Big Groups A Problem? 4 Practical Ways to Subgroup

Are you struggling with how to handle big groups in this ongoing season of COVID-19? Or, maybe big groups have always been an issue for your small group ministry? We all know bigger isn’t always better, especially when it comes to small groups! The challenge remains – how can we make our big-sized groups smaller? Why not encourage your small groups to give subgrouping a try? Subgrouping is defined as a distinct group within a group; a group that has been divided into smaller groups. Subgrouping offers many benefits to small groups.... Read More

More small group articles and other resources may be found at smallgroupnetwork.com.

We Must Start Planning For a Permanent Pandemic

With coronavirus mutations pitted against vaccinations in a global arms race, we may never go back to normal.

For the past year, an assumption — sometimes explicit, often tacit — has informed almost all our thinking about the pandemic: At some point, it will be over, and then we’ll go “back to normal.”

This premise is almost certainly wrong. SARS-CoV-2, protean and elusive as it is, may become our permanent enemy, like the flu but worse. And even if it peters out eventually, our lives and routines will by then have changed irreversibly. Going “back” won’t be an option; the only way is forward. But to what exactly? Read More

What Andreas Kluth describes in this Bloomberg Opinion Piece is not a worse case scenario, it is a very strong likelihood. We do need to plan for the COVID-19 coronavirus in various mutations to be around for the remainder of this century and beyond. In India scientists recently identified a "double mutation" of the virus and here in the United States as in other countries researchers are identifying more variants. As Kluth points out, we need to abandon the idea of a conclusion to the pandemic and of a return to pre-pandemic "normalcy." For Christians the implication is that we need to rethink not only how we do church but also how we live our lives as disciples of Jesus. We have made churchgoing central to the Christian life. While he went the local synagogue and to the temple at Jerusalem,  Jesus in his teaching focuses on our relationship with God and with our fellow human beings. He ties our worship of God to our treatment of others. Based upon Jesus' teaching there is far more to being one of his disciples than going to church. This is something that we need to keep in mind as we rethink doing church and living a life of discipleship in the COVID-19 era.

How’s Your Church Brand?

Back in Superbowl 2020, Michelob Ultra ran a commercial promising that, for each 6 pack you buy, they will help transition 6 feet of farmland to be organic. When you do the math, the actual impact of Michelob’s commitment seems to be negligible. It’s safe to say they could have had a much larger impact if they had donated the $10 million spent on the commercial directly toward organic farming.

But that’s kind of the point. For companies attempting to appeal to millenial and younger generations, it’s not so much about what you’re doing for charity, or the actual effectiveness of those efforts. What matters is that you are perceived as doing something. Your brand needs to be associated with philanthropy—so much the better if it’s a cutting edge cause, such as spheres of social justice, eco-conservation, or education.

So, how’s your church brand? Are you keeping up? Have you been giving to the right causes? And if so, do people know how much you’re giving and what you’re doing? How are people going to come to Jesus if they don’t see you partnering with a local elementary school, or if they don’t know how much money you’ve given away to feed hungry children on the other side of the globe?

Acts of benevolence, far from being at cross-purposes to the Gospel, flow as natural consequences of the transforming love of Jesus. The Gospel pushes us outward towards Good Samaritan-like deeds. But notice: The Good Samaritan didn’t create a Facebook page, sharing photos of his good deeds as he went along. He didn’t drag the previous robbery victim up onto his synagogue platform the following Saturday to share his testimony. He simply cared for that other man out of love. Read More

7 “Old-Fashioned” Church Growth Ideas to Consider Today

As I think back across 40 years of full-time ministry, I’m reminded of some older ways we did church then that could still work today. These ideas from years ago, in fact, make me wonder how we might use them today.... Read More

5 Ways the Church Can Serve Gen Z Women

“Because you listened to me, I knew you loved me. Because I knew you loved me, I listened to you.” Jill Briscoe closed her story with these words.

In a room filled with hundreds of millennial and Gen X women on the edge of their seats, at 86, Jill looked like the outlier. But in her, those women saw a grandmother who served faithfully, lighting the way for one generation to disciple the next.

Birthed in an age of polarity and raised on technology, today’s college students are part of Gen Z. They rank among the most racially and ethnically diverse generations and will likely become the most educated. They care about the environment, social justice, and inclusivity, and they just voted in their first election. Where wars and recessions shaped previous generations, the pandemic is the first major hurdle for Gen Z.

When it comes to the women of Gen Z, however, a few darker trends emerge. Depression and anxiety increasingly characterize them, and gender issues, sexual abuse in the church, and an exodus of single women from congregations are certain to affect Gen Z women’s spiritual formation.

Yet young women long for mentoring relationships. And women in the church can help in five ways.... Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (March 24, 2021) Is Now Online

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

The Sunday after this coming Sunday is Easter Sunday—the Feast of the Resurrection—on which we celebrate Jesus’ rising from the dead. Spring is the perfect time to celebrate the most important feast of the church years. We are surrounded by signs of new life—trees in bud and leaf, flowers in blossom. Every morning is a joyful chorus of nesting birds. Easter Sunday is a Sunday not only to celebrate our Lord’s rising to new life but also to rededicate our lives to him or to dedicate our lives to him for the first time.

The Scripture reading for this Wednesday evening is Ephesians 2:1-10 From Death to Life

The homily is titled “Only by God’s Grace.”

The link to this Wednesday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2021/03/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for_24.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

A Case for Vibrant Anglican Worship

By Robin G Jordan

Must Anglican worship be stodgy—dull and uninspired? Is stodginess a characteristic of Anglican worship with which we must grit our teeth and bear and from which we have no hope of breaking free? This is what one post on Facebook inferred in a comment thread in which I participated. The individual who posted the comment may not have been serious, but he raised a point. Is Anglican worship inescapably wedded to stodginess?

