Dean Inserra

According to Lifeway Research, among Protestant pastors in the United States, 3 in 5 consider someone in their congregation a regular churchgoer if they attend church at least twice a month. Come to church every other Sunday (26 times a year) and you’re now considered a regular in the American church. To say that infrequent is the new frequent is not an exaggeration.

A couple of years ago, I had the chance to go to Atlanta for a couple of days of baseball to watch the Braves play the Royals. On Wednesday the game was a "businessman's special," which is a noon game that many people take off work to attend or use as a way to entertain clients. Even with the thrill of being at a Major League game, I was more taken by a conversation I eavesdropped on in front of me that I will never forget.

As a pastor, it is my responsibility to guide and mentor younger individuals who are interested in pursuing ministry, especially during this time of tension within evangelicalism.

Encouraging generosity in the church is a matter I believe I can speak to because it is something I haven’t mastered, and I am working on daily. So, I write from trial and error, and a current experience of attempting to create a culture of generosity in our church for better or for worse. I want to lead a Church that is compelled by the love of Christ. As gospel believing people, we should respond to the gift of our salvation by living generous lives for God’s glory and mission.

Purity culture often talked about sex in a manner that suggested it was a bad thing and should be feared. This is a fair critique. In God’s design, nothing could be further from the truth.