Tuesday's Catch: Does Your Church Feel Like a Home? and More

Does Your Church Feel Like a Home?

Conceiving of the church mainly as a home rather than an organization has a profound effect on church members and leaders. Read More

The Main Reason People Don’t Become Church Members

Church membership should not consist of rules to keep people out, but ramps to help people grow. Read More

The First Sexual Revolution: The Triumph of Christian Morality in the Roman Empire

Kyle Harper’s From Shame to Sin: The Christian Transformation of Sexual Morality in Late Antiquity (Harvard, 2013) is an impressively learned and important book. Still a youngish man (which means younger than me), Harper is already a professor of classics and letters and senior vice president and provost at the University of Oklahoma. As an expert in the history of the late Roman world, Harper explores in this volume how the Christian sexual ethic, so despised and seemingly inconsequential in the first century, came to be codified in law by the sixth century. Read More

Making Sense of a Strange Biblical Text

One of the more challenging texts in the NT is found in Matthew 27:51-54. It concerns a rather bizarre event in the wake of our Lord’s death on the cross. Read More

Will a Happy Marriage Prevent an Affair?

Whenever one sees a marriage fall apart due to adultery, one of the first things one hears is, “And I thought they were so happy!” Often, we tend to assume that couples torn asunder by an affair must be secretly in felt turmoil for years. More importantly, we assume that those of us who are happily married are then protected from the same crisis. In a provocative new article, a marriage therapist argues against these assumptions. She argues that a happy relationship is no guarantee against vow-breaking. I think she might be on to something. Read More

Monday's Catch: A Common Denominator in De-Conversions and More

A Common Denominator in De-Conversions

Why is this such a common story? Why does the youthful zeal of so many churched kids transition, over time, to the jaded cynicism of the de-churched? Much ink has been spilt diagnosing the reasons for these sorts of “de-conversion” paths. In this article I want to simply highlight one common denominator I’ve noticed between the friends who have stayed in the church and those who have left. Read More

How Can We Nicely Kick Kids Out of Church?

Apparently this is a new thing? To kick kids out of church? Read More

And then we voice surprise when our kids join the ranks of the nones and the dones. They got the message. They were not wanted.

The Linkage Between Church Planting and Developing New Christians

Since the time of the Epistles, church planting has been a natural outflow of the Great Commission. Read More

Trends in the Multisite Movement

Multisite is no longer a fringe idea, but has come of age. Here’s what it looks like today. Read More

What’s the Point? (Alternative Ways to Frame Your Sermon)

I believe there are often better ways of framing a sermon than falling back on “point one,” “point two,” and “point three.” Read More

Overcoming Fear of Evangelism

The courage to share our faith comes from God, not ourselves. Read More

Saturday Lagniappe: How Will the World Look When It Stops Growing? And More

How Will the World Look When It Stops Growing?

What will the world look like when it stops growing? And it will stop growing. Read More

Working Women Are Leaving the Church. Here’s How to Bring Them Back

Thousands of working women are leaving their churches because they feel their church “just doesn’t get me.” And, as working women leave their churches, they’re taking their husbands, children, desire to serve and even their pocketbooks with them. Read More

Why Does Time Fly When You're Having Fun?

The world's most precise clocks run at a steady pace, messing up by only about 1 second every 300 million years. But the brain takes those rhythmic seconds and makes its own sense of time — stretching the ticks and scrunching the tocks. But why can't the brain keep time like a regular clock? In other words, why does time fly when you're having fun, and why does it plod along when you're bored? Read More

This article is relevant to how those attending our worship gatherings may perceive the passage of time. The more boring such a gathering is, the longer those attending it will experience the passage of time and the more likely they will not return for a second visit if they are a first time attendee. The way attendees experience the passage of time is particularly a problem for Anglican Churches using one of the older prayer books or the ACNA's Book of Common Prayer 2019. The challenge for these churches is how do they make their worship gatherings more engaging not only for first time attendees but also regular attendees?

7 Big Money Mistakes Newlywed Couples Make

Believe it or not, marriage and money don’t always seem to mix well. Couples that have been married for a few years sometimes find themselves arguing heatedly over finances. Read More

The Essence of the Calvinistic Life

The essence of the Calvinistic life is living in such a way as to glorify God. Read More

Leaders and 3 Types of Stress

Right before Dr. John Townsend walked up to shred a guitar to some old Blink 182 songs with the band he has with his sons, I asked him if he was nervous. In a brief moment he talked to me about leaders and the three different types of stress we can face. Read More

Pulpit Pointers from Past Preachers

Here are ten reminders for those who preach and teach the Word of God, as confirmed by some of history’s greatest preachers. Read More