Being reverent can be defined as showing deep and solemn respect. Regrettably, some folks confuse being solemn with being unsmiling and emotionless. Their idea of a worshiping assembly is that it must resemble how they picture a gathering of gloomy Puritans in their minds. Sunday morning is a time to lament our sins, beat our breasts, and beg God’s forgiveness.

While showing reverence to God may require us to act in a dignified manner and to take what we are doing with the seriousness that it deserves, it does not require us to suppress or conceal any feelings of joy or any other emotions that meeting our Lord in the Word and in bread and wine elicit. On the contrary it calls for us to draw near to God without concealing or disguising our true feelings and thoughts. God sees through any pretense on our part. He does not look at our outward appearance but at our hearts.

Our Sunday worship can, if we are not careful, deteriorate into ritualism, going through the motions of worship without worshiping God from the heart. True worship transforms the worshiper. Ritualism, on the other hand, leaves the churchgoer unchanged.

This is what happened on a number of occasions to the temple worship of the people of Israel. Their priests were painstaking in their performance of the temple worship’s rituals, the offering of animal sacrifices to God, but the worship had no effects upon the hearts of the people of Israel. They turned to other gods. These gods gained their devotion, their heart worship.

This is also what happened to the Medieval Church. The veneration of the Blessed Virgin and the other saints and their relics would overshadow the worship of the one true God. It was to the saints that the people prayed in times of need and to whom they dedicated gifts and offerings. They felt a greater closeness to the saints than they did to the Father and the Son.

The Mass had become a ritual by which the priest materialized Christ under the form of the consecrated host for their adoration. The people did not understand the words of the Mass. They had been denied the cup and only received the bread at Easter outside of the Mass and then after having confessed their sins and having been shriven.

By ritualism, I am not referring to the school of churchmanship which emerged in the early nineteenth century and which set a high value on the church and clergy ornaments, doctrines and beliefs, ceremonies and other practices of the pre-Reformation Medieval Church and the post-Tridentian Roman Catholic Church. Rather I am talking about the performance of a liturgy as a ritual by the performance of which those present at its performance or participating in its performance believe that they accrue certain benefits. They may fulfill a duty. They may ward off evil. They may secure a blessing. It is akin to crossing one’s fingers to wish for luck or to implore God’s protection or knocking on wood or touching wood to bring good fortune or to ward off bad luck. It is a mindset into which congregations that use prescribed forms of service and set patterns of worship are apt to fall but it is not confined to such congregations.

This mindset is related to magic at the center of which is the belief that certain rites and incantations can be used to influence the supernatural. It is a mindset which congregations seldom realize that they have adopted. 

Ritualism is one of the attractions of the older Prayer Books. The Sunday service, whether Morning Prayer or Holy Communion, is a familiar ritual that a congregation performs every week. Woe to the priest or other service leader who makes in the minds of the congregation unwarranted changes in this familiar ritual. However, the newer service books are not free from this tendency. Their services can over time become familiar rituals. They can also lead to a ritualistic mindset.

While it may fall short of genuine worship in a number of ways, the performance of a liturgy as a familiar ritual is meaningful to the congregation. This is one of the reasons that people resist Prayer Book revision. For this reason, Anglican jurisdictions that are sensitive to how their people may react to Prayer Book revision choose to supplement the existing Prayer Book with additional services rather than replace it. It is also one of the reasons that strict uniformity in worship in a jurisdiction is impractical. It also accounts for at least in part why some Anglicans claim that the Prayer Book that they use and which they prefer is the only Prayer Book to use. The rituals that the book contains are most correct rituals and the most effective. A close examination of the rituals in question often as not show that they have been changed from the rituals of earlier Prayer Books and may not be what those who use and prefer that book claim.

The danger of ritualism is not only that it can become a substitute for genuine worship but also it can also become a deterrent to the numerical and spiritual growth of a congregation. While the performance of a liturgy as a familiar ritual may be meaningful to the congregation, it is not meaningful to most visitors. Indeed, it may discourage them from returning for a second visit. Visitors who have a bad experience are going to tell friends, relatives, and coworkers about their experience and the church may gain a reputation as a church to avoid.

It can also prevent a church from putting more effort into its Sunday worship which can make the church less attractive to the unchurched. The effort that a church puts into its Sunday worship research has found is an important factor in why the unchurched will begin to attend a church on a regular basis. It conveys to the unchurched that the church takes seriously the worship of God. 

On the other hand, congregations that are satisfied with the way that they are performing the liturgy as a ritual will have little incentive to improve the quality of their Sunday worship. They may mistakenly assume that because they are happy with what they are doing, visitors will be happy with it too. They may blame the visitor for not returning for a second visit and not recognize their own contribution to the failure of the visitor to return.

The spiritual danger is that the performance of a liturgy as a familiar ritual can replace a personal relationship with Jesus in the spiritual lives of a congregation. The vitality of the personal relationships of a congregation with the Lord affects the vitality of their Sunday worship. The two are tied to each other. The prayer of their hearts will infuse the prayer of the liturgy. Their desire to offer the Lord the best that they can offer will motivate them not only to pray the liturgy from their hearts but also to improve the quality of their Sunday worship in other ways—a better choice of music, periods of silence after each Scripture reading for reflection and prayer, and so forth. Rather than a duty or an obligation their Sunday worship will become an expression of their love for the one who made them, saved them, and guides them. From that love will flow the love of one’s fellow Christians and the love of one’s neighbor, which are inseparable from one’s love of God.

Even Sundays in Lent are a time for celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and the promise of new life that his rising from the dead offers us. They are a time for joyfulness, not sadness. While Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross played an important part in our salvation, it did not end there. As the apostle Paul wrote the church at Corinth, “if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” But our Lord did rise from the dead and ascended into heaven. He is there at the right hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf. We are united to him and to each other by the Holy Spirit. When we gather in his name, he is in our midst as he promised. We have every reason to rejoice.

