Tag: church

The missing message in today’s church

William Graham Tullian Tchividjian writes:

America’s churches came back into the media limelight a few weeks ago after a well-publicized Pew study showed a meteoric rise of Americans claiming no religious affiliation, shooting up from seven percent in 1990 to 16 percent in 2010. The percentage more than doubled for those under the age of 30, reaching almost 35 percent. The group is now being referred to as “the religious nones.”

He points to a great article by Rachel Held Evans that what millennials really want from church is a change in substance.

He continues:

As someone who loves the church, I am saddened by the perception of Christianity as a vehicle of moral control and good behavior, rather than a haven for the discouraged and dying. It is high time for the church to remind our broken and burned out world that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a one-way declaration that because Jesus was strong for you, you’re free to be weak; because Jesus won for you, you’re free to lose; because Jesus succeeded for you, you’re free to fail.

Grace and rest and absolution – with no new strings or anxieties attached–now that would be a change in substance.

How freeing would that be for you to receive today?

And do you agree – is this message missing from today’s churches?

A house for all people

This weekend we attended my cousin’s wedding at Texas A&M in College Station.

The ceremony was held in the All Faith’s Chapel on campus.

As I walked in, I noticed a particular plaque mounted above the guest book.

A house of prayer for all people | Jonathan Blundell

Continue reading A house for all people

I am a minister

Johnny Laird shared this video from Kroc Church – a Salvation Army community in San Diego…

I shared this over on Simplechurchipedia.com and thought it was worthy of a share here as well.

What comes to mind when you watch it?

I don’t like the statement, “I am not a pastor – but I am a minister” as someone puts it in the video… I know what they’re referring to – but personally I prefer to see them one in the same.

And prefer to believe that we’re all pastors and ministers to our spheres of influence.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all believers saw themselves as “Priests in the hood” who were actually living this out — being the Body of Christ to their sphere of influence?

What do you think?

The Table Project is live

The Table Project
The Table Project’s Jason Wenell | Via ChurchMarketingSucks.com

With a slogan like “We’re not about connecting people all over the world, we’re about family” – the Table Project has grabbed my attention.

In a time when Christian Facebook alternatives are popping up everywhere, the ideas behind the (non-profit) Table Project are refreshing.

The Table is a relational, online web application, custom-tailored for the church. We aim to engage the community, empower leaders, and move people beyond the pews and into authentic, life-changing friendships.

The site is based around “four legs of the table” – Introduction, Engagement, Prayer & Sharing/Serving.

Now sure you can do all these things on Facebook, or Myspace, or whatever network comes along, but The Table Project gives you an opportunity to share these things in a more private setting with members of “your family/tribe” verses broadcasting them to the world.

In fact, the team behind the project addressed the differences between The Table Project and Facebook in a recent blog post…

The Three Big Differences

  • The fact that The Table is designed for “us” instead of “me” is a fundamental shift from the traditional social media mindset.
  • The Table’s atmosphere of privacy and intimacy causes different behaviors to arise that are not seen elsewhere online.
  • The fact that The Table is designed specifically for the church directs what we create and helps us to define “success” differently.

And I love their explanation video, which includes some history of the church and the importance of church as family… and not just a place we go each week.

Read more via ChurchMarketingSucks

So what do you think? Think this would be useful for your community of faith?

Or is it just another site adding to the noise?

Hug a pastor

Day 125: HUGS!
HUGS! | Photo by Crimsong19

For an upcoming episode of the podcast, Travis interviewed author Anne Jackson about her story and her two books Mad Church Disease (a great read) and Permission to Speak Freely.

As Johnny Laird and I did the show wrap this weekend, we focused a lot of the discussion on the issue of burnout in ministry — a major focus in Mad Church Disease.

As we talked I was reminded of some of these stats from Pagan Christianity…

At the time of this writing there are reportedly more than 500,000 paid pastors serving churches in the United States.

  • 94 percent feel pressured to have an ideal family
  • 90 percent work more than forty-six hours a week
  • 81 percent say they have insufficient time with their spouses
  • 80 percent believe that pastoral ministry affects their family negatively
  • 70 percent do not have someone they consider a close friend
  • 70 percent have lower self-esteem than when they entered the ministry
  • 50 percent feel unable to meet the demands of the job
  • 80 percent are discouraged or deal with depression
  • More than 40 percent report they are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules and unrealistic expectations
  • 33 percent consider pastoral ministry an outright hazard to the family
  • 33 percent have seriously considered leaving their position in the past year
  • 40 percent of pastoral resignations are due to burnout

It’s shameful that the church has come to a place where so much pressure is put on our leaders (intentionally or not) and there are so few support mechanisms in place for them.

I would personally love to see people really step up and see themselves as the priesthood believers and realize that they too can care for the people in their faith communities as well — and avoid “passing the buck” off to the “paid professionals.”

I dream of a day when groups come together on a regular basis for the sharing of life and community and these same people rally around one another, viewing their role as pastors to their small community and share in the pastoral ministry of one another — giving the “paid professionals” an opportunity to find some relief in their jobs.

But until that day happens — how about calling your pastor (and perhaps his wife) and inviting them over for dinner? Invite them to coffee. Invite them to come with no strings attached and simply give them an opportunity to unwind, feel free to be themselves and offer your encouragement and support for all that they do.

When our Church leaders can find the time and opportunity to care for themselves, the entire Church benefits.