Pastoral Liturgies at the Time of Death in Contexts of Medically Assisted Dying

What happens if rebel Catholics defy Pope Leo
A traditionalist rebel Catholic group is days away from triggering one of the most serious penalties in the Catholic Church: excommunication. The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) is planning to consecrate four bishops in defiance of Pope Leo XIV, raising the prospect of the biggest rupture between Rome and the group in decades.

United Methodists dump Asbury
Pastor Daniel Hixon shares his thoughts on the recent decision of the UMC's University Senate to remove Asbury from the list of "approved" theological seminaries.

Americans Believe Hell Is Real but They Still Misunderstand It
Almost 3 in 5 U.S. adults believe hell is real, but that doesn’t mean they have a proper view of God and His holiness.

The Hidden Cost of Avoiding Theology
The early church didn’t develop doctrine because Christians enjoyed abstraction. It did so because silence proved costly.

As the early church grew and spread, the baptismal confession that Jesus is Lord raised unavoidable questions: Who is he? How does he save? What does faith require? When the church hesitated to answer, confusion followed. In this environment, the task of theology emerged not as an academic exercise but as a necessary response to lived faith.

Pastor’s Job Description: Four Essential Responsibilities of a Shepherd
Pastor Joshua Chatman outlines four essential responsibilities of pastors based on Scripture’s teaching in passages such as John 21:15–18 and 1 Peter 5:1–3. As shepherds of Christ’s flock, pastors have the privilege and responsibility to lead, feed, protect, and care for the people Christ has put under their oversight.

Act in Accordance with Your Prayers
One of the ways we express our confidence in God’s ability and willingness to answer our prayers is through our actions in accordance with those prayers.

The Book of Common Prayer: Against the Algorithm
We live in a state of constant change, characterized by extreme individualism and loss of community, place, tradition, grounding, and coherence. Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman and others have described our modern culture as “liquid modernity.” Paul Kingsnorth has taken up the topic more recently in his provocative Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity.

Perhaps the epitome of the danger of our culture is the algorithm: the insidious use of technology, supercharged more and more by AI, to analyze and ultimately manipulate not only our online behavior, but how we see ourselves, others, and the world around us.

Also See: Faith and Faithfulness in a World Redefined by Technology

Rise of the AI godbots, which tell followers it’s OK to kill
In 2024, Father Justin began offering his wisdom and guidance to Catholics. Sitting on a balcony with the beautiful landscape of the Italian town of Assisi behind him, Father Justin told parishioners how he had always been inclined to priesthood.

But when he began assuring them that babies could be baptised in Gatorade, a sports drink, and siblings could marry, he started to arouse suspicion. Shortly afterwards, he was defrocked.

Despite hearing thousands of people’s confessions, Justin was never an actual priest. He was an AI chatbot – one of many of the rising number of so-called “Godbots” becoming popular among those of all faiths who are AI literate.

Teens grappling with questions about faith, the future and truth
American teenagers are increasingly wrestling with major questions about their future, identity, truth and faith, with many feeling pressure to find answers long before reaching adulthood, according to a study.

The report titled Reimagining Ministry for Gen Alpha, carried out jointly by Barna and Christ In Youth, drew on surveys of 1,500 teenagers aged 13 to 18 across the US. It paints a picture of a generation navigating economic uncertainty, cultural change and rapid technological developments while searching for meaning and stability.

According to the findings, concerns about the future topped the list of issues weighing on young people.

Image Credit: Meteorologist Jim Caldwell/Facebook

Sundays at All Hallows (June 28, 2026) Is Now Online

 

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.

This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday after Trinity. The readings are those appointed for this Sunday for the Holy Eucharist in the one year lectionary in An Anglican Prayer Book (2008).

In this Sunday’s message we take a look at what Jesus teach us about how to treat other people in his Sermon on the Plain as recorded in Luke’s Gospel.