There is really no excuse for stodginess in Anglican worship. None whatsoever!

Will Easter Resurrect Pandemic Church Attendance? Depends on Your Tradition.

More than half of evangelicals will be back in person, but most Catholics and black and mainline Protestants are still waiting to return.

hen churches first shut down for the pandemic, many Christians hoped they would be back together within weeks for Easter. A year later, the holiday will be the first time more than half of evangelicals in the US plan to return to worship in person, according to a Pew Research Center report out Monday.

Even though most churches have reopened, the proclamation that “He is risen indeed” will be quieter than normal years, with sparser holiday crowds (and mask requirements muffling their voices). Among all American Christians, 39 percent say they plan to celebrate Resurrection Sunday in person, compared to 62 percent during a typical year.

Evangelical Protestants are more likely than any other Christian group to say they’ll be in church on Easter this year (52%). For many congregations, last year’s socially distant drive-up worship will be replaced by traditional sunrise services and egg hunts.

Easter is typically one of the most-attended weekends on the church calendar, and this year pastors anticipate that many Christians will want to get back to the familiar celebrations within their communities of faith. Read More

Last week I listened to a podcast advising churches on how to prepare for Easter this year. They were talking about how for evangelicals Easter is the service that usually has the highest attendance of the year because for evangelicals Easter is like a church homecoming. The Easter services would be packed, especially since many people would have had one or two of the COVID 19 vaccine shots. What bothered me was that one of the people giving advice pastors a church in Florida, a state which has very loose restrictions and is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. The podcast also did not take into consideration the advice that CDC is giving Americans. When it comes to protecting themselves and others, the CDC is advising Americans to wear face masks, to social distance, and to avoid crowds and poorly-ventilated spaces, which includes packed church sanctuaries. The CDC has also issued guidelines for those who are fully vaccinated. These guidelines include avoiding medium-sized and large gatherings. While some states are experiencing a significant reduction in COVID-19 cases, others are not. They are experiencing an uptick in cases. Easter is not a time to behave in a way that is not careful or sensible.

What Grace Does That Religion Can’t

Grace confuses and offends religious people because people who have worked hard and kept the rules don’t like it when others who have broken the rules and haven’t worked as hard get the same acceptance and reward they do.

There’s no better example of this in the Bible than the “sinful woman” in Luke 7:36–50 who anoints Jesus’ feet and bathes them with her tears. Can you imagine how the Pharisee, at whose house Jesus was dining, felt when Jesus accepted her so readily—a woman the Pharisee thought had sinned far more and in much worse ways than he?

That’s the scandal of grace, and it’s the heart of the gospel. Grace produces three things in us that religion by itself, with all its laws and commands and disciplines, can never yield. Read More

6 Goals of An Effective Small Group Ministry

There is way too much of a mess to clean up all alone! You need some people!

And that’s what small groups are for. Sundays are awesome. That’s where we worship with a crowd. But somewhere removed from the crowd I need a few people who are close enough to build me up, hold me up, and fire me up. And I need to be doing the same for them in return.

There is a broad variety of approaches to small group ministry, many tempered by the experiences of individual churches. I’m sure the same will be true of us.

We will adapt our approach over time as we learn what works and what doesn’t. I do know, however, at least six key foundational principles that we will live by as we craft the DNA of our church’s community life…. Read More

18 Ways to Ruin Your Reputation on Facebook

Facebook is a great way for you to build and maintain relationships with people both inside your church and in your community. But Facebook is not without its risks. Every time you post something, you risk hurting, offending or distancing yourself from people. You risk ruining your reputation on Facebook.

First, the ugly things to avoid to not ruin your reputation on Facebook … Read More

The Equality Act, People of Faith, and Religious Freedom

When sexual freedom conflicts with religious freedom, who will take precedent?

I’ve written before on the Equality Act. As one who believes that all people are worthy of dignity and respect, I believe that we need to advocate for the civil rights of everyone— religious and irreligious, all races and creeds, and (as I wrote in my article) the rights of people who identify as LGBTQ+. Yet, I believe that the Equality Act fails do to this very thing. And, today, I’ve asked my old friend David Dockery to explain why. Read More

Why Your Post-Pandemic Church Must Restart Like a Church Plant

Most churches have reopened, but most church leaders realize things aren’t what they were before the pandemic. Churches have resumed, but what they really need is a restart.

As a leader how should you be thinking about your church today?

What should you communicate?

How should you be invest your time?

Church planters and leaders of new campuses are helpful people to learn from in a season when every church needs a fresh start. The work they do in starting something new is where the typical church pastor needs to be in their mindset and their actions as we move beyond the pandemic. Read More

Also See:
How Social Distancing Is Bringing Pastors Closer to Their Congregants
Five Ways to Reach Those Who Stopped Attending Worship Services

Jennifer Lyell: An Example of How a Denomination Blames Sexual Abuse Victims

When pastors or churches talk about misconduct as a ‘moral failing’ instead of abuse, they send a message that victims and survivors are partially to blame.

Jennifer Lyell was trying to do the right thing.

In the spring of 2019, Lyell, then a well-respected leader in Christian publishing, decided to publicly disclose that she was a survivor of sexual abuse.

She did so after learning her abuser, a former Southern Baptist seminary professor, author and missionary, had recently returned to ministry. Lyell feared he would once again have the opportunity to abuse others and wanted to stop that from happening.

So she wrote up a statement detailing the abuse and shared it with a reporter from a Christian news organization. Then things went terribly wrong.

Instead of reporting she had been abused, Nashville-based Baptist Press, which is overseen by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, reported in March 2019 that Lyell, then a vice president at Lifeway Christian Resources, had admitted being involved in a “morally inappropriate relationship” with her former professor.

