Small churches must be better than large churches at hospitality. Why? Thom and Sam discuss how new visitors feel instantly exposed in a small room. Unlike megachurches where guests expect helpful anonymity, a visitor in a small congregation stands out immediately. If nobody speaks to them, a small room feels intensely lonely, whereas a large crowd just feels busy.
Year-End Giving: 3 Ways to Engage Your People Before December 31
Nobody really likes talking about year-end giving, but there is a big difference between a December 28th plea to cover the budget gap and a thoughtful invitation that shows people the impact of their generosity. In this episode, Scott and A.J. share three ways to engage your people before December 31: celebrate what God did this year, give a clear and compelling invitation for 2027, and make it easy for people to give. Whether your church is ahead of budget or behind, you will walk away with practical steps you can put in place over the next few weeks.
A Second Chance at Social Security for Clergy
In a time when it feels like society agrees on very little, it’s encouraging to see people of many faiths and varying political stances come together around a simple idea: clergy deserve greater financial security in retirement.
On October 21, the Clergy Act was signed into law, allowing clergy who previously opted out of Social Security and Medicare to opt back in. The opt-in window will be available in taxable years 2029 and 2030.
Florida's Transformation Church shuts down satellite campus months after merger: 'Hard decision'
Transformation Church of Pensacola held final services at its Gulf Breeze campus Sunday, less than a year after the site opened in January through a merger with Coast Community Church.
Ready to Harvest explain what is happening in Calvary Chapel.
Crusaders announce plans for another January 6 ... or is it January 3?
There’s an event being promoted for January 3, 2027, at the U.S. Capitol called “The Million Crusader Cross March.” Organizers describe it as a peaceful gathering. But take a look at the promotional material, and you might understand why people are concerned.
The poster features medieval armies in armor, paired with language challenging the election results. For those who remember the weeks leading up to January 6, 2021, that combination brings back some troubling memories.
What Do We Do With New Testament Books Not Written by Apostles?
As I have argued at length in various places, the role of the apostles is central to the establishment of the New Testament canon. They were the authorized spokesmen for Jesus, so when they spoke, he spoke. Consequently, when they wrote their teachings down, they would have been recognized as an authoritative source for the life of the church.
But this raises an obvious question: What about the authors of the New Testament that were not apostles? Does this negate the authority of those books? In particular, we might think of authors like Mark and Luke who penned two of our Gospels. Are their Gospels less authoritative because they weren’t apostles?
Not at all. An apostle does not have to “hold the pen” (so to speak) in order for a book to have apostolic authority. Rather a book has apostolic authority if we have reasons to think the contents come directly from an apostle.
Why John Stott’s ‘Christian Counter-Culture’ still challenges the church
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount by the evangelical pastor and scholar John Stott was fresh and challenging to re-read more than forty years after I first read it in 1984. This is despite the drastic changes in Western society since then and the triumph of wokery.
Subtitled Christian Counter-Culture, it was first published by Inter-Varsity Press in the Bible Speaks Today series of commentaries in 1978. Dr Stott (1921-2011) was then Rector Emeritus of the conservative evangelical flagship church in central London, All Souls Langham Place.
Salvation Makes You Part of a Family: The Corporate Component of Conversion
Jonathan Leeman highlights the corporate component of conversion, pointing out that God not only reconciles us to himself through Christ but also to one another. While our (vertical) reconciliation to God is foundational and primary, our (horizontal) reconciliation to others is necessarily bound up with our salvation. Conversion makes us part of God’s people, and this corporate aspect of our salvation should compel us to join a local church.
Churches Shouldn’t Just Ban Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation
As a worship leader, I agree that we should care about the theology we’re teaching our congregations through music. As pastor and author Tony Merida once said, “[Worship] music is portable theology.” Song selection matters, not least because singing songs in our churches sends royalties to the groups that produce them.
But I also worry that discounting Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation has less to do with careful discernment around particular songs and more to do with a misguided fear of perceived endorsement. That fear can paralyze worship leaders when it comes to making choices for Sunday mornings.
Every pastor knows the feeling of looking at a pristine organizational chart. You have built a beautiful, linear discipleship pathway: a multi-step onboarding track, a clear membership class, and a catalog of curated small group curricula. On paper, it looks like a flawless roadmap to spiritual maturity.
But out in the real world of your local community, a frustrating gap emerges. People sign up for the tracks, attend the seminars, and complete the workbooks—yet their lives rarely seem to change. They finish the classes, but they remain relationally isolated, guarded, and spiritually stagnant.
Sharing Jesus with Teenagers in Your Home
In my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, there’s a local hangout spot called Mom’s Basement. The guys who opened it must have had some great memories of spending their high school or college years in someone’s mother’s basement, maybe even their own. When you walk inside, photographs of moms cover the walls. They are framed from corner to corner in different sizes and shapes, representing generations across decades. Guests have been invited to bring photographs of their own moms to add to the collection.
There is something endearing about the whole idea behind Mom’s Basement. For generations, basements, playrooms, kitchens, backyards, pools, and driveways have been gathering places for teenagers. Teenagers seem to be drawn to that house where everyone knows they can walk in, open the refrigerator, grab a drink, plop down on the sofa, and stay awhile. When our kids were teenagers, we wanted our home to be one of those places. I learned along the way that what really makes a home feel inviting has less to do with what we provide and more to do with what teenagers experience when they walk through the door.