Readings: Genesis 3: 17-19; Romans 8:,18-23;,and Luke 6: 36-42

Message: How to Treat Other People: A Lesson from the Gospel of Luke

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2026/06/sundays-at-all-hallows-june-28-2026.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Sundays at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing each lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows each lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Sundays at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

Saturday Lagniappe: 'The Burge Report: Are Non-Denominational Churches Just Southern Baptists in Disguise?' And More

The Burge Report: Are Non-Denominational Churches Just Southern Baptists in Disguise?
In this episode, Ryan Burge and Sam explore the rise of non-denominational Christianity and ask a provocative question: are non-denoms essentially just Southern Baptists without the label? Drawing on recent survey data, this conversation examines how non-denominational Christians compare to America’s largest Christian traditions in age, racial diversity, church attendance, and views of the Bible. The trends suggest that non-denominational churches are not simply a rebranded version of older evangelical traditions. They may represent a significant part of the future of American Protestantism.

New Trend: Nondenom ‘Anglicans’?
Last week at the national March for Life, I walked with an evangelical pastor co-leading a successful church plant. Raised in a United Methodist (now Global Methodist) congregation in Tennessee, this pastor chose to plant a non-denominational congregation in Washington, DC. The church is overwhelmingly composed of young, early career congregants. They rent space from a mainline Presbyterian church with a beautiful traditional building but a much smaller congregation.

Readers of this blog are familiar with Mark Tooley’s observation that large denominations, revisionist and orthodox, are seemingly locked in decline in the United States. Non-denominational Christianity is the only large religious category presently growing.

Wheaton-to-Anglican Pipeline: Why Are Young People Turning Anglican?
For many students, Wheaton College is their first introduction to liturgy.

Three days a week, all undergraduate students attend chapel – a required 45-minute Christian devotional service often including congregational worship songs, call and response, and a 20-minute guest lecture. It is within this service that many students participate in some formulation of traditional liturgy. Students respond to the Scripture reading with “Thanks be to God,” recite the Lord’s prayer by memory and participate in corporate confession.

This is a first for many students coming from an evangelical background and may be a foundational explanation in what is commonly known as the “Wheaton to Anglican Pipeline.”

Wheaton-to-Anglican Pipeline: A Response
Recently on Juicy Ecumenism, Sarah Carter — a Wheaton College graduate and a current Falls Church fellow — reflected on her experience of discovering Anglicanism while a student at Wheaton, and on the wider phenomenon of a “pipeline” of Wheaton students discovering Anglicanism. I was intrigued to read her thoughtful reflections, because I am part of that pipeline.

I could have written her words 20 years ago, when I encountered Anglicanism as a student at our alma mater: “Young people want to be a part of something bigger. Young people want tradition.” At the time of her article, I was on the verge of returning to Wheaton’s campus for my 20th reunion. As a Wheaton grad who is now an Episcopal priest, I was glad to know that the pattern of students joining forms of Anglicanism continues, and I’d like to add to the conversation with my perspective, given the 20 years I’ve been on the Canterbury trail since graduation.

Pope Leo urges outward-looking church at meeting of world's cardinals
Pope Leo XIV told the world's cardinals gathered in Rome that they were "not here primarily to reflect on the internal life of the church," but to discern how they can bring the Gospel to a world scarred by war and division.

Opening an extraordinary consistory of cardinals — the second such meeting Leo has convened in his 14-month pontificate — the pope said their two days of reflection would revolve around one central question: "How can we help our churches today to proclaim the Gospel with greater faithfulness, freedom and credibility?"

"Mission is not merely one of the church's many tasks," he said. "It is her very reason for existing."

These traditionalist Catholics are defying Pope Leo XIV, and embracing their outsider status
The group, which celebrates the traditional Latin Mass and rejects the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, is planning a highly organized, four-day, livestreamed extravaganza for the consecrations at its Swiss seminary — complete with a souvenir wine set offered to those attending.

Vatican blocks women’s homilies, testing Leo’s view of women in church
A Vatican ruling that bars laypeople, including women, from preaching the homily at Mass is testing the limits of Pope Leo XIV’s early signals of openness to women’s leadership in the Catholic Church.

A Trump commission urges 'bridges' between church and state in sweeping draft report
A new report by a Trump administration commission suggests replacing the idea of separating church and state with the idea of building bridges between them.

The assertion — challenging a longstanding concept in American law — comes amid a raft of recommendations in a draft report of the Religious Liberty Commission, released Friday afternoon.

The advisory body was created by President Donald Trump last year and filled almost entirely by conservative Christians. The 224-page draft report — part policy document, part philosophical argument — echoes members' support for a stronger role for religion and religious expression in government, schools and the public square.

