Growing a Younger Congregation Working with congregations in renewal, I often hear a central goal of the congregation is to draw in young families. The idea is to move from a sanctuary filled with gray hair to one with a bit more salt and pepper look. I realized recently that there is a quieter and yet critically important way for … Read More
Who’s at the Table
The Last Supper. We scan the faces at the table seeing the 12 disciples and Jesus. But who’s really at the table? Fishermen who are considered the middle class of their day. A tax collector who likely ripped fishermen off and who supports Rome. People with Jewish and Gentile names—are they less than fully committed to Jewish ways? A zealot … Read More
Four Books that Tell a Complex History
David Brooks used a phrase on PBS NewsHour that caught my attention. He spoke of the “complexifying of U.S. history.” The idea is simple: U.S. history is more complex than many of us thought or were taught. The U.S. (and Canadian) story is many-layered with both good and bad stories to tell. Telling the complexity of our history brings both … Read More
Easter More Than Our Resurrection
Easter is the wonderful good news of Jesus’ resurrection and the promise of the resurrection to eternal life for all who believe in him. But hidden from view is a greater and more stunning reality. In the beginning all is well. God lives in harmony with his creation and with Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve live in harmony with … Read More
Sign Me Up To Lose More
Congregations long to get back to February 2020, but a recent Gallup poll (U.S. Congregations) shows that 2020 is the end of a significant 20-year decline in church membership. To go back is to go back to the ways of decrease. Gallup’s latest study on membership in the U.S. reveals that for the first time in 80 years, less than … Read More