7 Questions to Answer Before Your Next Sermon

Checklists can be helpful for most every area of life. For example, before traveling I always review a mental list to make sure I’ve appropriately packed and have my logistical bases covered. Over the years, I’ve also developed a mental checklist that I typically ask of every sermon before I preach it. Like traveling, this checklist is important because in the rush of getting out the door, I can overlook an essential element to the preaching process if I don’t intentionally pause and reflect upon the task at hand. These seven questions help me do just that. Read More

10 Commandments for College Students

I have been thinking a lot about college ministry the last few weeks as we are launching a new college ministry at our church and as we will be seeing and serving more college students this fall. As this new college year begins for tons of Christians, here are the 10 commandments for college students; applied from the commandments the Lord gave Moses. Read More

Some American Muslims Leave Islam, But Protestant Converts Often Replace Them

Pew Research released a new analysis of all of the American residents, foreign-born or otherwise, who claim Islam as their religion. The numbers are something church leaders should understand if they are interested in engaging Muslim populations with the gospel. Here are a few important takeaways. Read More

Why Pro-Life Christians (and LGBTQ Activists) Should Reject ‘Born This Way’ Ideology

A new study highlights why both Christians and LGBTQ activists should reject biological explanations for homosexuality. Read More

In Dorian’s wake

Amid devastation, a long recovery begins in the Bahamas. Read More

Friday's Catch: Leading Millennials in Your Church and More

Leading Millenials in Your Church [Podcast]

Troy Pollock from Pushpay joins Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe in this podcast to discuss church technology and how you can better reach Millennials in your church. Listen Now

How Going to Church Benefits Brain and Body

Consider these ways science shows us that church benefits both brain and body. Read More

3 Essential Observations from Jesus on Leadership

We can summarize His instructions on leadership in three statements. Read More

Matthew’s Gospel as You’ve Never Read It Before

I don’t think I quite understood the beauty of the Gospels, and particularly Matthew, until I understood that meaning is contained not only in the content of the story, but also in the form. It wasn’t merely Matthew’s words, but the placement of those words—the way he tells his stories—that reveals his convictions about Jesus. Read More

2 Reasons Your Discipleship Groups Might Not Be Effective

In a recent episode of the Making Disciples podcast, Robby Gallaty and Chris Swain begin to answer the question, why do some discipleship groups not work? Gallaty and Swain offer two factors that may render some discipleship groups ineffective. Read More

7 Ways a Church’s Small Groups Can Reach People for Jesus (From Saddleback)

How can the small groups in your church become the effective evangelism tools that God wants them to become? Read More

Dorian Destroys Tiny Bahamas Island With 3 Churches and 300 People

Christian relief workers wait for floods to recede before they can make it to the hardest-hit places like Man-O-War Cay. Read More

7 Ways to Pray for Victims of Hurricane Dorian

My wife and I live in North Carolina, a state hit hard by hurricanes over the last few years. Watching news coverage of Hurricane Dorian as it shattered the Bahamas and made its way up the U.S. coast, I’m reminded to pray for those who’ve faced this storm up close. I encourage you to use this guide to pray today, and then invite others to join us in praying. Read More

Thursday's Catch: Wal-Mart Churches and the Need for Community and More

Wal-Mart Churches and the Need for Community

How do we recover churches marked by a true local vision? How does the American church recover a view of the church that is not polluted by the business world? Here are four suggestions. Read More

Five Things We Now Know the Online World Is Doing to Us That Has Never Been Done to Us Before

There are few things more fascinating – and more pressing – to social scientists than to discover what our new digital world is doing to us, particularly the new online world. From an assortment of new surveys and studies, I’ve drawn together five key findings. Some you may have suspected, some may come as a surprise, but all are based on the most recent findings. Read More

Strangely Good News about Millennials and Gen Z (and Some Myths It's Time to Bust) [Podcast]

David Kinnaman, President of the Barna Group, busts some persistent myths about people and culture too many leaders still believe. He also shares findings from his surveys of over 100,000 young adults, what they believe, what bothers them, and how a surprising number still have strong faith, despite what you read about the next generation. Listen Now

Six Principles of Patience in Church Revitalization [Podcast]

Patience is required in church revitalization because when you’re dealing with long-term members, change doesn’t happen overnight and neither does growth. In this podcast Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe discuss six principles of patience needed in revitalization. Listen Now

A Meditation Before Preaching

It’s Sunday morning ten minutes before the service. How are you feeling? If you had to put it into a word, what would it be? Read More

When Worship Lyrics Miss the Mark

A congregation learns its theology and takes it down into the crevices of their soul by the songs that they sing, not just by the preaching they hear. Read More

Wednesday Catch: Chasing Donkeys: How Ministry Can Feel in Rural Context and More

Chasing Donkeys: How Ministry Can Feel in Rural Contexts

1 Samuel 9 offers pastors—especially rural pastors—encouragement through seemingly fruitless seasons. Read More

Seven Things We Can Learn from Attractional Churches

The debate between being an attractional or missional church continues. I’m not a fan of a church that is ONLY attractional, but I do think we can learn some things from the attractional approach.... Read More

Were the Earliest Christians Only Concerned about Oral Tradition?