Southern Baptists’ resolutions reflect support of Christian nationalism, scholar says
‘The evidence that the resolutions provide is very clear in terms of the kind of endorsement of the ideas of Christian nationalism that are present in the denomination,’ said Nancy Ammerman.

Mexican church affirms United Methodist ties
The Methodist Church of Mexico reaffirmed its historic relationship with The United Methodist Church by continuing the concordat covenant between the two churches.

During the Methodist Church of Mexico’s General Conference, delegates also elected leaders and set priorities for the next four years.

California-Pacific Conference Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank led a United Methodist delegation at the assembly. She celebrated the denominations’ shared Wesleyan roots.

Waco judge wins right to refuse same-sex weddings
A Texas court has awarded $640,000 to a Waco, Texas, judge who sued the state after it disciplined her for refusing to perform same-sex weddings because of her evangelical Christian faith.

A district court awarded Judge Dianne Hensley $10,000 in damages and $630,000 in attorney fees in a case that began in 2019 when she received a public warning from the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct over her refusal to perform same-sex weddings, which are allowed nationwide under order of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hensley, who has served with the state chapter of a D.C.-based conservative group, Concerned Women for America of Texas, was defended by First Liberty Institute, a Christian legal group that prioritizes religious freedom for evangelicals. First Liberty cited the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act in its arguments.

Religious groups are more prepared for aliens than you think
Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee told RNS that he sees evidence of UFOs in the Bible.

Scientist gives grim warning about heat wave: 'Bad news'
A climate scientist offered a dire warning about the current heat wave sweeping across Europe.

Doug McNeall, a climate scientist at the Met Office and the University of Exeter with the TikTok handle dougmcneall, put forward the grim proclamation that things will only get worse going forward in a video that drew more than 1.7 million views.

“If you are not enjoying the UK summer heat wave, I’m afraid I have bad news,” McNeall said.

“This will be one of the coolest summers of the rest of your life.”

Massive data center cooks nearby residents alive amidst deadly heatwave
As Europe bakes in the throes of a deadly heatwave, residents living near the continent’s largest data center in Slough, a town just west of central London, UK, are enduring extreme temperatures.

As The Guardian reports, the enormous facility ten miles from London Heathrow is making the sweltering heat even more unbearable, with local residents likening the experience to something “pinching your body and burning your skin.” Weather station data revealed that temperatures near the facility have been several degrees higher this week — approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit — compared to the surrounding area.

All but five US states are currently experiencing droughts
Only a few days into what looks to be a summer for the history books, droughts are already sweeping the United States by storm.

According to fresh data from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s drought monitor, all but five US states — Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Alaska, and Hawaii — are completely drought free. And if you really squint, only Ohio is completely clear of any abnormally dry conditions whatsoever.

Millions warned to brace for blackouts as extreme wildfire threat sweeps across nine states
Millions of Americans have been warned to prepare for possible power outages as a sprawling outbreak of extreme fire weather threatens nine states this weekend.

The National Weather Service (NWS) offices from Arizona to Alaska have issued Red Flag Warnings, citing a volatile combination of powerful winds, bone-dry air and tinderbox conditions that could allow any spark to explode into a fast-moving wildfire.

CoGS approves Emancipation Sunday resources
Annual observance celebrates freedom struggles, recognizes contributions of Black Anglicans in Canada.

Bob Dylan & Vocation
The air was heavy and humid when we left Tyler. The evening light was diffuse, with an extreme thunderstorm warning casting an ominous pall over the hundred or so miles ahead of us. Two friends and I piled in our family van before first driving north and then getting on the I-20 heading east to Shreveport. We were on our way to see Bob Dylan, a living legend, in concert. Dylan is 84 years old.

Friday's Catch: 'Church Trends UPDATE: AI Replacing Your Ministry, Women Leaving Church, + the Anti-Celebrity Pastor' And More

Church Trends UPDATE: AI Replacing Your Ministry, Women Leaving Church, + the Anti-Celebrity Pastor
Six months into 2026, four church trends deserve a closer look. Algorithms are discipling your congregation 49 hours a week. AI's biggest threat isn't prompts—it's disruption on a scale the church isn't ready for. Women are still leaving, and now we know why. And a new kind of megachurch pastor is quietly emerging. Here's what's changing and what to do about it.

