Every pastor has seen the sign: “Everyone Welcome.” The spirit behind it is real. You genuinely want the whole community walking through those doors. And yet, if you have led a congregation for any length of time, you also know the quiet discouragement of watching people walk right back out.
Here is the hard pastoral truth: one reason nearly every town in America has more than one church is that no pastor is equipped to be everyone’s pastor. You can work hard to close the back door, invest in discipleship, tighten your follow-up process, and still lose people. Not because you failed. Because of who they are.
There are five types of visitors who are almost never going to stick around. Knowing who they are won’t make their departure painless, but it will keep you from burning through your energy trying to hold on to someone who was never really there to stay.
6 Traits of a Church Disrupter (And How to Respond)
Every pastor has met one. They smile warmly on Sunday, send encouraging texts during the week, and quietly work against the church behind the scenes. The church disrupter rarely announces their presence. They are not the loudest voice in the room, and they are almost never openly hostile to leadership. That is exactly what makes them dangerous.
Unlike a church bully, who attacks directly, a disrupter works through whisper campaigns, weaponized questions, and carefully cultivated doubt. They can sit in any pew, carry any title, and be anyone from a founding family member to someone who joined six months ago. And if you are not watching for the signs, they can fracture a congregation before you realize what happened.
Here are six clear traits of a church disrupter, followed by practical steps leaders can take to address the problem while staying true to the gospel.
6 Types of Church Members Who Build Up the Body
The local church is one of the strangest communities on earth. It brings together people who would never choose each other on their own. And yet, by the grace of God, these people choose to love one another, serve one another, and stay. That is a powerful testimony to the world watching from the outside.
What makes it work? Not programs or personalities. It is the members themselves. Healthy churches are built by members who are actively committed to building each other up. Here are six types of members every church needs.
Signs Your Church Might Be Hiding Financial Misconduct
Most church members give generously and in complete trust. Some churches count on that. Learn how to spot financial wrongdoing while stewarding God’s gifts well.
Christians call for action against global hunger crisis
A trio of Christian organisations have signed a joint open letter calling on governments, institutions and people of faith to bring an end to world hunger and malnutrition.
Since the outbreak of hostilities between Iran and the Israel-US alliance, concerns have mounted that food may become scarcer, particularly in the developing world. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused a spike in oil prices but also inhibited the global trade in agricultural fertiliser.
Scientists warn Trump plan to axe US ocean monitoring system will leave world 'flying blind'
The Trump administration’s plan to dismantle an ocean observation system vital to understanding the climate crisis and marine ecosystems would “severely degrade” the accuracy of weather predictions and El Niño forecasts, with economic consequences for the US, European and American scientists have warned.
Scientists improve knowledge on sea level rise—and confirm it has been accelerating since 1960
Sea level rise is a direct consequence of human-induced climate change: global warming. It is relentless and very hard to stop. It arises from human-induced warming and the consequential expansion of the ocean, plus the addition of more and more water from melting glaciers and ice sheets. It will continue long into the future.
An international team of climate scientists has fully accounted for what is driving global sea level rise across the past six decades—resolving a stubborn mystery that has clouded our understanding of one of climate change's most consequential impacts.
Warming boosts natural methane emissions as microbes fail to keep pace
A new study led by Professor Mark Trimmer of Queen Mary University of London, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, explains how increases in natural methane emissions will be maximized under future climate warming.
Opinion: Living within our limits is the key to civilization’s survival
For reasons that psychologists have yet to explain, there are still people in the world who refuse to accept that global warming is a clear and present danger. Although they are a diminishing minority, climate scientists are still trying to find a way to convince them.
Maybe a few metaphors will help.
As polyamory gains visibility, monogamy faces a vote in the Presbyterian Church (USA)
A proposal that would require ordained clergy to be monogamous is on the docket at the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s General Assembly this summer.
The overture, CON-10, has generated strong reactions online but not yet earned broad support from PCUSA groups. A separate asks for theological studies on gender and sexuality, life-giving relationships and the Christian vocation of family that would support the denomination’s commitment to inclusion of different familial realities. Together, these overtures show that as polyamory gains visibility in broader culture, it may have policy implications, especially in theologically progressive Christian denominations.
This post and the next four posts are related to the issues of human sexuality dividing churches not only in the United States but also around the world. They reflect a variety of views on these issues.Helen King’s motion for General Synod: a help or a hindrance?