Michael J. Kruger offers several reasons to challenge the idea that oral tradition should always be the default explanation. Read More

Yes, Bring Commentaries to Bible Study

Though we might at first be skeptical about the value of commentaries in Bible study, these books can be divine gifts—resources that help us better grasp God’s Word and better know God himself. Read More

3 Ways Story-Telling Can Build a Sending Culture

Here are three ways to build a sending culture in your church through storytelling. Read More

Tuesday's Catch: 3 Reasons College Towns Are Ideal for Church Plants and More

3 Reasons College Towns Are Ideal for Church Plants

Spiritual awakenings often happen on or near university campuses. Read More

How Do You Explain Why Members Left a Church to Members Who Stay?

Thom Rainer shares the counsel he offers pastors asking this question. Read More

No, The Universe Doesn’t Care About Us – That’s Why We Need Jesus

The universe didn’t die for you. Jesus did. That makes all the difference. Read More

5 Discipleship Strategies for Becoming a Thriving Church

How can heady and shallow churches move toward whole discipleship? How can they become thriving churches? Read More

5 Ways to Mobilize Your Church for Congregational Care

Every church has a culture that goes with its size, and its ministry strategies will change with growth. Read More

What Is the Trinity Debate About?

Wyatt Graham examines five problems with the doctrine of Eternal Functional Submission (EFS) espoused by a number of evangelical theologians. Read More

How Your Attitude Defines Your Leadership

Your attitude, in many ways, determines how effective you will be as a leader. Read More

9 Things I Wish I'd Known as a Young Preacher

As I recall, my first sermon was about eight minutes long with a 20-minute invitation, as I was sure everyone would respond in repentance to my proclamation. Needless to say, I had a lot to learn then — and still do. Here are some things I wish I’d known as a young preacher who first preached at age 16 and began full-time ministry at age 20.... Read More

Sharing the Gospel in a World Filled with Good News Messages

Here are five elements that makes people share good news. Read More

How to Connect With Anyone You Just Met With 5 Questions

Paul Sohn shares five types of questions that have helped him to improve his emotional connectivity with people so he can connect with anyone. Read More

Saturday Lagniappe Is Back!

Bridges of God: The Church and the Rural-Urban Divide

Since the dawn of Christianity, God's people have been called to be a bridge across the barriers constructed by any given society. Read More

The Most Critical Step in Introducing Change

The way you introduce change is equally important to the change you introduce. Read More

A Key Change Component – Stakeholder Analysis

The longer I lead and manage people the more I realize that the most important element in leading and managing people is actually people. Read More

The Three Ways the Prosperity Gospel Has Infected Our Churches

So many of our churches – otherwise sound, godly, healthy churches – have been infected by the prosperity gospel. Obviously, we’re not handing out lifts across the world in our private jets. We’re not typically telling people that, if you just trust God enough, he’ll make you rich. But we definitely do believe some soft prosperity lies. Let me land on just three examples. Read More

The truth is that this kind of thinking--the idea that God rewards our good works and so we should engage in more good works to receive greater rewards from God--existed in our churches well before the arrival of the prosperity gospel on the scene.

Five Things Churches Can Learn from Guerrilla Marketing

Here are a few marketing “take-aways” every church, whether established or a new church plant, should consider.... Read More

Leading Your Church In This Time of Sexual Questioning with Bruce Miller [Podcast]

In this podcast Rich Birch talks with Bruce Miller, senior pastor of Christ Fellowship in Texas about his book Leading a Church in a Time of Sexual Questioning. Listen Now

8 Lessons about Church Budgets [Video]

Jamie Dunlop, author of Budgeting for a Healthy Church, shares eight important lessons he’s learned after nearly a decade of putting together a church budget. It ends with 25 minutes of Q&A. Watch Now

10 Items You Need In Your Children’s Ministry Tool Box

There are some tools that you need if you want to see success. These are all simple, practical tools that can make your work more productive and efficient. Let's look at 10 tools that you need in your ministry toolbox. Read More

How to Counsel a Gender-Confused Child

Here are three ways parents can care for their child. Read More

How to Stop Praying the Same Old Things

It doesn’t take long before rote prayers fragment your attention span and freeze your heart. Read More

Wilke: Scripture on Homosexuality ‘insignificant’ in the Grand Scheme of the Bible

