I'm not all that interested in future church trends or new growth techniques. For 2000 years, the most relevant church has always been the one gathering around a table, caring for the neighborhood, following the words and ways of Jesus.
It's a dangerous thing, though, to confuse the church with God. The church is not and never has been divine, even in the moments where it has been a channel for healing and hope and change. But while I stand by those words, the truth is that I have never been able to...
Think of a single mother who goes to the Church or the Parish, and tells the secretary: I WANT TO BAPTIZE MY SON." And the attendant says: No, you can't, because you're not married.. Let's keep in mind that this mother had the courage to continue with a pregnancy, and...
Since the primary motive of the evil is disguise, one of the places evil people are likely to be found is within the church. What better way to conceal one's evil from oneself as well as from others than to be a deacon or some other highly visible form of Christian...
If the church is not political, it's irrelevant to the world that God so loves. But if the church is partisan, it becomes a tool of the empire.
How can we be the church of Jesus unless we reflect the ministry of Jesus? Is the church a radical incarnation of the ministry of Jesus or a private social club? from Where the Edge Gathers: Building a Community of Radical Inclusion
What the Samaritan did NOT do is just as striking as what he did. You know the story: an expert in Judaic law asks Jesus what is God’s expectation, the “greatest” commandment? Jesus replies with “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. This prompts the follow up,...
One of the great deceptions many dying churches believe is that they don't need to make any significant changes; they just need a pastor to help them continue doing what they have always done.
Almost every struggling church I know has at least one dysfunctional bully who goes out of his or her way to be a big fish in a small pond... The sad thing is that most of the leaders know this person or group is a stumbling block to the church's future and they will...
Western churches continue to think about "going to heaven" or "going to hell" as the framework for the Gospel, but the Bible Story is not about us going somewhere but the Creator God coming to live with us.