The fallout was quick and devastating. Lyell was labeled on social media as an “adulteress” rather than an abuse survivor, with users leaving scores of vile comments about her on Lifeway’s Facebook page and the Baptist Press website. Pastors and churches called for her to be fired. She lost her reputation, her job and even her health in the process.

The article was eventually retracted, but the damage was done. Read More

The Cohabitation Dilemma Comes for America’s Pastors

More evangelicals are living together before marriage. Church leaders struggle to respond.

In early 2019, the internet was aglow with news about Chris Pratt and his fiancée, Katherine Schwarzenegger, moving in together. Media outlets cited the couple’s evangelical Christian faith as the reason they did not cohabit until they were engaged. Few suggested there was any contradiction between Pratt’s cohabitation and his status as a “devout Christian,” a “folksy, popular evangelical” who urged “living boldly in faith.”

This may seem odd to those who recognize that Scripture forbids all sexual activity outside marriage. But the choice that Pratt and Schwarzenegger made isn’t contained to Hollywood—it’s the new norm among young, professing evangelicals across America.

While speaking to a large gathering of evangelical pastors in late 2019 in Pennsylvania, I asked how many of them regularly faced cohabitation in their churches. Most raised their hands. One told me that he had stopped conducting weddings because so many of his engaged couples were cohabiting and got angry when he addressed it. Another suffered bitter criticism from church members when he dismissed a church employee who refused to leave a cohabiting arrangement.

What I have seen for years in large national surveys and learned in interviews with a spectrum of pastors in 2019 corresponds with these anecdotes: Evangelicals, especially those under 40, increasingly see cohabitation as morally acceptable. Most young evangelicals have engaged in it or expect to.

Simply put, living together is far more common and accepted than Christians realize. American pastors are grappling with how to navigate wedding policies and premarital counseling among cohabiting congregants. But one thing is certain: If the church is to preserve and protect marriage, something about its approach has to change. Read More

How to Modernize Your Church Communication With Digital Signage

Digital signage is more than just PowerPoint slides on TVs. Modern digital signage can improve the experience for your congregation, help them navigate your church, be informed about upcoming events, get important messages and collaborate, and share their ideas where it’s appropriate.

In this critical time, sending clear messages is more important than ever. As a leader, you are looking for more effective ways to send important messages, event schedules, and future events to your congregation. You want to be sure that the message has been received without having to individually remind everyone.

In this day and age, nothing can be as effective as visual communication, but to some who don’t have much experience with creating digital content this might sound too hard and time consuming. You are probably wondering how can I take time from my already busy schedule to update visual contents on my TV screens in my church?

I am going to show you some easy ways to turn your TV screen into your own digital assistant and how to create, upload, and change digital contents in minutes using OptiSigns Digital Signage apps. Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (March 21, 2021) Is Now Online

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

In the old liturgical calendar this Sunday is Passion Sunday and begins the season of Passiontide. One of the passion narratives was read on this Sunday, a week before Palm Sunday which celebrated Jesus’ triumphant entry in Jerusalem before his suffering and death on the cross. The new liturgical calendar combined Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday into one Sunday and restored a more logical order to the sequence of events commemorated in Lent and Holy Week. A primary reason for the new liturgical calendar was to recover the church’s ancient practice of instructing new believers in the teaching of Jesus and the life and ministry of a Christian before their baptism at the Great Vigil of Easter. Lent and Holy Week formed the last part of their three-year preparation.

The Scripture reading for this Sunday evening is Philippians 2: 12-18 Shining as Lights in the World.

The homily is titled, “One, Little Word.”

The link to this Sunday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2021/03/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-sunday_21.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

Are You a Spiritual Person? Test Yourself by Galatian

We desperately need spiritual men and women. When churches are filled with spiritual people, everyone benefits in at least two ways. First, churches avoid the trap of legalistic flesh-catering. Second, churches fulfill their purpose of reconciliation through restoration and burden-bearing.

This is what Paul says in Galatians 6:1: “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

The challenge lies not only in finding such men and women, but in identifying the necessary qualifications to be considered a spiritual person. Read More

The Pressing Need for Long-Term Thinking

When it comes to leadership, there is short-term thinking and long-term thinking. Short-term thinking is usually reactionary. You need to make decisions on any number of things that are presenting themselves before you in a “this day, this hour” dynamic.

Long-term thinking is processing next steps related to vision and strategy, opportunity and planning.

Obviously, both are needed. But what is most pivotal is maintaining long-term thinking in the midst of a season dominated, by necessity, with short-term thinking.

Like now.

The pandemic has called for any number of decisions to be made on the basis of short-term thinking. Meaning, decisions based on the pandemic being thrust on us with little notice, the ramifications for life as we had known it being extreme, causing every leader to scramble to make scores of immediate decisions. With changes in the pandemic itself, coupled with other significant cultural events erupting, leaders are suffering under a case of decision-making whiplash.

All the more reason for leaders to take time to assess the current state of whatever they lead and go beyond the short-term dynamics and think long term. Read More

Sharing the Gospel in Times of Crisis

We must prioritize sharing the gospel, even in challenging circumstances.

As we look forward to moving through 2021––and past 2020––we need to learn from the crises we've faced over the last year. Lots of challenges have been met, and there are still many more to come. Yet we always need to ask ourselves how we should share the gospel in times of crisis. Read More

3 Layers of Life Changing Transformation

The power of the Gospel is transformative in nature.

“Transformative: causing or able to cause an important and lasting change in someone or something.”

With that being true, why is it so challenging to see the change we pray for and desire?

In his very first acts of ministry, Jesus unleashed the power of transformation.

Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons. However, very few encounters were the same. In fact, he said about some demons, “these only come out by fasting and prayer.”

Some transformation or change is more difficult than others. Change, in general, is resisted, some more aggressively than others.

