Saturday Lagniappe: 'God Brought Them Here: How to See Church Visitors' And More

God Brought Them Here: How to See Church Visitors
This Sunday afternoon I was speaking with my pastor on the phone about first-time visitors—those people who walk through the doors of our churches for the very first time. As we reflected on this, one thought kept returning to my mind: we often fail to notice the very people God has graciously brought to us.

I’ve observed this over the years in many conservative evangelical churches in South Africa. I’m not suggesting that every church is like this. In fact, I’ve seen churches where visitors are welcomed exceptionally well. But I’ve seen this weakness often enough to believe it deserves some attention.

This is not a problem unique to South Africa.I have visited churches in North America where I was given the cold shoulder, studiously ignored or otherwise treated in an unfriendly manner. Others have had similar experiences.

7 Traits of a Healthy Church
Each church has its own culture and personality.

So how do you know if your church is healthy and on the right track in general?

Is there a solid baseline from which to measure?

Crisis meeting to discuss future of Norfolk's rural churches
A crisis meeting is being held to discuss the future of Norfolk's rural churches, amid claims they are being starved of resources as clergy managing multiple parishes battle to keep on top of their workload.

Also See: CoE clergy feel 'undervalued, under-resourced, overworked, frustrated and vulnerable'

ACNA Charges Bishop Edgar With Misconduct
The Rt. Rev. Chip Edgar, bishop of the ACNA’s Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, has been canonically charged with misconduct a week after he apologized for publicly dedicating a school chapel together with his counterpart in the Episcopal Church.

“I share this with heaviness of heart but in obedience to the truth Christ calls us to proclaim,” wrote the Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs, acting primate of the ACNA, in an announcement of the charges against Bishop Edgar on September 2.

Five Relatively Recent Theological Controversies That Have Faded
Some denominations and networks seem to have a controversy du jour. Many of them have deep theological implications. Others are distractions to the primary mission of churches. Sam and Thom review five controversies that were once heated but have now faded significantly.

NY Church Finds New Home for Buzzing ‘Parishioners’
The 300 parishioners of Christ Church in Corning, New York, an upstate city four hours from Manhattan, were outnumbered 100 to 1. Apis mellifera, or western honeybees, are prized for their ability to pollinate and produce honey. In New York’s Southern Tier region, beekeepers caring for a colony are required to register their hives annually with the New York State Department of Agriculture.

For 20 years — by the parish’s estimate — there was a growing bee colony inside the ceiling of Christ Church’s sanctuary, unbeknownst to the worshipers below until the pandemic, when they made their presence felt.

Declining attendance, a shortage of clergy, a national church indifferent to the needs of rural parishes, and recurrent theological controversies are not the only problems facing local churches.

Would Your Parish Music Pass Pope Leo’s Test?
In this episode of From the Tower, we look at Pope Leo XIV’s recent comments on sacred music and ask a much bigger question: What actually makes church music good?

Rather than falling back into the usual arguments about traditional vs. contemporary music, organ vs. guitar, choir vs. congregation, Pope Leo’s remarks point toward something far more useful — judging sacred music according to its purpose within the liturgy.

Using those ideas, we develop a simple five-point framework for evaluating parish music...

In his comments on sacred music Pope Leo made some excellent points.

How I Would Fix Catholic Church Music
This is excellent advice for rebuilding an Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran, or Methodist parish music program from scratch.

How to Pray When You Feel Like You Pray the Same Thing Every Day
Part of my daily rhythm of prayer includes praying a psalm. Christians have used this practice for centuries because many of the psalms are prayers. You can turn any verse or passage of Scripture into a prayer, but if you’re familiar with the experience of trying to pray but drawing a blank on what to say, the book of Psalms is a good place to start.