Class May Exclude Many from Our Churches
“It’s the Economy, Stupid,” is a watchword from the first Bill Clinton presidential campaign that regularly reappears at election times. Attributed to political consultant James Carville, it serves to stress the economy’s impact on voter behavior. As we are beginning to discover, there may be economic factors that also are at the heart of the challenge churches are facing: the reality that large segments of people do not affiliate with churches today in the United States.

A Journey to Original Methodism: Circuit Riding on the Canterbury Trail
Few contemporary voices are exploring both the overlap and divergence of modern Methodism and Anglicanism from the perspective of Original Methodism. I have set out to remedy this. Last year, I wrote about the central influence of Methodists on the early days of the Reformed Episcopal Church, a founding jurisdiction of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). That was a historical account contained to the 19th century. Now, in the 21st century, you will find former Methodist laity who are confirmed Anglicans in pews, former Methodist elders who are Anglican priests, and even a few churches that disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church (UMC) and joined the ACNA. Asbury Theological Seminary, my alma mater, is an approved ACNA seminary with an Anglican Studies track, several ordained and lay ACNA faculty, and a thriving parish on the seminary campus.

Everywhere I turn I meet Anglicans with deep connections to Methodism. It is important to articulate why many faithful Methodists like me have found a home among orthodox Anglicanism, why it is appropriate, and how the original formulation of Methodism found within the Church of England in the 18th century still calls Anglicanism to faithfulness today.

Asbury Seminary Removed From United Methodist Church’s Approved Ordination School List
Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, has been removed from the United Methodist Church’s (UMC) list of approved learning institutions for candidates for ordination in the UMC.

According to Asbury, the decision was related to Asbury’s traditional stance on marriage, which clashes with the UMC’s recently revised stance, which affirms same-sex marriage.

Also See: Leaders drop Asbury from approved seminaries; Asbury Theological Seminary cut by United Methodist Church over same-sex marriage issue;and UMC removes Asbury and 3 others as approved seminaries

South America backs Nairobi–Cairo, but warns Anglican crisis is doctrinal, not structural
The Anglican Church of South America, led by its primate, the Most Rev. Brian Williams, Bishop of Argentina, has issued a strong endorsement of the Nairobi–Cairo structural reforms while warning that the real crisis in global Anglicanism is doctrinal, not institutional. At the same time, Bishop Williams’s visible role at GAFCON’s Abuja gathering shows the province aligning with the orthodox Global South while not formally joining the new Global Anglican Council.

SBC says it’s not possible to be gay or transgender and Christian
It is not possible to be a “gay Christian” or a “transgender Christian,” the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission says.

In a new social media reel posted by the ERLC, that question is answered by RaShan Frost, ERLC director of research and senior fellow “focused on issues of human dignity.”

Also See: What Is the Church of England For?

PCA General Assembly votes against female deacons, advances report on Christian nationalism
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) voted against an overture Thursday to allow women to serve as ordained deacons in the denomination, which has been conducting its annual meeting this week in Louisville, Kentucky.

Overture 37, which had been introduced by the Pacific Presbytery, sought to amend the PCA's Book of Church Order to strike the word "men" from diaconal criteria and open the office to qualified women at the discretion of the local session, while clarifying that only the office of elder is restricted to men.

A Catholic schism over women deacons? Many opponents have already left.
Those who reject papal authority are already out the door. The women who have given up hoping for change are on the way out, too.

Less than half of born-again Christians believe human life is sacred: study
While more than half of theologically identified born-again Christians strongly reject abortion as morally acceptable, less than half believe in the sanctity of human life, according to the latest installment of the American Worldview Inventory 2026 survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.

The sanctity of life refers to the moral and religious belief that all human life is inherently sacred, holy, and possesses an immeasurable worth. Still, just 44% of theologically identified born-again Christians, a term referring to those who believe they will go to Heaven when they die because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, believe human life is sacred.

The US founders’ other revolutionary choice: Separating religion and government
European colonial powers linked church and state. But the founders of the United States broke from that idea as surely as they broke from Britain.

Social media and rallies drive growth of Christian nationalism in UK
Christian nationalism is not only an insidious force in the far-right policies of the United States but is gaining influence across Europe.

In the U.S. and abroad, Christian nationalism grows by spreading polarizing, sensational rhetoric through social media and public rallies. The result in both Europe and America is policies that proliferate racial prejudice and radicalize voting populations toward conservative values.