In Jesus’ ministry, some situations were particularly difficult; other times, Jesus was frustrated with his disciples – his leaders, because of their lack of faith.

It’s not so different today. Read More

Reconstructing Faith in a Deconstructing Culture

How a Return to Scriptures Can Help Those Wanting to Flee Faulty Church Culture

It seems like everyone is talking about “deconstruction” these days. There’s an increasing number of young people deconstructing their faith and leaving the church.

The subject of deconstruction is occupying social media feeds, where many are getting information about faith, church, and Christianity from short, creative viral videos made by people who refer to themselves as “exvangelicals.”

One of the reasons young people inside and outside of the church are being driven toward these public documentations of deconstruction is their frustration and disillusionment with the current state of the church. Some of their frustrations and accusations are misguided and need to be corrected. However, many of the concerns they raise need to be honestly addressed. Read More

Filling People with God

Fresh Expressions Connects with the Unchurched

Once a month in Casper, Wyoming, 15 people roll out yoga mats inside their homes and hop on Zoom for a session with YogaSoul. It’s a gathering for people who love yoga, appreciate sacred texts, and don’t attend church.

“We always start with a centering practice that could be both yogic and Christian,” said Jessika Girod, an aspirant to ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church who coordinates YogaSoul and leads traditional worship at Christ Church in Douglas, Wyoming. “The stillness, the quietness. … There’s nothing you have to do or be. Just dwell in the presence of God.”

As the body loosens up, so does the spirit. Regulars at YogaSoul look forward to gathering in person as they used to before the COVID-19 pandemic. Then they’ll sit on their mats in a circle, have what Girod calls “an embodied experience,” and share in the Eucharist with a priest who practices yoga.

Come for the yoga, stay for the gospel. It’s a soft form of evangelism within an international movement called Fresh Expressions, which fosters Christian community among people who are unlikely to enter a steepled building on a Sunday morning.

“Fresh Expressions is the medicine that’s needed to make the church healthy and strong again in its mission,” said Jon Davis, an Episcopal priest, mission strategist, and trainer with Fresh Expressions US. “We thought the mission was to fill the pews with people, but that’s not the mission. The mission of the church is to fill people with God.” Read More

Image Credit: Matt Lake/Fresh Expressions USA

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (March 20, 2021) Is Now Online

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

Because we cannot see something does not mean that it does not exist. Every so often I read a online report about the discovery of a new species of insect or some other kind of creature. It has been there all the time, but we did not notice it. “Hidden in plain sight” as people say. God is present in our lives. We may have not yet noticed his presence.

The Scripture reading for this Saturday evening is Hebrews 11:1-12 Faith.

The homily is titled “Peekaboo! I See You!”

The link to this Saturday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2021/03/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-saturday_20.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

The Great Commission Must Be Our Guide in These Polarizing Times

During these polarizing times where battles for political power or division from cultural struggles are crippling the influence of the Christian church, we need to refocus our attention and commitment to fulfilling the great commission.

Galatians 4:4 says, in various translations, that when the “right, appropriate, set, chosen, fullness” of time had come, God sent his son. Jesus didn’t arrive in occupied Palestine by accident; he, the incarnate God/man, had chosen before all eternity to enter and save his creation at the perfect moment.

Looked at from our perspective, it might not seem like it was such a great time. Israel was a conquered country, occupied by Roman soldiers and oppressed by Roman taxes. The Roman emperors who ruled at the time and the Jewish leaders they used as their puppets are remembered as violent, sadistic demagogues. Caligula, Nero, Herod.

Despite his careful teaching, Jesus’ thickheaded disciples pressed Jesus for an earthly, political kingdom just moments before his Ascension in Acts 1:

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time [finally??!] going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” [emphasis mine]

It’s hard not to notice that when Jesus is asked, “Is it time to take power and create God’s kingdom on earth?” Jesus answers that he wants them to preach the gospel, convert people and grow the number of disciples in the world. Read More

Atlanta Shooter’s Church Ties Raise Questions for Pastors

We must know our congregations well enough to respond to the false gospels and distorted teachings infiltrating their spiritual lives.

As Christians all across the country are processing this week’s events involving the acts of Robert Aaron Long, our heads are filled with questions. Along with the media and the rest of Americans, we mourn the victims and wonder about this shooter’s motivation, in hopes that understanding what led him to his confusion and violence could help us prevent others from taking harmful action to themselves and others. With the details reported so far, we’re unpacking possible factors around gun culture, perceptions of Asian Americans, and beliefs about sex.

But as Christians, we have even more questions about the situation. Not long after the shootings and arrest, a video of Robert Aaron Long being baptized in an Atlanta-area church began to make its rounds online. His self-description on Instagram said, “Pizza, guns, drums, music, family, and God. This pretty much sums up my life.”

We in the American church are bound to wonder how a follower of Jesus could do something like this and what the church could have done to better teach, correct, or care for this deeply troubled man.

While we don’t blame the church or Christianity for the actions of one person, there are a few things this tragic event should lead Christians, and particularly Christian leaders, to think through. As a pastor, I see three questions that we may ask about our congregation. Read More  

Five Ways to Get More Help When Your Volunteer Base Has Been Decimated by COVID [Podcast]

Church leaders are often shocked to discover many of their most faithful volunteers have not returned to their ministries. Mark and Thom look at five ways to jump-start your church’s volunteer ministry base.... Listen Now

Stop Worrying That You’ll Upset Older Donors or Church Members

They're more hip than you think....

One of the most frequent (and frustrating) cycles that’s happened to our team over the years is this: A church, ministry, or nonprofit asks us to come in to help them update their brand, reposition in the marketplace, or help share their message in a more contemporary way. Fine. But at a point, some of them get really nervous and start pushing back, and it usually sounds like this:

“Phil, we can’t become too contemporary in how we present our message because we’re afraid we’ll upset our older donors or church members. If we update our website, design a really creative logo, those older folks – who are our major donors or most supportive church members – won’t like it and will push back.”

