I don't always agree with Tony Jones, but he's spot on when it comes to the economic future of clergy in mainline churches: At Pangea, Kurt makes good points about the massive debt that many seminarians graduate with. He’s right, they do. And they’re headed straight into a field that pays about $40,000 per year.... Continue Reading →
Discipleship in an Active Age
Presbyterian Pastor John Vest wonders if we need to rethink what it means to be active in a faith community: As a downtown church that draws on individuals and families from all around the Chicagoland area, our youth ministry has always faced some interesting challenges. Our youth come from a variety of schools, so creating... Continue Reading →
Life, Death, Steve Jobs and the Future of the Mainline Church
Steve Job's commencement address in 2005 at Stanford University seems to be everywhere right now. A whole host of media are sharing quotes from that speech. Most of them are sharing this portion where he talks about death. I guess I'll join the throng and post that portion here: “No one wants to die. Even... Continue Reading →
Mission Statements and the Declining Church
About 15 years ago, First Christian came up with a mission statement. As far as I can tell, it was designed and then was set aside. As mission statements go, it's not the most exciting statement. We have toyed with the idea of working on a new mission statement for the congregation. Lots of churches... Continue Reading →
Where Did All the People Go?
As I was sitting on the chancel at church this morning, I looked out into the congregation. The crowds were a bit thinner than usual, because many of the women were at a retreat. The average worship attendance is anywhere between 70-90 these days, which is pretty good. But then again, those 70-90 folks seem... Continue Reading →
Where Did All the People Go?
As I was sitting on the chancel at church this morning, I looked out into the congregation. The crowds were a bit thinner than usual, because many of the women were at a retreat. The average worship attendance is anywhere between 70-90 these days, which is pretty good. But then again, those 70-90 folks seem... Continue Reading →
Repost: Acting, Aspergers and Sundays
From November of 2010: Gavin Bollard has a good blog post on how persons with Aspergers tend to be actors: I think that aspies tend to be good at acting because they spend so much of their daily lives acting - and from a very early age. For example, it's true that aspies often... Continue Reading →
Repost: Acting, Aspergers and Sundays
From November of 2010: Gavin Bollard has a good blog post on how persons with Aspergers tend to be actors: I think that aspies tend to be good at acting because they spend so much of their daily lives acting - and from a very early age. For example, it's true that aspies often... Continue Reading →
The Ten Commandments and the Mainline Church
I have to give the children's sermon this coming Sunday and in preparation I decided to read some commentary on the Hebrew Scripture lectionary text. It just so happens that we are reading the Ten Commandments, and I came upon this article by Amy Erickson of the Illif School of Theology: If I may be... Continue Reading →
Churches Need to Find a Friend in Failure
Never truer words: Congregations need to get comfortable with failure. Any group of people who claim to follow an executed messiah shouldn’t be so squeamish about failing. The whole point of Easter is that God can tease life from the clutches of death. You should expect to make decisions that don’t pan out the way... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 