Like SBC, Episcopal Church hopes to sell its headquarters building
The Southern Baptist Convention isn’t the only national denomination attempting to sell its headquarters building amid changing dynamics. The Episcopal Church announced June 17 that its 12-story Church Center building in New York City is on the market.

Two years ago, the SBC Executive Committee announced plans to sell its headquarters building in downtown Nashville, Tenn., but has yet to find a buyer. That seven-story building was built for $8 million in the 1980s and appraised for $31.7 million in 2021.

By some insider accounts, the once-hot Nashville real estate market has hit a wall that likely has cooled interest in the Baptist property.

The SBC sale was prompted by expenses accrued in investigating and defending allegations of clergy sexual abuse in the denomination.

What Is Modalism? The Most Common Mistake About the Trinity
Have you ever tried to explain the Trinity and accidentally committed a heresy? You are not alone. The usual suspect, perhaps, is Modalism.

Modalism may sound right to many believers. However, it critically misunderstands the nature of God as presented in Scripture.

Let us explore what this heresy is, why it matters, and how we can avoid it.

When Is an Elder Disqualified From Ministry?
Most of us own something we only bring out for special occasions. A good watch. The wedding china. A pen you would never let a stranger borrow. The rest of the time it stays protected, set apart from daily wear. Scripture uses that same idea for the men called to lead the church. A pastor or elder is set apart for God’s purposes. That does not make him more loved than anyone else in the family of God. It means God has marked him for a specific kind of service, and with that service comes a specific standard.

Across the New Testament, the titles pastor, elder, and overseer describe the same office and are largely interchangeable. A plurality of elders leads many healthy churches, and each of those men is held to the same character bar. The question is what happens when one of them falls short of it.

Thursday's Catch: 'ACNA: Provincial Council Reveals Divided Church' And More

ACNA: Provincial Council Reveals Divided Church
Lawsuits, small parishes, theological differences, divided leadership, women's ordination rankle the orthodox Anglican denomination.

Only 6 per cent of US churches engage in some form of evangelism.

Reflections on the ACNA Provincial Council 2026
You may have heard the famous quote attributed to Mark Twain upon hearing reports of his death: “The report of my death has been grossly exaggerated.”

That quote, whether it’s accurate or not, was fresh on my mind as we concluded the ACNA Provincial Council meeting last week in Tulsa, Oklahoma...

Episcopal Church joins ecumenical discussion in Germany
The Rev. Kirsten Guidero, The Episcopal Church’s ecumenical and interreligious relations officer, met this week with ecumenical leaders at the Ecumenical Centre in Frankfurt, Germany, which is the Council of Christian Churches in Germany’s headquarters. They discussed how The Episcopal Church can contribute to ecumenical cooperation in the European country.

EPC Votes To Ordination Of Celibate “Same-Sex Attracted” Pastors
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) voted last week at its General Assembly to approve a “pastoral letter” to churches that opens the door to ordaining celibate, same-sex attracted individuals—a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from within the denomination.

Are Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App Safe for Church Donations?
Venmo and Cash App are designed to move money quickly and conveniently. Meanwhile, churches are responsible for documenting donor intent, maintaining financial controls, protecting donor trust, and producing reliable contribution records. Those differing objectives can prove problematic at times.

Regulators, prosecutors, and consumer protection agencies continue issuing warnings about increased fraudulent activities tied to digital payment applications.

The Ongoing Shortage of Student Pastors (Where Did They Go?)
Many churches are asking the same question: “Where have all the student pastors gone?” In this episode, Josh and Sam explore the ongoing shortage of youth ministers and the structural reasons behind it.

‘Please Don’t Ever Get Stupid’: The Blunt Warning This Pastor Has Never Forgotten
If you want to last in ministry, there are some things a pastor should never do. The list is not complicated. Most of these are obvious, and that is exactly why they are dangerous. We talk ourselves into them slowly.

Dear Pastor, Pursue God, Not Merely a Quiet Time
Are you seeking to feed your flock but starving yourself? Have you lost sight of the riches of an entire life lived before God?

Who Should Be Admitted to the Lord’s Supper? 4 Views
Today, the table is celebrated less frequently and more languidly by many. It shouldn’t be so—everyone (but especially church leaders) needs to consider the supper’s frequency, significance, and benefits. I want to help you think more deeply about who should be admitted to the supper. If communion is a precious and profound privilege, who participates is important.