Then they try to backpedal, soften the work, or make it less relevant.

Let me put this argument to rest:

Right now, the oldest donors or church members you have – people in their 80’s for instance, are part of the rock and roll generation. These guys were raised listening to Led Zeppelin, James Brown, and the Stones.

Do you really think your new logo will freak them out? Read More

8 Bible Misconceptions Your Church Should Address

Over the years, I’ve come across many Bible misconceptions. Some of these are due to rampant biblical illiteracy, and others to simple misunderstandings about how the Bible was copied and transmitted over the years. Many Bible misconceptions can be cleared up simply by learning how to interpret the Bible, but some require a more detailed response, especially from the church pulpit. Read More

Many Adventists Believe You Must Be Vegan to Be Saved

As the church’s global growth continues, leaders must disentangle its “health message” from views on salvation.

While Seventh-day Adventists around the world have heeded their co-founder’s teachings on eating a plant-based diet, veganism has risen for some adherents to a place next to godliness.

Denominational researchers found that many members in South Asia believe salvation is ensured two ways: through Jesus Christ (92%), and through giving up meat, animal products, alcohol, and tobacco (80%). Within the denomination’s East-Central Africa Division—which has the second-most vegan or vegetarian members (42%)—three-quarters of members (74%) maintain that dietary choices contribute to salvation.

“The data suggest that Adventist Church leadership needs to engage in further member education to differentiate and avoid confusion between the benefits of adhering to the Adventist Health Message and the Church’s belief that the actual source of salvation is through Jesus Christ alone,” wrote Andrews University sociologist Duane McBride, lead author on a recent paper in the Review of Religious Research. Read More

Are the Best Really Blessed?

When our family moved to Salt Lake City in 2012 to help plant Gospel Grace Church, we discovered a culture of extreme contradictions. The “Happy Valley” between the mountain ranges may have a reputation for family, religion, and the blessed life, but underneath the surface, many people are anything but happy.

The purported family values of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints (LDS) seem oxymoronic in light of Utah’s skyrocketing porn consumption, widespread anti-depressant usage, and prolific plastic surgeries (breast implants for high-school graduate gifts, tummy tucks for middle-aged moms, and facelifts or Botox treatments for anyone seeking that youthful boost). Despite its projected perfection, Utah has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation.

My husband, a reserve chaplain in the Air Force, was hired in 2013 to provide counseling at the local base because of a cluster of suicides in the civilian sector. Confidentiality prevented him from sharing information with me, but his disturbed soul confirmed all the statistics. I am haunted by the vacant eyes and empty laughter of all the sad people in Happy Valley.

If you know Latter–day Saints, you might assume they have it all together and don’t need you. They give the impression that “the best are blessed.” Most are obedient to their system of religion because of promised reward, but when suffering comes instead of blessings, they can become disillusioned. This is just the moment a Christian can share gospel hope with them.

If you want to speak loving truth to your LDS friend, here are some factors to keep in mind.... Read More

A Fortuitous Discovery in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer

 

This article is a spin-off of an article that I am writing on the challenges of moving liturgical forms of worship online. Traditional Anglican churches face a particular set of challenges, especially those using one of the older Prayer Books such as 1928 Book of Common Prayer or the 1962 Canadian Prayer Book. The 1928 Book of Common Prayer in the regulations and rubrics titled “Concerning the Service of the Church” contains a provision which offers a way forward for churches that use that Book.

The Order for Holy Communion, the Order for Morning Prayer, the Order for Evening Prayer, and the Litany, as set forth in this Book, are the regular Services appointed for Public Worship in this Church. and shall be used accordingly; Provided, that in addition to these Services, the Minister, in his discretion, subject to the direction of the Ordinary, may use other devotions taken from this Book or set forth by lawful authority within this Church, or from Holy Scripture; and Provided further, that, subject to the direction of the Ordinary, in Mission Churches or Chapels, and also, when expressly authorized by the Ordinary, in Cathedral or Parish Churches or other places, such other devotions as aforesaid may be used, when the edification of the Congregation so requires, in place of the Order for Morning Prayer, or the Order for Evening Prayer.

I suspect that many Continuing Anglicans who use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer may not be aware that the 1928 Prayer Book contains such a provision. The commission that compiled the 1928 Prayer Book foresaw that the rites and services of the new Prayer Book would not in every circumstance meet the needs of Episcopal congregations, particularly those of mission churches and mission chapels. As well as making provision for the shortening of the services of Morning and Evening Prayer and Holy Communion and giving the minister much latitude in the selection and length of psalms and lessons, they added this provision to the new book. It is an expanded version of a similar provision found in the 1892 Prayer Book.

The regular services of Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Holy Communion do have their drawbacks. They are long and wordy, and they use language that is no longer in common use. Consequently, the younger generations, including my own generation—the Boomers, are apt not to experience these services as previous generations may have experienced them. They do not inflame us exactly with the love of true religion, to borrow a phrase from Percy Dearmer.

How the younger generations experience our services of public worship is not entirely the fault of the 1928 Prayer Book. Often as not it is the way that the services are conducted. Those conducting the services, both clergy and laity, are prone to add to the services with texts from other books, and to not take advantage of the rubrical permission to shorten the services. They have not learned the value of “Less is more.”

In 1904, over a century ago, in Loyalty to the Prayer Book, Percy Dearmer wrote, “Let us by all means have bright Services, if by that we mean singing in which everyone can join, if we avoid the temptation to make our Services dull and without significance, through perpetual monotoning, if we secure real brightness by clear and stirring reading of the Lessons ‘distinctly with an audible voice;--and by short and vigorous sermons, and by interesting instructions; and if we remember to make the highest Service the brightest of all. Let us, in fact, bring out the real brightness of our Services by doing them proper justice.”

