A plot of farmland is its own little universe. Driving past one corn field after another on some vast stretch of Midwestern highway, you may not recognize this fact. But each field boasts an identity as complex as it is unique. Its location, its contours, its soil quality, its surrounding environment, its climate, its ability … Continue reading Listen Up!
This morning I made a difficult announcement to the church I serve regarding a significant transition on the immediate horizon. Below, I am posting the full text of the letter that was shared for anyone who might be interested in knowing about these changes. March 4, 2018 Dear Church Family, For the past eight years, … Continue reading A Personal Update
You’ve probably been in a situation before where you’ve been asked by a friend or coworker about your church. And more likely than not, one of the questions that might have accompanied such a conversation would have been one like this: “What sorts of things are you doing in the church?” Unless you’re brand new, … Continue reading A Very Different Question
Ben Gibbard is a brilliant songwriter. He does just about everything in his craft well. But perhaps what he does best is this: taking that vague, undefined emotion you’ve never quite been able to describe, and then describing it for you in a way that leaves you saying, “Yes! That’s it!” Pull a random Death … Continue reading When You Feel Like a Tourist
What comes to your mind when you think of the church? Are there any images or analogies that you tend to gravitate toward? In his book A Light to the Nations, Michael Goheen suggests a few ways that the average Christian might think of the church in our current cultural climate. Perhaps you can relate to … Continue reading Doing Church without God
If you’re a church member, have you ever stopped to think about how weird you are? Because you are. Very, very weird. But don’t take it personally. It really has nothing to do with you. (You’re totally normal. I promise.) Instead, the weirdness has to do with the nature of church membership itself. Most of us … Continue reading The Paradoxes of Church Membership
Suppose that you work as an executive for the Superior Widget Company. It’s a relatively small business with modest sales, but your goal is to lead the company to expand. So you beef up your marketing efforts and resource your sales team. You revisit your product design and give greater attention to quality control. You … Continue reading Shaking the Market Share Mindset
