The Lurking Drain Under Sunday Attendance
It’s no secret. Weekly church attendance is down. Where did everybody go? A local pastor gave me two simple answers to the question. He said …
Is Your Children’s Curriculum Infected?
We sounded a somewhat irreverent alarm over 25 years ago about the state of children’s curriculum in churches. The book that my wife Joani and …
Who Will Staff Your Church Tomorrow?
As the speed of change heats up, what kinds of people will staff the churches of tomorrow? We posed that question at Group’s recent Future …
The Dangers of Under- or Over-Reacting to Church Security Risks
It happens in churches across the country every Sunday. This time, though, the outcome was tragic. Robert Braxton III, 27, took a seat in a …
Making Disciples–or Just Smartypants?
Jesus didn’t arrange his followers in little rows and ask them to complete fill-in-the-blank worksheets. He knew that discipleship was much more than an academic …
Social Outrage & the Church
Our society is deeply divided–cast into political, racial and economic schisms. But what about the church? Is the church today an agent of harmony–or division? …
Church Planting: Just to Get Big?
What makes a successful church? Today it’s all about the numbers. Attendance, or rate of attendance growth–that’s the measurement of success. Or so you’d assume. …
The Church & Race Relations: Help or Hurt?
Most Americans believe the country’s race relations are generally bad. And some are wondering about the connection between race and religion. Are churches generally helping–or …
The Startling Response from Young People Who Left the Church
Young people are staying away from the church in growing numbers. But why? When you pose that question to those inside the church, it seems …
De-Compartmentalizing Your Disciple-Making
Why don’t our efforts at disciple-making result in more obvious disciples–people who live out their attachment to Jesus every day? Part of the problem comes …