Longtime United Methodist Church (UMC) bishop and prominent author Richard Wilke recently urged members of his denomination—currently divided about homosexuality—to “create a loving and inclusive community of faith.” In a 16-minute video posted online, Wilke speaks about his own family’s experiences and then reveals conclusions reached after his “in-depth examination of the Scriptures” on homosexuality. Read More

Latest Research: There’s No Such Thing As a ‘gay gene’

Researchers from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) teamed up to study the genetic profiles of almost half a million people. The researchers were looking for genetic factors that might indicate a person has a biological predisposition to same-sex behavior. Their conclusion: There is no such thing as a “gay gene.” Read More

Friday's Catch: Indispensable: Women Church Planters and More UPDATED

Indispensable: Women Church Planters

Articles posted on church planting websites refer to church planters as “guys” or “dudes.” For the most part, women are not viewed as church planters. Instead, references to women typically center on how the church planter’s wife can support her husband’s demanding ministry. Even in denominations that ordain women, the majority of church planters are men. The notion of a female church planter has become an oxymoron. But this was not the case in the beginning. Read More

4 Ways to Balance Leading the Church and Loving the Community

How do local pastors both lead our church and love our community well? And how does this calling inform the pastor’s leadership priorities and daily schedule? Read More

9 Signs It Might Be Time to Refresh Your Church's Interior Design

Here are nine signs it might be time to refresh your interior design. Read More

The Power of Prayer in Church Revitalization

On the inside of my favorite Bible, I have taped a half-sheet of paper with Mark Clifton’s six imperatives for replanting a church from his book, Reclaiming Glory. The first of those imperatives is “Pray Without Ceasing,” which comes directly from 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Read More

Seven Things We Should Celebrate Regularly in Our Churches

What you celebrate, you become. And today Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe discuss ways churches can celebrate how God is working in them and through them. Listen Now

Our Modern Ephesian Moment

Four markers of meaningful ethnic belonging in multiethnic congregations. Read More

5 Tips To Reduce Misunderstandings In An Information-Soaked Culture

No one is a perfect communicator. Even if our facts are correct, the way we say them matters. Read More

The Vital Link Between Church Attendance and Faith

To persevere in the faith, we cannot abandon the church. Read More

How to Kill Your Anger so You Can Represent Christ to the World

Our culture is angry. You only have to be on social media for five minutes to see this is true. And the amount of anger we’re seeing will only increase as the various sides of our culture move farther and farther apart from each other. The first response to disagreement, particularly online, is often anger, and herein lies a danger for all of us who are engaging people with apologetics: It’s easy to fall right into that cultural pattern in our own responses to people. This is something we need to fight. Read More

Top Songs from Christian Worship Services

FaithLife has compiled a list of the most popular songs being sung in Christian churches right now. The top five: “Build My Life,” “What A Beautiful Name,” “Ten Thousand Reasons,” “Amazing Grace” (the Chris Tomlin version), “Great Are You Lord.” Read List

No 'Gay Gene' Can Predict Sexual Orientation, Study Says NEW

Sexual orientation cannot be predicted by a single "gay gene," new research indicates. Instead, a host of genetic and environmental factors play a role, according to a study published Thursday in Science Magazine. The findings provide insight into the complex genetics underlying human sexuality. But they do not explain it, wrote the international team of researchers who analyzed genetic data gathered from almost half a million people. Read More

Thursday's Catch: Revitalization and Replant Metrics and More

Five of the Most Common Metrics to Watch in Revitalization or Replant [Podcast]

In a revitalization or replant, there are more important and more specific metrics to measure and watch than in growing churches or church plants. In this podcast Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe look at five. Listen Now

9 Questions to Ask before Addressing Cultural Issues at Your Church

The preacher must assess both the culture and the congregation in order to determine whether to engage certain concerns that arise. Clarity in this matter is essential, but how does the preacher gain such clarity? Read More

Is Your Church Making Incomplete Disciples

How effective are our churches at making whole disciples—disciples who are growing in both truth and fellowship? Read More

In an Epidemic of Isolation, ‘Relational Ministry’ Isn't Enough

Can the church offer our loneliest students something more than a place to make friends? Read More

How to Turn Hot Topics into Relational Bridges

Here’s a few things to remember when a friend/spouse/neighbor/coworker/family member (who we totally now are not trying to change in one conversation) drops a bombshell question out of nowhere.... Read More

Constantly (Dis)connected: How Online Habits Form Us

The challenge that living with a digital imprint presents the people of God is to hold onto an inheritance of faith that is challenged at many points by digital existence. Read More

Love from the Margins: Lessons from 4 Pastors in China

We recently asked four Chinese house church pastors what we should know about loving our cities from the margins. Read More

