You are Disaffiliated! (What Now?)

Disaffiliation from a denomination is a long and bumpy road.  It is a road few of us wanted to take and most of us hoped we could avoid.  Things didn’t work out that way. Disaffiliation is hard.  Denominations were not structured to let people out.  They are like interstates with next to no exit ramps

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Official Trailer for “That’s Good News!”

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Musings and Reflections for a New Year

I am 60 years old. Not yet old but old-ish. Certainly not young. And I have seen some things on my journey. Most good. Some great. Some horrific. I have seen people die suddenly, people die slowly and dying people decide they wanted to live longer still. I have seen relationships forged, love promised and

2023 Crazy Gospel Math

I sometimes get the opportunity to help pastors and congregations think about growth.  Almost all churches desire to grow, they just don’t know where to start. Here is a formula I use.  Take your sanctuary capacity; multiply it by .75 and double it.  That is your target.  I see a lot of churches in USAmerica that

We Don’t Make the Rules

When I was a kid, we played the Parker Brother’s board game Monopoly with some regularity. It took a long time and we started far more games than we finished but we played. Once while in early high school, I actually played at someone else’s house (my first away game) and discovered they had different

A Dozen Things I am Seeing in Churches (Post Resurrection 2021)

I don’t think anyone knows what the church world is going to look like in the immediate future.  It is not that “things have changed” and we need to adjust.  It is that things won’t quit changing.  Most of what I read concerning the future is what writers “hope happens” (extinction of the mega-church, collapse

Crazy About Them (Poop-a-geddon)

Crazy About Them (Poop-a-geddon) (Fairview Heights, Illinois circa 2013) Fridays are normally a day with the grandchildren. Melissa watches all four of them each weekday and since I take Fridays off, we are all in the house together all day. I used to sleep in every Friday, take the dog on a late walk, take

Strengthening What Remains (A Word to the Church)

I had breakfast with my dad recently. We were exploring what the Western church will look like on the other side of COVID-19. We agreed that even churches who have been open for months on-site are still running less than half of the live attendance they did a year ago. What will happen with the

Melissa is Retiring (and I am humbled)

Melissa is retiring. We will honor her service on Sunday. We will serve carrot cake and coffee. I am humbled. My wife, best friend and ministry partner Melissa Bishop is retiring. I am happy for her. She has served as the Youth Director, Worship Director and most recently, the Education Director at Christ Church over