Fewer segregated churches. For most of American history, 11:00 am on Sunday was the most segregated hour of the week. That is changing. A church that is not racially and ethnically diverse will soon become the exception instead of the norm.   I have been writing on trends in churches for two decades. I certainly... Continue Reading

Just ten years ago, you could count on 99 percent of churches to have a singular address. All of the church’s buildings were at one location. Most churches had their groups or Sunday school classes at that same location. Though it was biblically errant to say so, many people referred to the one location as... Continue Reading

Yes, we agree that the Confession and Catechisms are our only constitutional standards, but there are differences over the interpretation of what those standards mean.  Such differences almost destroyed our Presbytery about twenty years ago.  The Conflict Resolution Committee Report brought peace to our Presbytery by stating our interpretation of the standards without creating new... Continue Reading

“They think ‘regular attendance’ is ‘I get there when I can,'” Scott Thumma, director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research and the study’s other co-author, said. “We found many of these large, successful congregations still have many of the same challenges of smaller congregations. They are not immune to the cultural dynamics in society.”... Continue Reading

“The decreasing numbers have had an effect upon the ability of smaller congregations to employ full-time clergy. In a first, a plurality of Episcopal congregations in 2014 (34.5%) have only a part-time or unpaid priest, outnumbering those with a lone full-time priest.”   The Episcopal Church continued its membership and attendance decline in 2014, but... Continue Reading

“Singing together is a picture here on earth of the hope of heaven where every tribe, tongue and nation will sing to God. Throughout history, God’s people have both discovered and affirmed their solidarity in times of celebration and in times of tragedy through singing.”   Each week, upwards of 100 million people in America... Continue Reading

“I have pastored for more than ten years. Many faithful pastors have much longer tenures than me. But in a decade of pastoring I have experienced the gamut of emotions and difficulties. I can speak directly about the things I have faced. I can also speak to things I have witnessed in other dear brothers that I... Continue Reading

“The Westminster Directory for the Publick Worship of God supplies some very practical direction at just this point.  It says that if any are hindered from being present from the beginning of worship they ought to come in and compose themselves to join with the assembly in that ordinance of God which is then in... Continue Reading

“The Christian life is one that was similar in so many ways to the mores of Greco-Roman society, but in certain key areas—notably with regard to the treatment of children and sexual expression—it bore witness to a completely different ethic.”   It was during the last quarter of the second century in the eastern Mediterranean, possibly... Continue Reading

When we let peripheral issues rise to the place of prominence then we have displaced the gospel. Instead of embracing the humility to be of the same mind (Phil. 2:2-4) they desire to put themselves first. Instead of applying the gospel to every situation they selectively apply it how they want to. We have to see... Continue Reading