Wednesday's Catch: Sharpening Your Church's Gospel Focus and More

Seven Steps Toward a Greater Gospel Focus in Your Church

Eighty percent of churchgoers believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith, yet 61% of them had not told another person about Christ in the last six months. The vast majority of Christians believe they should share their faith, but few actually do. Christians should be eternal optimists. The good news should compel us outward with love. If you’re leading a church, what can you do about the fact that most believers don’t share their faith? Read More

4 Ways to Diagnose "Vision Vertigo" at Your Church

Vertigo is a dizzying sensation that feels like the room is spinning. This is what pastors and members experience when they hear fuzzy declarations of vision, purpose, values, and mission. If you suspect your church may have vision vertigo, please allow me to help by asking four probing questions about your vision. Read More

Expanding the Digital Footprint of Our Churches

We have an opportunity to provide countless people with the hope of the gospel. Read More

Nothing on Your Phone (Including TGC) Can Replace the Local Church

As much as we should celebrate this age of abundance in Christian resources—what my colleague Sarah Zylstra calls “theological affluence”—I worry about some of its side effects. Namely: why is the rise in access to theological material coinciding with a decline in Christian church attendance? Could it be that our easy access to theological content is, in a twisted way, making us see church as unnecessary? Listening to a Christian podcast or devotional app, after all, is much easier than getting out of bed on Sunday morning and going to a church building. But is it the same? Read More

9 Things You Should Know About Ulrich Zwingli

This year marks the 500th anniversary or Reformation in Switzerland begun by Ulrich Zwingli in 1519. “That date, no less than October 31, 1517,” Timothy George says, “can answer the question, ‘When did the Reformation begin?’” Here are nine things you should know about the influential Swiss Reformer. Read More

Churches Say Worship Wars Are Over, But Most Still Use Pianos and Hymnals

For most pastors, the so-called “worship wars” over the style of the music used in their church have subsided, if they ever even felt that pressure. A new study from LifeWay Research found 15% of Protestant pastors in the U.S. say the biggest challenge they face in the area of music is navigating the varying preferences of members. Read More

Parents, Stop Sunday Schooling your Kids out of Church

This will be the first installment of a two-part series. Tim Wright here and Jonathan Aigner here have significant ideas which are worth our attention in thinking through our “theology of the church” with respect to the participation of children and students in the life of the church.

Tim Wright notes the shift the western church has made over the last 40 years to enculturate kids with their own programs. Unfortunately, one of the unintended consequences of this increasingly ubiquitous model of the church in North America is that many young people are losing — and have forever lost — any meaningful touch points with the rest of the congregation. He argues that by segregating our kids out of worship, we never fully assimilated them into the life of the congregation: “They had no touch points. They had no experience. They had no connection with the main worship service—its liturgy, its music, its space, its environment, and its adults. It was a foreign place to them.”[1]

Not coincidentally, once kids finished with the children or student ministries departments of the church….many simply left the church as young adults. Former youth group kids, now in their 20s and 30s, figured, “Hey, my parents dropped me off at sports. My parents dropped me off at piano. My parents dropped me off at church.”

But now? Young adults can easily connect the dots: “Now, I don’t play sports; now, I don’t play piano. I guess church was in the same category – a passing fancy of my childhood, an age-appropriate activity to eventually out-grow.” Read More

Related Articles:
Sunday Schooling Our Kids Out of Church
Killing the Church with Sunday School

Segregating kids from the rest of the church was recognized as a problem in the early 1970s. The late John Westerhoff and others drew this problem to the attention of those who were willing to listen. For a summary of Westerhoff's views, see “An Evaluation of the Contribution of John H. Westerhoff III to Religious Education.”

The Freedom of Long-Term Worship Planning

For much longer than I’d like to admit, I lived in the weekly tyranny of song selection. Monday morning would come, the upcoming Sunday would again be approaching (they have a way of doing that), and I’d be back where I was a week earlier. I’d put together a list, look at the Scripture readings and sermon topic for the coming week, consider anything special coming up (baptisms, communion, etc.) and try to find the right balance.

Oftentimes, I’d look at the upcoming readings or sermon, and realize that the *perfect* song was a song I had just used a week earlier, so I couldn’t use it again. Bummer.

Similarly, I’d realize that a particular song would work great as a sermon response, or as a service closer, but the congregation didn’t know it. If only I had taught it for a couple of weeks before. Bummer again.

And on many occasions I’d realize that I was going back to my favorites too often. Or we weren’t cycling through enough of the wonderful hymns that my congregation knew. Or we weren’t going back to new songs quickly enough to reinforce them. This weekly cycle I was stuck in wasn’t good. But it was all I knew. And it was how I thought I could stay “fresh”. And it was awful. Read More

8 Ways to Impact Your Community By Blessing Local Schools

Perhaps the best way to get a foot in the door is to come with an agenda to serve. Schedule an appointment with the principal for the sole purpose of asking about their vision for the school and how your church can partner with them to help.