Singing the Shepherd Psalm: A Tune for Three Texts
The following article, though not typical for Reformed Worship, is well worth spending some time on. Pastors, musicians, and worship planners alike can benefit from considering the pairing of text and tune and the challenges that arise from a plethora of choices. In addition, several denominations are in the process of developing new hymnbooks for congregational song. This series of articles provide a peek into some of the detailed discussions that take place when considering the pairing of texts and tunes.

A number of articles by Carl P. Daw, Jr., Episcopal priest and hymn writer, are found on this website.

How to Involve Your Small Groups in the Great Commission
If you want your church to balance God’s purposes and grow in a healthy way, your small groups must lead the way.

No One Drifts Into Godliness—Why Spiritual Growth Is Not Accidental
The Christian life isn’t accidental; it doesn’t unravel or flourish randomly. It is shaped by a small number of deeply embedded patterns that quietly, steadily form everything else. Christians have called these patterns ways, paths, or even disciplines. In our current cultural language, I prefer to call them keystone habits. They are practices that don’t just exist alongside the Christian life, but actually shape it at the heart level when practiced in the Spirit’s power.

How to Help Someone Share the Gospel
A few years ago, I watched a friend come to faith after running from the Lord for several years. When he came to faith, it didn’t take long before he was telling everyone he knew about Jesus. He may not have known much, but he knew that Jesus saved him, and that was reason enough to tell his friends.

I’ve watched this pattern play out over and over again. New Christians are often some of the most zealous evangelists. But not everyone begins that way. Some people know they should tell their friends about Jesus, but they feel unprepared, awkward, and afraid. So how do you help someone start sharing the gospel when it does not come naturally?

Also See: How to Start Sharing the Gospel

Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (June 25, 2026) Is Now Online

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

A church may be described as a reflection of the people who form its congregation, a sign or result of what they are or of what they have become.

One of the ways that Jesus’ parable of the wise builder and the foolish builder applies to churches, to their congregations, is the topic of this Thursday evening’s message.

Reading: Matthew 7: 21-29

Message: A Church Built on Rock

Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2026/06/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows-june_01760743906.html

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.

If you are new to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:

-It is recommended that after reading or hearing a lesson to take time to reflect on what you read or heard during the period of silence which follows the lesson. It is also recommended that you do the same thing after reading or hearing the message.

-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.

-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.

-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

May Thursday Evenings at All Hallows be a blessing to you.

Wednesday's Catch: 'A Church Split Doesn’t Just Divide a Congregation, It Can Cost People Their Faith Forever' And More

A Church Split Doesn’t Just Divide a Congregation, It Can Cost People Their Faith Forever
A church split does not feel like a disagreement. It feels like a death. One week people are singing next to each other and praying for the lost, and the next they are choosing sides. If you are living through that right now, hear this first: surviving a church split is hard, but people do survive it, and so can you.

I have sat with heartbroken pastors who never saw it coming. I have also talked with believers who walked away from church entirely and never came back, still carrying the wound years later. It happens far too often, and it almost never has to.

Gen Z Churchgoers Attend More but Often Lag in Application
Gen Z churchgoers frequently attend church on Sunday, but their faith often fails to shape their lives during the week.

Also See: Why Gen Z is losing faith in America

Becoming a Church for the Engaged, the Skeptics, and Everyone in Between
How can a church invest in all their neighbors, reaching those who are engaged, those on the edge, and outright skeptics at the same time?

The Lost Superpower Every Leader Needs to Recover
Most leaders don’t think of themselves as creative. Al Gordon says that’s the lie keeping you stuck. Al, founder of Renaissance, lead pastor of SAINT in East London, talks about why creativity is the church’s lost superpower, how stress and algorithms are quietly killing your imagination, and what it actually takes to unlock creativity in yourself, your team, and your church.

Also See: David Epstein: The Truth About Talent and the 10,000 Hour Rule

ACNA Leaders Cite Growth, Resilience Amidst ‘Annus Horribilis’
The chief governance body of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) took steps to admit a new diocese, advanced a comprehensive re-write of its disciplinary canons, and posted attendance growth during its annual gathering June 17-19 at Cornerstone Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

A Defense of the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals
Theologian Katherine Sonderegger argues that the Church’s deepest crisis may also be its most profound ecclesiological moment.