His advice is relevant to the church today as it was in 1904. Later writers like Bishop Michael Marshall in Renewal in Worship (1985) and Howard Hanchey in Church Growth and the Power of Evangelism: Ideas That Work (1990) have echoed Dearmer. Marshall drew to our attention the importance of tailoring our worship to our circumstances. Hanchey emphasized using our preaching to help people see where God was at work in their lives and the lives of others. Both devoted several pages of their books to the public reading of Scripture and congregational singing.

Thom Rainer in his research into the reasons why the unchurched started to attend a church, published in Surprising Insights from the Unchurched (2001), found that it was not the style of music that was one of the reasons that the unchurched started to attend a particular church, it was the quality of the music. The message that the quality of the music conveyed to the unchurched was that the people of the church took the worship of God seriously. It was their seriousness about the worship of God which attracted the unchurched. The thing to remember it was not the church’s perceptions of its music that mattered, it was the visitor’s perceptions.

In 2004 the late Peter Toon wrote an article, “Causing Traditional Churches to Grow,” originally published as “Worship Simply, Engage in Mission Joyfully: How to Grow a Traditional Church,” in which he identified fourteen conditions which he believed would benefit traditional churches if they met these conditions. While things have changed since Dr. Toon wrote that article seventeen years ago, what he wrote is to a large extent applicable today. Traditional churches would benefit from simple, dignified services; fresh settings for psalms and canticles; the creative use of traditional music; the use of more recent translations of the Bible, more opportunities for Bible study and application, community engagement, and meeting the other conditions that Dr. Toon identified.

Dr. Toon was not optimistic that many Anglican churches would heed what he described as a swing of the pendulum in their favor, locked as they were in doing things as they had been done in the 1950s. Regrettably, the passage of time has proven Dr. Toon to be right. Churches that were established in reaction to what their founders perceived as undesirable change tend to be closed to what may be desirable change that would benefit them. They become refuges for their members from a changing world, from change itself.

Some Anglican churches, however, are more far-sighted than others. They recognize that if they are not only to survive but also to flourish, they cannot do things the way that they have always done them. They need to make changes in the way that they worship and engage with the community.

One of the things that I learned in planting and pioneering new churches since the mid-1980s is that, if it is done with a light hand, traditional language texts like the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed can be used effectively in the worship of new church plants. It is the long, unrelieved texts in an unfamiliar and at time incomprehensible language that cause the younger generations to lose interest or enthusiasm. They are also put off by kneeling for extended periods of time and priests reciting prayers and performing ceremonies with their backs to the congregation. What may have been viewed as congregational and participatory forms of service in the late 1920s are no longer seen that way almost a hundred years later. People who are attracted to liturgical forms of service nowadays want to take an active part in the liturgy. They are not interested in hearing a priest drone on and on.

Among the implications for Anglican churches in the twenty-first century is that they need to make lighter use of traditional language, to shorten texts, to stand to pray, to insists priests face the people, and to adopt more congregational and participatory forms of prayer and forms of service. They need to make their weekly liturgy more engaging for the younger generations.

A recent LifeWay research found that the lion’s share of the people that they surveyed planned to return to church as soon as they felt that it was safe enough to do so. One writer went as far as to assert that Lifeway research was claiming that churches would experience a post-pandemic attendance boom, a claim which the researchers did not make.

What people say that they plan to do and what they actually do are two different matters, a fact that researchers recognize. The LifeWay research study did not claim that church attendance would reach, much less exceed pre-pandemic levels.

The same writer claimed that the study also downplayed the importance of livestreaming services online. This was not a conclusion that the researchers drew from the study. It is also not a conclusion that well-informed observers of developments affecting the twenty-first century church like Thom Rainer, Carey Nieuwhof, Phil Cooke, and others are drawing. They conclude that online church must be an integral part of a church’s strategy if it hopes to reach and engage the unchurched population in its community and elsewhere and to grow strong and healthy in the twenty-first century.

A vigorous online presence is critical for Anglican churches on the North American mission field, which encompasses the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific islands as well as Canada, Mexico, and the United States, including Puerto Rico. Anglican churches that have not moved online need to do so. They may have an advantage as latecomers. They can benefit from what other churches that have gone online have learned.

While the COVID-19 pandemic may force some Anglican churches to permanently close their doors, for others the pandemic could prove to be a swing of the pendulum favorable to them. It may prove a steppingstone to becoming a more vibrant church.

Ideally a church should embody our Lord’s two Great Commandments—to love God with every atom of our being and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Obedience to one commandment goes hand in hand with obedience to the other. We cannot claim to unreservedly love God if we are hesitant in being a neighbor to the people of the locality where God has placed his church—ourselves. What we may think of as our church is not really ours. It is God’s. We may have invested time, talent, and treasure in the church, but God was the one who gave us the time, talent, and treasure in the first place. God did not plant the church in a particular locality to be a refuge from a changing world. He planted the church in that locality to be salt, light, and witnesses to the Lord Jesus Christ, to be King Jesus’ ambassadors to the locality, to show and share his love.

I am inclined to believe that it was more than human foresight that accounts for the provision for alternative forms of service in Concerning the Service of the Church in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. I am inclined to believe that it was the work of the Holy Spirit. God sees further than we can. Time is nothing to God. God lives in our past, our present, and our future. They are one to God.

It is a growing consensus that, whether they may realize it, with the COVID-19 pandemic most churches have become new church plants again. They have become what Concerning the Service of the Church calls “missionary churches and missionary chapels.” They are confronted with the same challenges that new church plants face. At the same time, they have been given fresh opportunities to reach and engage the unchurched population of not only their communities but also other communities.

For churches that use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer Concerning the Service of the Church makes provision for the development of new tools to take advantage of these opportunities. One of these tools is a more streamlined, more participatory Service of the Word, a Service of the Word that can be used both in person and online. In a separate article I will be offering a model for such a service.

