Seven Post-COVID Questions for Churches (that need to be asked right now)

Louisville, Illinois. 1984. I was about half-way through my first year of teaching history at North Clay Jr. High School.  I was twenty-two.  It was time for parent-teacher conferences and I needed some advice.  I had never been on this side of things before.  I dropped by the room next door for some counsel from

Why On-Line Church is Thriving (and how to leverage it forward)

I am reading a lot of articles, posts and blogs about how churches are reaching more people now than they did when actual humans were sitting in their pews. Our on-line numbers are way up as well.  I truly rejoice that so many people are joining us via the internet but we must be careful

Does Your Church Want a Future? (then “get” this!)

History will look upon the years that spanned our lifetimes and declare them to be a period of seismic cultural shift.  In the same way the Gutenberg Press changed the world in 1439, the advent of the personal computer and the internet has changed the world again.  We live in a time when the Norman

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part I)

BAPTIZED BY FIRE: THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part I) Acts 2: 1-6   You may wonder why I would write on a topic as historically controversial as the Holy Spirit.  For me, it is an issue of disconnect and firepower.  The disconnect is that standard practice in most churches does not even remotely

A Pastoral Statement

Pastoral Statement: I have been loving God, loving people and watching God work mightily at Christ Church for twenty-two years. That some may want those years of work suddenly defined by a “tweet” on the recent St. Louis General Conference is absurd. If you would like to know where I stand, I invite you to

UMC Christmas Truce

I would like to make a motion that the United Methodist denomination cease all internal hostilities until after Christmas for the purpose of focusing on Jesus. Can I get a second? We will call it the UMC Christmas Truce of 2018.

Does Your Church “Get” It? (10 things churches must “get” to have a future)

  We all know that most churches are in decline.  We also know that some churches are growing and some are growing exponentially.  There are clearly some things growing churches “get” that declining churches do not. Here are ten things churches need to “get” to have a future.   Get strategic A decreasing number of

United Methodists Still Have Time (but the clock is ticking)

I am a United Methodist and proud of it!  This church has given me a context in which to live out my calling as an Ordained Elder and I am most grateful.  Our historical roots are excellent.  Our General Rules are golden.  I have been graced to stay in one place and see my local

Hopeful Signs for United Methodists Abound in Len Wilson’s 2017 “Top 25 Fastest Growing Large Church Report”

I am thankful to Len Wilson for compiling his Top 25 each year but even more grateful for his analysis of the statistics. http://lenwilson.us/top-25-fastest-growing-large-umc-2017/ Here are a few statistics Wilson reported that I find very encouraging as a United Methodist: 1) 13 of the 25 have joined the list in the past two years! We have

7 Thoughts for those Discouraged in Ministry

Are you discouraged in your service to the Lord? It happens to all of us. As much as we would like life to move “up and the right,” we will all endure seasons of feeling inadequate, dejected and downright pessimistic. Sometimes we just want to become 10 years old again and “take our ball and