Another question you can ask is, “What projects would you love to tackle if you had the ability or resources to accomplish them?”

When you approach a school leader with this posture of humility and the desire to serve, they will usually have a list of ways the church can partner with the school.

If the principal has no projects in need of attention, here are a few suggestions for starting points. Read More

Monday's Catch: Church Planting Support Mechanisms and More

Church-Planting Shifts, Part 4: Supporting Planters

With the rising tide of secularism and the ultimate decline of Christian nominalism, we may need to rethink our denominational/traditional church planting support mechanisms. There’s no doubt that nominalism has provided us with a ready base to plant and launch churches. We could plant faster with a Christian base and nominal Christians to reach. But that is changing. Read More

6 Things the Church Should Learn From Chick-Fil-A

I’ll pass along the valuable lessons during the past 13 months that we can learn from Chick-fil-A. Read More

Five Questions to Help You Cast Vision

The goal of young adult ministry is to reach, develop, and deploy young adults for the mission of God and the growth of the local church. It may sound easy, but the reality is that people don’t always move the way and when you want them to. So here are five questions to help you cast vision for young adult ministry in your church. Read More

How the Shortage of Young Men in Churches Affects Marriage

American churches don’t just have a deficit of men—they have a shortage of unmarried young men. This trend makes it harder for young women to find mates who are spiritually compatible. Read More

5 Hidden Dangers in Ministry

Many churches are wonderful and safe. But others would test the abilities, wisdom, and patience of an apostle. Read More

3 Reasons It's Okay to Be Left Alone Just Before You Preach

Generally speaking, one of two things are on the minds of those who say, “Pastor, I need to talk to you now before the service starts!” Read More

5 Ways to Get Feedback on Your Preaching Without Crushing Your Feelings

Carey Nieuwhof offers insight into how we can receive sermon feedback which will help us grow as communicators. Read More

Five Trending Developments on Sermon Length

One thing is for certain regarding the proclamation of God’s Word: preaching is still primary for both pastors and church members. Read More

Some Simple Practices That Will Make Your Preaching Better

Here’s to shortcuts. Five of them actually—for every communicator and preacher. Read More

3 Ways to Follow Christ This School Year

The rhythms of the school year present challenges for a lifestyle of faith. Here are ways to live it out. Read More

3 Lessons from a Vineyard Farmer about Your Growth

Here are three lessons from a vineyard farmer about how God grows us spiritually.... Read More

Four Investments that Lead to Missional Power

Jesus gives us a masterclass on missionary living through his own example in John 4. Read More

Friday's Catch: The 5 Components of a Healthy Church and More

Assembling the Five Components of a Healthy Church

Everyone wants to be a part of a healthy church, but not everyone knows how to get there. There are numerous resources available on what a healthy church is and what a healthy church should look like. But, if we were to boil it down to five necessary components, what would they be and what would that puzzle look like? Read More

Six Reasons Longevity Is Critical for Change Leadership

Change in a church does not happen overnight. Leading a group of people to change takes time. In this podcast Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe look at six reasons why longevity is so critical to change. Read More

7 Reasons It's Tough to Stop Being Negative

You probably know somebody like this—that person who’s negative about just about everything. It’s almost as if this brother or sister would see something bad even if God rained down His blessings. There are multiple reasons for this attitude (including these I posted two years ago), but I also think it’s really hard to change this attitude, whether it’s ours or someone else’s. Here’s why.... Read More

Preaching Through Depression

Seasons of emotional darkness are no respecter of persons, but there is hope. Read More

Screens Are Changing the Way We Read Scripture

As digital reading habits rewire our brains, how will we process the Bible differently? Read More

What Missionaries Can Teach Us in Post-Christian America

Three things American Christians can glean from our brothers and sisters on international missions. Read More

If I Share The Gospel, I Might Ruin Our Relationship

I know that every situation is different and that it takes a lot of wisdom, but generally speaking, I think that Christians wait too long to share the Gospel with loved ones. I want to encourage you to consider the following points to see if these are reasons why you haven’t pulled the trigger yet, and if they are, I encourage you to overcome your fear and to obey Christ by sharing Him with your friend. Read More

In Christ, Alone: Most Believers Say They Don’t Need Others for Discipleship

US Christians are growing in their faith, but many do it on their own, according to LifeWay Research. Read More

Americans Split on the Impact Pastors Have on Society

Most Americans believe pastors are good for the country, but fewer believe they have the positive impact of teachers or doctors. Read More

Thursday's Catch: Why Read Peter Martyr Vermigli and More

Why Read Peter Martyr Vermigli?