Nobody dislikes Southern Baptists more than Al Mohler
I am disappointed in Al Mohler for a great many reasons. But the Doug Wilson podcast appearance last week is an unsurprising development in a pattern of disappointments.

Mohler has a proven history of disregarding the very people he is supposed to serve.

How women pastors became public enemy No. 1 in the SBC
Southern Baptists have long believed that only men can be pastors. But for decades, the denomination took no action to expel churches where women pastors served. Then, in the middle of an abuse controversy, it became a denominational crisis.

Pastor Douglas Wilson Argues the Bible Supports Using Obscene, 4-Letter Term for a Woman in a ‘Prophetic’ Way
Pastor Douglas Wilson believes he is justified in using a vulgar word referring to female genitalia in certain cases based on his argument that the Bible itself uses vulgarity prophetically. Wilson has been unapologetic about his use of the c-word in a March 2019 blog post, and he explained his reasoning in a recent podcast with The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles.

Why Women Are Quietly Walking Out of Your Church’s Women’s Ministry
Some women love women’s ministry. Others will never walk through the door, and they have reasons. If you lead women in your church and you cannot name those reasons, you are already losing people you were called to reach. I have spent years watching this play out, and I keep landing in the same place. The problem is rarely the women. The problem is the model.

I am an optimist by wiring. I can stand knee-deep in a mess and still see what something could become. I have looked at struggling teams, fading organizations, and people the room had written off, and seen value other people missed. I bring that same hope to women’s ministry, because the potential here is enormous and the current version is leaving most of it on the table.

Why I stay in the SBC as an ordained woman
For me, staying is as much a calling as my ordination.

Countries worldwide call for abolition of surrogacy: Stop exploitation, harming children
Governments from multiple countries have launched a political declaration calling for an international moratorium on surrogacy, as a step toward permanently banning a practice they say exploits women and children worldwide.

Italy and Chile led the effort, presenting the declaration at a high-level event on the sidelines of the 62nd session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, according to the Christian legal advocacy organization ADF International that moderated the proceedings.

Bonfires, Maypoles and a saint’s day: How Europe celebrates the longest day of the year
Midsummer celebrations throughout Europe coincide with the solstice. Many blend pre-Christian and Christian traditions.

Tuesday's Catch: 'What Does a Healthy Small Church Look Like?' And More

What Does a Healthy Small Church Look Like?
Numbers can help us understand some realities of a healthy church. But they’re not the only thing.

Church Planting Like a Missionary - New Churches Course
Church Planting Like a Missionary will equip church planters to faithfully engage their city, make disciples, and plant healthy churches. God wants to work in you so He can work through you, your leadership, and your church plant.

Alabama church breaks ground for first permanent worship space in its history 

St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church in Chelsea, Alabama, broke ground on June 14 for its first permanent church building after nearly two decades of worshiping in borrowed and temporary spaces.

St. Michael's Episcopal Church, planted in the mid-1980s, occupied its first permanent building in less than a decade. We opted for a multipurpose building, choosing function over form. Buildings with traditional features like arched windows and in which form is the determining factor in the building's design are much more expensive and far less practical. Our research also showed architectural evangelism is an ineffective form of evangelism. By the 1990s we had gone from two services on Sunday morning to three and a mid-week service on Wednesday nights.

Five Major Shifts in Churches Influenced By AI
Most ministry positions are not vulnerable to advancing AI capabilities, especially those that are people-to-people ministries. Thom looks at other aspects of AI influences on the church.

Why Too Many Pastors Are Not Fully Relying on the Holy Spirit
Thom welcomes Dr. Chris Lohrstorfer, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Enrollment and Professor of Wesleyan Theology at Wesley Biblical Seminary. He talks about how many pastors ascribe to theologically orthodox trinitarianism, but haven't really thought through what it means for their ministry, especially the fullness of the role of the Holy Spirit. As a pastor himself and an educator of pastors, he is seeing the surprising shifts that can happen when the light bulb switches on for leaders about what it means to partner with the Spirit in ministry.

Most Americans still believe religion is good for society: Gallup
A majority of Americans say the nation would be better off if it were more religious, according to a new Gallup survey, even as fewer U.S. adults view religion as a positive force in society than they did in 2013. The survey also found Americans are split on whether the government should be involved in promoting moral values.