Year-End Giving: 3 Ways to Engage Your People Before December 31
Nobody really likes talking about year-end giving, but there is a big difference between a December 28th plea to cover the budget gap and a thoughtful invitation that shows people the impact of their generosity. In this episode, Scott and A.J. share three ways to engage your people before December 31: celebrate what God did this year, give a clear and compelling invitation for 2027, and make it easy for people to give. Whether your church is ahead of budget or behind, you will walk away with practical steps you can put in place over the next few weeks.
A Second Chance at Social Security for Clergy
In a time when it feels like society agrees on very little, it’s encouraging to see people of many faiths and varying political stances come together around a simple idea: clergy deserve greater financial security in retirement.
On October 21, the Clergy Act was signed into law, allowing clergy who previously opted out of Social Security and Medicare to opt back in. The opt-in window will be available in taxable years 2029 and 2030.
Florida's Transformation Church shuts down satellite campus months after merger: 'Hard decision'
Transformation Church of Pensacola held final services at its Gulf Breeze campus Sunday, less than a year after the site opened in January through a merger with Coast Community Church.
Mergers are fraught with all kinds of dangers. This article describes one of them and offers a lesson for churches entertaining a similar merger.Calvary Chapel is Breaking Apart
Ready to Harvest explain what is happening in Calvary Chapel.
Crusaders announce plans for another January 6 ... or is it January 3?
There’s an event being promoted for January 3, 2027, at the U.S. Capitol called “The Million Crusader Cross March.” Organizers describe it as a peaceful gathering. But take a look at the promotional material, and you might understand why people are concerned.
The poster features medieval armies in armor, paired with language challenging the election results. For those who remember the weeks leading up to January 6, 2021, that combination brings back some troubling memories.
What Do We Do With New Testament Books Not Written by Apostles?
As I have argued at length in various places, the role of the apostles is central to the establishment of the New Testament canon. They were the authorized spokesmen for Jesus, so when they spoke, he spoke. Consequently, when they wrote their teachings down, they would have been recognized as an authoritative source for the life of the church.
But this raises an obvious question: What about the authors of the New Testament that were not apostles? Does this negate the authority of those books? In particular, we might think of authors like Mark and Luke who penned two of our Gospels. Are their Gospels less authoritative because they weren’t apostles?
Not at all. An apostle does not have to “hold the pen” (so to speak) in order for a book to have apostolic authority. Rather a book has apostolic authority if we have reasons to think the contents come directly from an apostle.
Why John Stott’s ‘Christian Counter-Culture’ still challenges the church
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount by the evangelical pastor and scholar John Stott was fresh and challenging to re-read more than forty years after I first read it in 1984. This is despite the drastic changes in Western society since then and the triumph of wokery.
Subtitled Christian Counter-Culture, it was first published by Inter-Varsity Press in the Bible Speaks Today series of commentaries in 1978. Dr Stott (1921-2011) was then Rector Emeritus of the conservative evangelical flagship church in central London, All Souls Langham Place.
Salvation Makes You Part of a Family: The Corporate Component of Conversion
Jonathan Leeman highlights the corporate component of conversion, pointing out that God not only reconciles us to himself through Christ but also to one another. While our (vertical) reconciliation to God is foundational and primary, our (horizontal) reconciliation to others is necessarily bound up with our salvation. Conversion makes us part of God’s people, and this corporate aspect of our salvation should compel us to join a local church.
Churches Shouldn’t Just Ban Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation
As a worship leader, I agree that we should care about the theology we’re teaching our congregations through music. As pastor and author Tony Merida once said, “[Worship] music is portable theology.” Song selection matters, not least because singing songs in our churches sends royalties to the groups that produce them.
But I also worry that discounting Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation has less to do with careful discernment around particular songs and more to do with a misguided fear of perceived endorsement. That fear can paralyze worship leaders when it comes to making choices for Sunday mornings.
Emu Music and Resound Worship, an affiliate of Jubilate Hymns, publish contemporary worship songs and contemporary settings for traditional hymns, which are suitable for use with the rites and services of the various editions of The Book of Common Prayer.Mark Wilson: When was the last time you checked "under the hood?"
Every pastor knows the feeling of looking at a pristine organizational chart. You have built a beautiful, linear discipleship pathway: a multi-step onboarding track, a clear membership class, and a catalog of curated small group curricula. On paper, it looks like a flawless roadmap to spiritual maturity.
But out in the real world of your local community, a frustrating gap emerges. People sign up for the tracks, attend the seminars, and complete the workbooks—yet their lives rarely seem to change. They finish the classes, but they remain relationally isolated, guarded, and spiritually stagnant.
Sharing Jesus with Teenagers in Your Home
In my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, there’s a local hangout spot called Mom’s Basement. The guys who opened it must have had some great memories of spending their high school or college years in someone’s mother’s basement, maybe even their own. When you walk inside, photographs of moms cover the walls. They are framed from corner to corner in different sizes and shapes, representing generations across decades. Guests have been invited to bring photographs of their own moms to add to the collection.
There is something endearing about the whole idea behind Mom’s Basement. For generations, basements, playrooms, kitchens, backyards, pools, and driveways have been gathering places for teenagers. Teenagers seem to be drawn to that house where everyone knows they can walk in, open the refrigerator, grab a drink, plop down on the sofa, and stay awhile. When our kids were teenagers, we wanted our home to be one of those places. I learned along the way that what really makes a home feel inviting has less to do with what we provide and more to do with what teenagers experience when they walk through the door.
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