How Advent Prepares Us for the Day Ahead

by | Dec 8, 2014 | Opinion

Churches following the lectionary – a group of Scripture lessons determined by the Christian calendar – might find the Advent Scriptures this year to be odd. The selected texts focus not on the birth narratives of Jesus but on his second coming – what Jeremiah calls...

How Can the Church Bring Together Our Divided World?

by | Dec 2, 2014 | Opinion

The results of a major U.S. midterm election in early November allowed Republicans to take control of the Senate, incumbents to get the boot or barely hold on to their seats, and pundits to have a field day diagnosing the issues related to campaigns and candidates...

3 Truths That Church-Hoppers Forget

by | Oct 3, 2014 | Opinion

I’ve been a pastor long enough to realize that growth in most churches is the result not of people becoming believers but of what I call the “Great Christian Migration.” It’s the trend in which Christians move from church to church. Whatever...

Why Your Church Needs to Learn How to Care

by | Sep 16, 2014 | Opinion

Caring for others is a habit to be learned. One of the hardest classes I took in seminary was not theology, philosophy, Hebrew or Greek. It was pastoral care. The aim of pastoral care is to teach students how to listen, confront conflict, counsel and give referrals,...