Just like with so many other things, small churches enter into this pandemic with a unique set of strategies and difficulties.
All in Church
Church in the Time of COVID-19: Findings from a National Survey (Part 3)
There is a lot that we can learn from this data, particularly as it relates to who might be on the fringes and more likely to not come back to church.
Live Into Hope!
Let’s use this interruption as a time to re-imagine how we pursue God’s preferred future!
The Capacity to Laugh
What happens when we lose the capacity for an emotional expression? What happens when we lose laughter over a period of time as a pattern?
Church in the Time of COVID-19: Findings From a National Survey (Part 2)
In this article, I’ll share what churches have been doing to continue ministering to their congregants.
COVID-19 and Controlling Our Responses
Our idea of control is an illusion. We have very little say in what happens around us or to us; we only have a say in how we react and respond to the challenges that we face.
When the Main Dish Is Delayed, the Party Must Go On
Have you ever been to a wedding reception and waited endlessly for the meal to be served? The bride and groom are off taking pictures. Meanwhile, stomachs are grumbling audibly.
Church in the Time of COVID-19: Findings From a National Survey (Part 1)
In this first article, we’ll focus on some of the basic demographics of who took the survey and their responses to 10 key questions about their feelings toward returning to church.
What Should Ministry Look Like During a Pandemic?
I’ve heard stories of churches and ministers figuring out how to take steps forward despite the challenges. I have also seen churches and ministries frozen, and that concerns me greatly.
Three Things Church of Christ Elders Do Well
The elders in most of our churches today are deeply devout individuals with amazing spiritual maturity.
Thinking About Church Membership
When someone says “church family,” I think of people, not congregations.
The Answer Is Not for Me to Be Less
The answer is not for your female ministers to be less; it’s for all of us to lead in such a way that only God’s name can be praised.
Courage, Prayer, and Hope
The pandemic is ushering us into liminal space – one that differs from the immediate past but is not yet whatever the future may eventually be.
Minister as Counterweight
Despite what many organizational leadership books suggest, leadership – especially ministry – is much more than just being a non-anxious presence.
For Elders Who Are Facilitating Gender Inclusion, Elders’ Meetings Can Be a Difficult Place to Be
When I asked my fellow female ministers what they want their elders to know, here are a few of the responses they shared.
A Special Project for the Church
They wanted to go beyond simply writing a monthly support check to local and foreign missions or benevolent efforts. They wanted to put their Christianity to work.
Barna State of the Church 2020 and the Next Generation
The fact is the church sits in the middle of a world needing restoration, and our next generation sits in the middle of the church.
Life After Forced Live Streaming
It’s 2020 and I have to acknowledge that our credibility, along with how we tell our story as a church family in this digital age, hasn’t merited the attention it justly deserves.
Free Will and Healing
The most painful thing we do is talk with husbands or wives whose marriages are not being healed.
Close but Distant
Everyone knows each other in rural towns, but I have come to know that there is a difference between knowing of someone and actually knowing them.