Wednesday's Catch: 'Why Successful Churches Aren’t Turning the World Upside-Down – But the Outcasts Might' And More

Why Successful Churches Aren’t Turning the World Upside-Down – But the Outcasts Might
Where are the Christian innovators who will put a dangerous passion for Jesus ahead of personal ministry success?

3 Small Church Leadership Models That Work
f you have spent any time in small church leadership, you know the weight that sits on the question of how we structure pastoral ministry. It touches everything. Our finances. Our identity. Our sense of whether we are a real church or just barely holding on.

And somewhere along the way, a lot of us picked up the idea that there is one right way to do it, one biblical model, one setup that proves we are healthy and faithful and doing things the way they are supposed to be done.

That idea is not true. It never was.

Also See: Leading the Small Membership Church; The Biggest Difference In Big/Small Church Leadership

Bishop of Dallas urges parishes to eschew non-1979 BCP liturgies
This is the pastoral letter Bishop Robert Price sent to his diocese.

Conservative reformers win SBC presidency
For the first time in 35 years, a reform candidate has been elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, defeating an institutional candidate.

Florida pastor Willy Rice — who withdrew from the presidential race in 2022 — won the presidency June 9 in a ballot against South Carolina pastor Josh Powell. The vote was 57.56% for Rice and 42.16% for Powell, a more decisive victory than observers had expected.

BNG commentator Benjamin Cole wrote last week: “While Powell and Rice are themselves almost perfectly aligned on the convention’s basic confessional commitments and have separately endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment on women, the factions supporting each man could not be more divided.”

Also See: Willy Rice Elected as New President of Southern Baptist Convention

Albert Mohler Officially Proposes SBC Constitutional Amendment To Ban Women Pastors
During the first session of the Southern Baptist Convention’s 2026 annual meeting, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Dr. Albert Mohler fulfilled his promise to propose his Truth and Unity Amendment.

How to read the Bible in a time of biblical authoritarianism
Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has created a stir with his proposed amendment to the Southern Baptist Convention’s constitution. He claims anyone who takes issue with the amendment is opposing biblical authority.

The issue is not biblical authority, but biblical authoritarianism.

David French on the Last Ten Years
Our friend David French joins for a look back on what has changed since 2016 in American politics and American evangelicalism. Russell and David examine the influence of Pentecostalism, prosperity theology, church-growth culture, the missional movement, and New Calvinism, and how Donald Trump was emboldened by the culture they’ve cultivated. They wrestle with questions of power, certainty, leadership, gender, and why political identity has increasingly become a defining force within many Christian communities.

Theory explains Trump's power: Stupidity is more dangerous than evil
Whatever one’s opinion on President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement that carried him to office, it’s impossible to deny that they have transformed the United States. The simple description of what’s driving that change, says senior defense analyst Brynn Tannehill, is “fascism.” But as she elaborates, three psychological concepts are underpinning that autocratic impulse: social dominance orientation, the Dunning-Kruger Effect, and Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Stupidity.

Sea ice loss in the Arctic has triggered a critical tipping point that's destroying the food chain
The Arctic Ocean has crossed a tipping point that is wreaking havoc on the region's food chain, with potentially dire consequences for commercial fishing and the ocean's capacity to soak up carbon, a new study reports.

Scientists found that vast areas of melting sea ice in the Arctic are leading to a significant reduction in nitrate, a key nutrient that forms the base of the marine food web and thus underpins important regional fisheries. As the ice disappears, more light hits the water's surface, promoting the growth of microscopic, plant-like organisms called phytoplankton. When phytoplankton die, their cells sink to the seafloor and are decomposed by nitrate- and oxygen-consuming bacteria.

The new study, published May 28 in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, found that the bacteria are consuming more nitrate than the Arctic ecosystem can withstand.

Pride and the Gospel: the way of self or the way of Christ?
With June comes what is commonly known as “Pride Month”, a time dedicated to "celebrating" the LGBTQ+ community. While much could be said about the wider cultural conversations surrounding this month, I want to focus on the word pride itself.

The term was originally adopted as a response to the shame, rejection and mistreatment many people in the community experienced. In that sense, it is understandable why the language of pride emerged. Yet as Christians, our understanding of pride is shaped not primarily by culture, but by Scripture.

Developing Healthy Rhythms as a Pastor
Developing healthy rhythms in your everyday life is an important part of enjoying a fruitful ministry as a pastor.

Children's motivation and attitudes towards learning play a key role in academic success, study finds
A major new study led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London has revealed that noncognitive skills—such as motivation, curiosity, academic interest and self-belief—play a key role in translating children's genetic dispositions into academic achievement.

10 Signs You’re Attending a Good Church
It’s easy for me to spot the signs of a good church because I love the church. She is the bride of Christ and the key to cultural transformation. In that sense, every church matters. But let’s be honest. Plenty of churches leave much to be desired when it comes to making a real difference in their congregations and communities. When you plug into a church that is getting it done, it’s a true blessing.

So how can you tell the difference between a church that is merely busy and one that is genuinely healthy? Scripture gives us a remarkably clear picture.