Haitian immigrants revived a church. Now the pews are empty.
With the Supreme Court set to rule on whether Haitians will lose Temporary Protected Status, fear is emptying church pews. At St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the Haitian immigrants who brought life to the congregation are gone.

Except for white evangelicals, Americans have soured on Trump’s leadership
Nearly 70% of Americans agree that core democratic freedoms are in danger of being lost while 59% consider President Donald Trump to be a “dangerous dictator” whose powers should be limited, according to a new survey by Public Religion Research Institute.

Jesus Said to Love Your Enemies. So Why Are Christians So Angry on Facebook?
Open any feed for five minutes and you will find people who claim to follow Jesus tearing into politicians, mocking other faiths, and treating old grudges like trophies. The man they say they follow looked down from a cross at the people killing Him and asked God to forgive them. Somewhere between that cross and our comment sections, something got lost.

How Church Abuse Affects People’s Faith Long After They Leave
When some people leave the church, they leave behind the version of themselves that believed healing was possible there.

That sentence lands differently depending on where you stand. And you may already know which side you’re on. If you’ve lived through church abuse or church hurt, you can relate. If you’re a pastor trying to understand why people left and never returned, it’s an invitation to stay in the discomfort.

Your Best Leaders Are Leaving. Here's Why
Losing your best volunteers? It might not be them, it might be you.

In this video, I break down the 6 most common reasons high-capacity volunteers quietly walk away from churches and non-profits — and what you can do to change it.

If you've ever wondered why gifted, motivated leaders show up once and never come back, this one is for you.

Where Are the Young Men? Ministry and the Crisis of Formation
The shortage of young men entering ministry is not simply a recruitment problem. It is a formation problem. Before the church asks why fewer young men are becoming pastors, we may need to ask why fewer young men are being formed into men capable of embracing costly, durable, public, spiritual responsibility.

12 Trust Killers Pastors Miss Until It’s Too Late
Pastoral trust is fragile because it is personal. People hand you their faith, their families, and their deepest wounds. When that trust cracks, it usually is not one scandal. It is a pattern that went unaddressed for far too long. Below are twelve of the most common patterns, and what to do about each one before the damage is done.

Why Pastors Are Unknowingly Sabotaging Their Church Media Teams
Most pastors and ministry leaders say they want to reach more people. They talk about impact, influence and “taking the message further.” But behind closed doors, many are sabotaging the very media teams capable of helping them do it.

And usually, they don’t even realize it.

Why Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Is Essential for Churches in the Age of AI
The age of artificial intelligence (AI) is not only powering some great advances in technology, but also some great advancements in evil. We should all desire to be good stewards of our data and that stewardship requires good security practices.

Tips for Using Cell Phones for Church Directory Photos
Let the phone do the work! This is the first thing a professional photographer said when we asked about using smartphones to take church directory photos. Phones can do a lot of the work for you without the expense of a separate camera, especially if you follow a few key tips outlined below. You’ll quickly find that the camera won’t be a barrier to getting your church photos. That will still be getting your members all together and holding still for a photo!

Raising Kids in the Faith Is Simpler Than You May Think
A new report finds that the single biggest factor in whether children keep the faith isn’t their church, their youth group, or their peers but their parents. The more surprising finding is what works at home, and how often well-meaning Christian parents get it backward.

4 Practical Ideas for VBS Follow-Up
Strategic follow-up plays a huge role in making the most of your VBS. In fact, intentional follow-up should be an important part of your regular VBS planning, right from the beginning. That means as you’re rounding up supplies, handing off VBS manuals, and putting up decorations, you’re also preparing to make a strong post-event impression.

The Discipleship Opportunity: Leading a Great-Commission Church in a Post-Everything World
Help your church thrive in a post-everything world.

The world is a very different place from what it was just a few years ago. Today’s post-everything world is arguably more divisive, political, indifferent, and impatient than ever. While many believe that the best course of action is to find a way back to how things used to be, is that actually the best way forward?

Given the many ways that our world has changed, it’s time for Christian leadership strategies to change, and for churches to approach making disciples, evangelism, and preaching differently than yesterday. The Discipleship Opportunity is a powerful tool for church leaders seeking to navigate the challenges of our rapidly evolving, post-pandemic, post-Christian, and post-everything world...

Image Credit: St. Peter's of the Lakes Episcopal Church, Gilbertsville, Kentucky