Confronted by the persecution, force, and cruelty of this world, Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499–1562, pronounced Vayr-MEEL-yee) urged Christians to recognize two realities: their identity in Christ and the sure hope of one day seeing God face to face. This, he contends, is “man’s ultimate happiness,” the delight that surpasses all worldly pleasure—to be accepted by the eternal Father in Christ. Read More

Seven Reasons a Guiding Coalition Is Vital in Church Revitalization [Podcast]

Many times when we talk about church revitalization, we talk about change. And when you change things, you will need a guiding coalition to help implement and support the change. Listen Now

8 Reasons Sunday School Classes or Small Groups Turn Inwardly

My evidence is anecdotal, but my experience is that many, if not most, Sunday school classes or small groups turn inwardly at some point. Even those that start with the strongest outward focus sometimes lose this battle. Here are some reasons this shift happens.... Read More

Is the Church an Instrument?

In several articles (see the most recent here), I’ve been interacting with Mark Galli’s series “The Elusive Presence,” which makes the point that in our zeal for doing good things for God, our love and passion for God Himself has been eclipsed. I resonate with this diagnosis of the malaise within evangelicalism. Where I part ways with Mark is in his broad and ill-defined understanding of the “missional church” as the culprit, as if missional thinking is an activity-generating philosophy that leaves us exhausted. Read More

3 Lies About Student Evangelism

Here are three lies about student evangelism that youth leaders and students should never believe. Read More

Millennial Christians, Smaller in Number, But Just as Faithful as Older Generations

There are fewer millennial Christians than in previous generations, but those young adults who do follow Christ do so just as faithfully as older believers, according to a Barna study. Read More

Practical Advice for Pastors and Lay Peachers #52

6 Reasons Why Pastors Must Be More Courageous Today

Thom Rainer believes we are in the midst of a cultural shift--and it's no time to shrink back from our calling. Read More

Four Lessons New Communicators Need to Learn Before Taking a Major Stage

How do you know when a new communicator is ready to take on a major stage? Read More

How Can I Keep My Preaching from Getting Stale?

How do we break the preoccupations of our preaching that not only dull hearers to our messages but also blind them to the implications of the Lordship of Christ over the whole of life? Read More

5 Words to Avoid in Sermons

Certain words will strengthen most any sermon. Conversely, some words weaken the sermon. If used at all, they should be used knowingly and sparingly. Here are five words that almost always weaken sermons. Read More

Nervous Before You Prepeach? 3 Sure Remedies

All eyes are on you. Staring. Waiting for you to say something. Many people are sweating just thinking about it. Read More

Wednesday's Catch: Seven Massive Changes Dramatically Shaping Our Churches and More

Seven Massive Changes Where Churches Must Respond

These seven massive changes are dramatically shaping our churches today. Read More

How to Talk to Your Kids about Sexual Abuse

Talking to children about difficult topics can be terrifying for parents, yet such conversations must take place. We cannot act like our world is not fallen and in need of redemption. There are evil people in the world that intend to do harm to others. If we are going to love our neighbors as ourselves (which must necessarily include the children that God has entrusted to us), then we must also warn them about evil in age-appropriate ways. Read More

For more information on child sexual abuse, read this article and similar articles on PubMed Central.

Celebrating Small but Significant Churches

When small churches are true to what they are and what they have been called to do, they too can make a big impact. Read More

The Church Multiplication Challenge

Across the United States, in churches of all shapes and sizes, God is breathing new life into his people as increasing numbers of leaders embrace the kingdom call to not just grow, but to reproduce and multiply. Read More

5 Ways to Ruin Your Meetings

Avoid these five failures, and you give yourself a better chance of success as you lead your team to greater productivity and efficiency. Read More

The Heart of the Gospel: Penal Substitutionary Atonement: August 2019

The latest edition of 9Marks Journal is online. Read Online or Download

What Sins of Ministry are You Killing Today?

Another question I sometimes ask people in ministry, the right context, is: ‘What sins of ministry are you killing today?’ Read More

Also see "What Sins are You Killing Today?"

7 Ways Preaching Bad Sermons Can Help You Preach Better Sermons

There will be times when you feel uninspired, unprepared and empty. Preach anyway. Read More

3 Reasons to Preach the Psalms

I’m far from an expert on preaching, let alone qualified to tell other preachers what to do. However, I’d like to offer three reasons I think you can and should preach through the Psalms, not around them. Read More

How Long Should a Service Be?

By Robin G. Jordan

On his blog Chuck Lawless has posted seven evaluative questions that he offers to the students in his pastoral ministry classes when they ask him, "How long should a worship service be?" These questions are useful in deciding what should be included in a service and what should be trimmed from it.