At the July 2025 General Synod there was scheduled a debate on a potentially highly divisive Private Members Motion (PMM) from Mae Christie, a known critic of the church’s current teaching. It related to the place of Issues in Human Sexuality in the discernment process for ordination and was originally and rightly seen by many committed to the church’s current teaching and practice as undermining of that teaching. Much to people’s pleasant surprise, as a result of discussions and good will and careful amendment, it resulted in an outcome which secured widespread support across different views on sexuality. This, as Ian Paul noted on this blog, was in part because of the approach of the person who introduced the PMM in Christie’s absence:
Here we have someone who is clear he is campaigning for change in the Church’s doctrine of marriage, but recognises that this cannot be brought about by sleight of hand, and has worked actively with those upholding the Church’s historic teaching to come to a workable and reasonable agreement.
Episcopal Church plans celebration of 1976 LGBTQ+ resolution on ‘full and equal’ welcome
It was a single sentence, adopted 50 years ago by General Convention meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today, LGBTQ+ Episcopalians credit that sentence with opening the door to five decades of progress toward full inclusion in The Episcopal Church.
This is the text of Resolution A069 in full: “Resolved, That it is the sense of this General Convention that homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church.”
Now, as The Episcopal Church approaches the 50th anniversary in September of the passage of that resolution, church leaders are planning a three-day conference on the past, present and future of LGBTQ+ involvement in the life of the church. The conference is scheduled for Sept. 3-5, and it will be held where it all began, back in Minneapolis.
The future of ecumenism - and why it has everything to do with divisions over human sexuality
The recent visit by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullaly, to see Pope Leo XIV in Rome is a reminder of the success of the ecumenical movement. Until the second half of the twentieth century the division between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church which opened at the Reformation would have made such a visit impossible.
However, the growth of the ecumenical movement during the twentieth century has resulted in such a visit being not only possible, but even unremarkable. It is now no big deal that the Archbishop of Canterbury has been to see the Pope.
Sinful Desires, Concupiscence, & “Gay Christians”
How would you feel if you met someone who self-identified as a “Racist Christian,” or maybe an “Adulterous Christian,” or even a “Wife-Beating Christian”? As a Christian, you would be concerned, as would many non-Christians. There’s just something about a Christian identifying themselves with sin. It’s unsuitable.
Christians are no longer identified by their sinful inclinations, desires, or actions, because they’re identified by their union with Christ. Though Christians still struggle with indwelling sin, their union with Christ includes the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit and a striving to turn from sin (not to continue to identify with sin). There are no “Racist Christians,” “Adulterous Christians,” or “Wife-Beating Christians.” There are only Christians who, by God’s grace and Spirit, strive to put partiality, sexual immorality, and anger to death in their hearts and live in ongoing repentance and faith in step with Christ.
5 Bad Ideas That Will Make Your Service Fake
We have all been there. Everything may sound fantastic, look attractive and was planned with purposeful intent. But, something just doesn’t seem right. You feel fake vibes when hoping for authentic ones. Regardless, what makes a worship service fake might be boiled down to a few things even though there may be many things we can put on a list. Here are five bad ideas that promote the “fake factor” in church worship services.
20 Years of Collecting Prayers from Church History: An Annotated Guide
When people ask how long I’ve been working on The Lord Is My Light—the liturgy for daily prayer coming out this fall—I struggle to answer. There’s a sense in which it’s been in development for more than 20 years, from the time an older woman in my Baptist church back home handed me The Book of Common Prayer. That gift whetted my appetite for more prayers from all eras of church history, and I’ve enjoyed finding gems here and there from our forefathers and mothers in the faith that I can make my own.
In the first church I served as a pastor, we had a nicely designed prayer room just off the foyer near the entrance, and every week I compiled materials for a simple daily office for the men and women (mainly older, seasoned saints) who would frequent that room. By adding ancient prayers to my routine, I felt those words becoming mine. Ever since, I’ve been perusing prayer books and marking the most moving and glorious prayers from saints and martyrs of the past.
US hits a scary mark for total number of measles cases
The number of U.S. measles cases surpassed the 2,000 mark this week for the second time in two years, federal data shows.
There have been 30 new incidents resulting in 2,030 confirmed cases so far this year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. That’s inching closer to last year’s total of 2,288 cases, the agency noted.
This skill can protect kids from the harms of social media
To protect kids from the harms of social media, some of us have proposed banning social networks for young people or delaying the age at which they use them. One expert has another solution: teaching kids critical thinking so they’ll know how to be safe online.
The Surprising Reason Kids Can't Seem To Read Anymore
One of my daily challenges as a parent is getting my fourth grader to read for 30 minutes as part of her homework.
It’s not because she struggles with her reading skills; she actually reads well-above grade level. Like many kids of her generation, though, my daughter has zero interest in picking up a book. Why would she, when she’s got an iPad offering her nonstop entertainment via videos expertly designed for her short attention span?