No order of service, however, can compensate for a lack of spiritual vitality in a congregation. A congregation’s spiritual vitality—its spiritual liveliness and energy—is tied to its members’ openness to God’s presence and power working in their lives. This openness may be cultivated and nurtured by the use of the means of grace—by gathering with other believing Christians in person and online, by encouraging and exhorting each other, by hearing the proclamation and exposition of God’s Word, by the reading and study of Scripture, by meditation upon God’s Word, by the singing of “hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs,” by prayer, by acts of mercy, by the reception of the sacraments, and by living our lives to God’s glory, honoring him in everything that we do and say.

Our times of common prayer should be infused with same devotion as our times of private prayer. Each word should be dipped and soaked in the prayer of our hearts. Our services of public worship should be more than a familiar ritual. They should be a life-transforming encounter with the living God. Those who encountered God in the Bible did not go away unchanged from that encounter. If we take part in a service with the expectation that we will meet God there, I do not believe that we will be disappointed.

Should We Bother Debating Atheists?

One of the largest religious message boards on the social-media website Reddit is simply called “Debate an Atheist.” It’s filled with exactly the kind of content you’d expect. Some conversations quickly devolve into name-calling and petty insults. Others are incredibly philosophical, showing a strong grasp of epistemology and teleology. In total, the subreddit has more than 72,000 members, and undoubtedly many more who stand on the sidelines and watch the debates unfurl.

If evangelical Christians take the Great Commission seriously, is debating an atheist a good use of their time, energy, and effort? In my new book, The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going, I provide empirical evidence that debating atheists has a very low return on investment. If Christians want to bring people back into the fold of a church community, they should try a different strategy. Read More

Is This Why Birds Sing?

The return of springtime means many of us will hear birds singing! After winter—and migration—birds return and grace our days with their chirping and singing. Birds fly. Birds build nests. And birds sing!

Singing birds are one of the joys of nature. Their bright “songs” brighten our days. We marvel at how such “music” can emerge from these small creatures. Scientists tell us birds sing to “mark” their territories and to attract a mate for nesting. Or, in migrating, they may issue “contact calls,” chirps to help them stay in touch with each other. These are “scientific mechanics” which explain the function of birds singing.

But, we wonder: Is there more? Are there other “reasons” birds sing? Are there dimensions beyond the “scientific”? Are there perhaps “theological” reasons why birds sing? What if there are theological reasons? What if birds singing can be a “witness” to us, a reminder of God our Creator, who created us and also created all the birds which have ever lived! Read More

How to Avoid the Spiritual Growth “Trap”

The best lies always use a bit of the truth. That’s certainly true of spiritual growth. After we understand the importance of responding to God’s grace, we are tempted to believe the lie that God has done everything he’s going to do. “The rest is up to me,” we think. “I must meditate, pray, serve, study, contemplate, isolate, and even celebrate on my own. Jesus showed me how it’s done, died on the cross, paid the price, and now it’s on me.”

And of course, we should do these things, but that’s where the lie takes hold. These activities are important not because of our effort, but because the Father is willing to do still more on our behalf. Many small group leaders have fallen into this (well-meaning) trap. Leaders sometimes urge their group to “do more” and become hard core disciples of Jesus.

And it’s completely true. A small group can be a place for spiritual growth and responsibility, yet even though self-discipline has great power, it comes at the risk of locating the source of that power in us instead of the grace of God. If willpower alone brings spiritual growth, we have no need for God’s daily presence. The distinguishing mark between grace-empowerment and the pride of self-discipline is that self-discipline says to others, “If I can do it, why can’t you?” If small group leaders are not careful, the “I can do it” message can drown out the message of grace. Read More

How Social Media Can Hurt Your Church

I think we can agree that social media has helped many churches grow their online presence. Even in the secular market, social media platforms have helped startup companies go from very small to very big, all in a matter of seconds. For the most part, this is a good thing; however, there is a downside to all of this.

Social media could be hurting your church, and you might not know it.

Let’s take a closer look at four ways that social media could be hurting your church. Read More

Children Who Bloom in an Instant

Those who explore the vast boreal forests of Canada are rarely far from a bunchberry dogwood, a plant so common that some have suggested it ought to be Canada’s national plant. The cornus canadensis is a little shrub that often carpets the floors of the great fir and spruce forests. A perennial, its shoots rise in the spring and soon each produce a whorl of six leaves. Come the early days of summer, a number of tiny flowers surrounded by four white bracts top each shoot. It is not the size of the plants or even their beauty that catches the eye as much as their sheer volume and their way of bringing cheer to an otherwise drab forest floor.

What few know about the bunchberry dogwood is that it holds a world record, for its blooms open faster than any other plant in the world. In fact, it moves at a speed few organisms can match. When its flowers begin to form, so too do the stamen, and they grow cocked under the petals like tiny medieval trebuchets. When the bud is fully formed and the time is right, the pressure of the stamen pushing against the petals opens the flower with a burst of energy and a spray of pollen. This takes place in less than one half of one millisecond, too fast for the eye to see, too fast even for a camera to record unless it can shoot thousands of frames per second. From the maturing of the bud to the full opening of the flower is far less than the blink of an eye. It’s a miracle of nature.

A great question deep in the hearts of many Christian parents is why some children bloom quickly when they profess faith while others take much longer. Why is it that some seem to burst into life while others seem to drag? One child comes to Christ and backs her conversion with immediate habits of devotion—she reads the Scripture and meditates upon it, she prays regularly and fervently, she reads good books and delights to discuss what she has learned. This comes quickly, easily, and joyfully. Then another child comes to Christ, truly and genuinely, yet has far less interest in reading the Bible, less interest in prayer, little interest at all in reading good books and engaging in spiritual conversation. How could this be? Read More