I admit the topic of this blogpost might not quickly grab your attention – but I challenge you to keep reading. The world needs us to have this discussion. In fact, our basic Christian obedience is at stake if we ignore this topic.
An older pastor once told me that at Christmas, the Christian and secular cultures sync to embrace the joy of the season. But I have also learned another factor has power to bring these communities together and even open gospel doors—tragedy.
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Recently our church completed a renovation project of our sanctuary and surrounding education space. This portion of our campus had not been updated for more than 30 years. It was a huge endeavor. The whole process, from the planning stage to completion, took the better part of a year.
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Early in my first pastorate, I was advised to avoid favoritism by treating all my church members exactly the same. It took me several years to root this ministry myth out of my system.
If your pastor resigns this year, you probably will not hear any of these five issues in their reasons for departure. But you can be assured that the ongoing complaints, criticisms, and attacks have taken their toll.
The call from the pastor was not that unusual.
The trend toward smaller gatherings was slow but perceptible prior to the pandemic. That trend is much more noticeable now.
One of my passions in life is to help churches move from becoming inwardly focused to outwardly focused. When I wrote I Am a Church Member, my key motivation was to demonstrate that biblical church members are always looking outwardly. When I wrote Autopsy of a Deceased Church, my desire was to demonstrate the terrible consequences and deaths of local congregations when the members are inwardly focused.
By almost any metric, the churches in our nation are much less evangelistic today than they were in the recent past. In my own denomination, we are reaching non-Christians only half as effectively as we were 50 years ago (we measure membership to annual baptisms). The trend is disturbing.
Church leaders need to begin thinking about how their church should respond to threats from coronavirus right now rather than later, says author Thom Rainer.
Stand-and-greet times are the top reason why first-time guests don't return to a church, according to Twitter poll by Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources. The poll, though "not scientific," prompts Rainer to explore reasons why guests don't like that part of many churches' worship services.
NASHVILLE (BP) -- On Jan. 1, 2011, the first Baby Boomer turned 65. In fact, on that day, 10,000 of them turned 65. And that pace of aging will continue until 2030, when every Boomer is 65 or older.
LifeWay President Thom Rainer gives seven warnings for church leaders and churches who use social media.
LifeWay President Thom Rainer, reflecting on a loss of evangelistic fervor in today's churches, sets forth key steps pastors can take to extend the good news of Jesus Christ in their communities.