Recent technological advances and the introduction of new digital media platforms have dramatically changed how people learn and source information about topics that interest them. Some recent studies have found that while browsing online or scrolling down social media platforms, users tend to spend under one minute on average on individual videos.
Therapists talk about the childhood punishment many adults never truly recover from
There’s a disturbing scene in “Marty Supreme” involving Marty, played by Timothée Chalamet, being spanked with a ping pong paddle by a character played by Kevin O’Leary.
It might seem like something from another era, yet corporal punishment — which refers to the use of physical force, such as spanking or hitting — is still a common form of discipline in many families.
However, the growth of the ecumenical movement during the twentieth century has resulted in such a visit being not only possible, but even unremarkable. It is now no big deal that the Archbishop of Canterbury has been to see the Pope.
Sinful Desires, Concupiscence, & “Gay Christians”
How would you feel if you met someone who self-identified as a “Racist Christian,” or maybe an “Adulterous Christian,” or even a “Wife-Beating Christian”? As a Christian, you would be concerned, as would many non-Christians. There’s just something about a Christian identifying themselves with sin. It’s unsuitable.
Christians are no longer identified by their sinful inclinations, desires, or actions, because they’re identified by their union with Christ. Though Christians still struggle with indwelling sin, their union with Christ includes the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit and a striving to turn from sin (not to continue to identify with sin). There are no “Racist Christians,” “Adulterous Christians,” or “Wife-Beating Christians.” There are only Christians who, by God’s grace and Spirit, strive to put partiality, sexual immorality, and anger to death in their hearts and live in ongoing repentance and faith in step with Christ.
5 Bad Ideas That Will Make Your Service Fake
We have all been there. Everything may sound fantastic, look attractive and was planned with purposeful intent. But, something just doesn’t seem right. You feel fake vibes when hoping for authentic ones. Regardless, what makes a worship service fake might be boiled down to a few things even though there may be many things we can put on a list. Here are five bad ideas that promote the “fake factor” in church worship services.
20 Years of Collecting Prayers from Church History: An Annotated Guide
When people ask how long I’ve been working on The Lord Is My Light—the liturgy for daily prayer coming out this fall—I struggle to answer. There’s a sense in which it’s been in development for more than 20 years, from the time an older woman in my Baptist church back home handed me The Book of Common Prayer. That gift whetted my appetite for more prayers from all eras of church history, and I’ve enjoyed finding gems here and there from our forefathers and mothers in the faith that I can make my own.
In the first church I served as a pastor, we had a nicely designed prayer room just off the foyer near the entrance, and every week I compiled materials for a simple daily office for the men and women (mainly older, seasoned saints) who would frequent that room. By adding ancient prayers to my routine, I felt those words becoming mine. Ever since, I’ve been perusing prayer books and marking the most moving and glorious prayers from saints and martyrs of the past.
US hits a scary mark for total number of measles cases
The number of U.S. measles cases surpassed the 2,000 mark this week for the second time in two years, federal data shows.
There have been 30 new incidents resulting in 2,030 confirmed cases so far this year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. That’s inching closer to last year’s total of 2,288 cases, the agency noted.
This skill can protect kids from the harms of social media
To protect kids from the harms of social media, some of us have proposed banning social networks for young people or delaying the age at which they use them. One expert has another solution: teaching kids critical thinking so they’ll know how to be safe online.
The Surprising Reason Kids Can't Seem To Read Anymore
One of my daily challenges as a parent is getting my fourth grader to read for 30 minutes as part of her homework.
It’s not because she struggles with her reading skills; she actually reads well-above grade level. Like many kids of her generation, though, my daughter has zero interest in picking up a book. Why would she, when she’s got an iPad offering her nonstop entertainment via videos expertly designed for her short attention span?
Bad news for Anglican and Episcopal churches and Prayer Book Societies--children who refuse to read!!Short videos may hinder learning by fragmenting attention and memory, study finds
Recent technological advances and the introduction of new digital media platforms have dramatically changed how people learn and source information about topics that interest them. Some recent studies have found that while browsing online or scrolling down social media platforms, users tend to spend under one minute on average on individual videos.
Therapists talk about the childhood punishment many adults never truly recover from
There’s a disturbing scene in “Marty Supreme” involving Marty, played by Timothée Chalamet, being spanked with a ping pong paddle by a character played by Kevin O’Leary.
It might seem like something from another era, yet corporal punishment — which refers to the use of physical force, such as spanking or hitting — is still a common form of discipline in many families.
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