Church & Culture

Church & Culture
Are Churches Fixing Problems No One Cares About?
People who don’t attend church aren’t as angry as we think. They’re apathetic. Anger would be easier to deal with.
Are Churches Fixing Problems No One Cares About?
Image: Eli Christman | Flickr

There are two groups of people who don’t attend church.

Those who used to attend, but have left. And those who have never attended.

Both segments are growing in western society, but the largest segment has always been those who have never been regular attenders. ...

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Church & Culture
8 Reasons to Stop Saying ‘Men’ When We Mean Everyone
Church is the only place in our culture where we still use male pronouns when we’re referring to both genders.
8 Reasons to Stop Saying ‘Men’ When We Mean Everyone
Image: Matt Thomson | Flickr

When you hear the word “men” in a news story, what comes to mind? I picture the male half of the population. I think we all do, because that’s what it means.

It’s the same in a sermon. When we hear the word “men,” most people think "male." ...

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Church & Culture
Ashley Madison and the Danger of Glamorizing the Sin We Denounce
Exposing someone to a previously unknown opportunity to sin makes us foolhardy at best, and co-conspirators at worst.
Ashley Madison and the Danger of Glamorizing the Sin We Denounce

When did you first hear about Ashley Madison?

If you're like most people, it was in the past month as the email hacking scandal was breaking.

Not me. I’ve known about Ashley Madison for a couple of years. Where did I learn about the notorious website for people ...

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Church & Culture , Read These First – The Essentials
For Pastors: Nine Reasons to Stop Telling Everyone They're Awesome
We don't need churches filled with awesome people. We need churches that help broken, sinful people find an awesome God.
For Pastors: Nine Reasons to Stop Telling Everyone They're Awesome

AWESOME /ˈôsəm/ (Adjective) Extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear.

I’ve had it with people trying to tell me how awesome I am. Especially fellow pastors.

We should know better.

I’m not sure exactly when ...

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Church & Culture
When Hollywood Goes to Church: 18 Stereotypes
A lighthearted look at what we've all learned about church and the ministry from TV and movies.
When Hollywood Goes to Church: 18 Stereotypes

Pastors are used to being misunderstood. It goes with the job description.

But what if the only "facts" we knew about churches and pastors were what we saw on TV and the movies?

Ugh.

Hollywood has been telling stories that include churches and pastors for ...

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Church & Culture
13 Reasons Not to Worry About the Future of the Church
The church has survived and thrived through worse problems than whatever is worrying us today
13 Reasons Not to Worry About the Future of the Church

The church is in trouble.

It must be. My blog feed keeps telling me it is.

For several years now, barely a day goes by without someone writing about the imminent demise of the body of Christ.

Everyone seems to have a different reason why they think the church is dying: ...

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Church & Culture , Read These First – The Essentials
Great Churches Emphasize What They're For, Not What They're Against
It's possible for people to agree with your list of sins and still not have a relationship with Jesus
Great Churches Emphasize What They're For, Not What They're Against

No one ever built a great church by emphasizing what they're against. (Well, no one but Jesus ever built any church, but you get what I mean.)

After all, the word "gospel" means good news.

What you're against may be really bad. And opposing it may be ...

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Church & Culture , Read These First – The Essentials
Small Churches May Be the Next Big Thing - With One Condition
Small doesn't mean cheap, shoddy, lazy or low-quality. At least it shouldn't.
Small Churches May Be the Next Big Thing - With One Condition
Image: Sarah Reid | Flickr

Some people have written off the current generation spiritually.

That is a mistake – for the church and for the millennials.

There's growing evidence that this new generation will bring the greatest opportunity for small church ministry in 2,000 years.

Why? Because, as ...

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