As I have pointed out in a number of posts, a common obstacle that North American Continuing Anglican churches face in reaching the unchurched and lightly-churched population of their communities is the length of their Sunday services. These services as a rule are too long. While the regular attendees of a Continuing Anglican church may not experience the services of the 1928 BCP as tedious, visitors do, not just young people but older people too. The length and tiresomeness of the Prayer Book services is one of the main reasons that they do not return for a second visit. It is also one of the main reasons that they are not likely to recommend the church to their family and friends after a visit.

The chief reason for their length is that those planning the services do not take advantage of the 1928 BCP's rubrics that permit the omission of a number of elements from the services of Morning Prayer and Holy Communion. The fault, however, is not entirely that of the worship planners. The congregation may have become so accustomed to the inclusion of various optional elements in the service and unauthorized additions to it that they are likely to complain if these optional elements and additions are omitted. The church may also have a pastor, supply priest, or other service leader who does not appreciate the need for brevity in the Sunday service.

In this post I am going to suggest several ways of shortening the service of Morning Prayer which is often the primary Sunday service of Continuing Anglican churches that do not have a priest of their own--a not uncommon situation in Continuing Anglican jurisdictions as aging priests retire from active ministry due to declining health and shrinking congregations are unable to pay the stipend for a part-time priest, much less a full-time one. They are:

1. Omit the opening hymn and eliminate a procession with processional cross and torches. A procession is traditionally a part of the entrance rite of a service of Holy Communion, not Morning Prayer.

2. Use only a single opening sentence of Scripture. Isaiah 57:15 is a good penitential introduction to the General Confession that follows. Serving as a penitential introduction was the original purpose of the opening sentences of Scripture at Morning Prayer.

3. Omit the long Exhortation and use the shorter Invitation to Confession. Pause after the Invitation to Confession to give the congregation an opportunity for self-examination.

4. Substitute a metrical version of the Venite for the prose text in the Prayer Book service and use it it as the first opening hymn of the service.

5. Limit the Psalms to one. Sing Henry Greatorex's "Glory be to the Father" or a metrical version of the Gloria Patri after the Psalm.

6. Substitute a short metrical version of the Te Deum, Benedicite, or Benedictus es for the prose texts in the Prayer Book service.

7. Place the sermon or homily immediately after the Second Lesson and not at the end of the service. When the sermon or homily is stuck on the end of the service, visitors are often too exhausted or bored to give their full attention to the message.

8. Substitute a short metrical version for the Benedictus Dominus Deus or Jubilate for the prose texts in the Prayer Book service.

9. Use the Apostles' Creed rather than the Nicene Creed. It is not only shorter but is traditionally used at Morning Prayer.

10. Take advantage of the rubric, "And NOTE, That the Minister may here end the Morning Prayer with such general intercessions taken out of this Book, as he shall think fit, or with the Grace," and substitute for everything that follows this prayer from Forms of Prayer to be used in Families:

...accept, O Lord, our intercessions for all mankind. Let the light of thy Gospel shine upon all nations; and may as many as have received it, live as becomes it. Be gracious unto thy Church; and grant that every member of the same, in his vocation and ministry, may serve thee faithfully. Bless all in authority over us; and so rule their hearts and strengthen their hands, that they may punish wickedness and vice, and maintain thy true religion and virtue. Send down thy blessings, temporal and spiritual, upon all our relations, friends, and neighbours. Reward all who have done us good, and pardon all those who have done or wish us evil, and give them repentance and better minds. Be merciful to all who are in any trouble; and do thou, the God of pity, administer to them according to their several necessities; for his sake who went about doing good, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

11. Sing a closing hymn. If a collection is taken, it may be taken during this hymn.

12. Conclude the service with this prayer from Forms of Prayer to be used in Families:

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us, and give us peace, this night and evermore. Amen.

What suggestions do you have?

Your Church Needs More Time for Personal Testimonies

If you’re reading this, you probably have a strong view of expositional preaching, corporate prayer, and the church ordinances (baptism and communion). You also might get nervous when someone emphasizes the value of personal experience. It might send a small shiver down your theological spine.

After all, you don’t want experience to crowd out exposition. I get it. There are a lot of cautions and concerns we might justifiably have about people giving testimonies. Nonetheless, we should consider implementing personal testimonies, that is, the practice of remembering God’s wondrous works and celebrating his mighty deeds in our lives and churches. Read More

Personal testimonies is an element that is frequently missing from Anglican services of public worship--at least here in the United States. Personal testimonies not only glorify God, they also build up the faith of those attending a worship gathering. They let the Body of Christ know how God has been working in its members.