Guest User 8/1/16 Guest User 8/1/16

The Sunday Worship Killer

Jason Helopoulos Few things harden the soul, deaden the heart, close the ears, and chill the affections more. Donning the robes of the critic maims and kills many would-be worshipers in churches every single Sunday morning. In all honesty, very few of us knowingly enter church with such a motivation...

Guest User 8/1/16 Guest User 8/1/16

A Millennial's Open Letter to the Church

Ashby Neterer Dear Church, I write you on the behalf of many of my generation regarding the question of how to keep millennials interested and engaged in the Church. I write as a friend, a church congregant, and—perhaps most importantly...

Guest User 8/1/16 Guest User 8/1/16

It Begins: New Calls To Strip Churches of Tax Exempt Status After Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

Katie Pavlich For years conservatives and proponents of religious liberty in America have warned that if same-sex marriage became legal, the left would then pursue revoking the tax exempt status for religious institutions, particularly Christian churches, around the country...

Guest User 8/1/16 Guest User 8/1/16

Stage Two Exile: Are You Ready For It?

Steve McAlpine The Western church is about to enter stage two of its exile from the mainstream culture and the public square. And it will not be an easy time. In case you missed it, Exile Stage One began a few decades or so ago, budding in the sexual revolution of the sixties before building up a head of steam some 20 years ago...

Guest User 7/27/16 Guest User 7/27/16

5 Things I Pray I Will Not Do as a Senior Adult in the Church

Thom Rainer I have to admit I view church life differently. In fact, I sometimes scare myself with my rigid attitude. I need to write these words quickly lest I become too comfortable or too complacent. I have five specific prayers. They are for me. They are for my attitude about my church. They are reminders I will need to review constantly...

Guest User 7/21/16 Guest User 7/21/16

What Small Churches Can Do, Part 2

Joe Thorn Many smaller churches feel extremely limited by their size, believing that they simply cannot do much of what they would like to do, or believe they should do. Before I suggest what smaller churches can do, let's first consider two things smaller churches do not have to do...

Guest User 7/21/16 Guest User 7/21/16

What Small Churches Can Do, Part 1

Joe Thorn I have a lot of experience in and with small churches through my own pastoral ministry as well as denominational cooperation. I have seen small churches that are healthy and some that are toxic...

Guest User 7/18/16 Guest User 7/18/16

In Praise of Hymns

CBS News If angels somehow descended on Midtown Manhattan, it might sound a little like the choir at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, who can make any hymn or anthem sound new -- even though some are a few centuries old. But if you think hymn writing's a lost art, you've never met the Gettys...

Guest User 7/14/16 Guest User 7/14/16

Piper on Emotional Blackmail in the Church

Jared C. Wilson "Emotional blackmail happens when a person equates his or her emotional pain with another person’s failure to love. They aren’t the same. A person may love well and the beloved still feel hurt, and use the hurt to blackmail the lover into admitting guilt he or she does not have..."

Guest User 7/14/16 Guest User 7/14/16

5 Things People Blame The Church For…But Shouldn’t

Carey Nieuwhof There’s a lot of church bashing that happens these days. I get that. Some of it is deserved. Like me, maybe you’ve noticed that a lot of people feel justified in dismissing the church as anything between a complete disappointment and otherwise useless...

Guest User 7/6/16 Guest User 7/6/16

The "Plus One" Approach to Church

Kevin DeYoung Are you just starting out at a new church and don’t know how to get plugged in? Have you been at your church for years and still haven’t found your place? Are you feeling disconnected...