The conversation around the Call to Action: Reordering the Life of the UMC and the subsequent UMC Leadership Summit, as well as the conversation in Kansas and Nebraska about Great Plans for the Great Plains: A Vision (PDF Link), I have been reflecting on the time that I spent on the spring senior staff retreat at Resurrection in which […]
Tag: Christianity
The conversation around the Call to Action: Reordering the Life of the UMC and the subsequent UMC Leadership Summit, as well as the conversation in Kansas and Nebraska about Great Plans for the Great Plains: A Vision (PDF Link), I have been reflecting on the time that I spent on the spring senior staff retreat at […]
Here is the collection of my posts from my excellent experience at SXSW Interactive: #SXSW Interactive Experience – Day 1 #SXSW Interactive Experience – Day 2 #SXSW Interactive Experience – Day 3 #SXSW Interactive Experience – Day 4 #SXSW Interactive Experience – Day 5 SXSW Interactive Trade Show SXSW Interactive – Circus Mashimus SXSW Interactive – […]
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Why? Making Sense of God’s Will
This week, I read Why?: Making Sense of God’s Will by Adam Hamilton. In this short book, Hamilton addresses three questions of theodicy, God’s justice in the face of suffering, Why do the innocent suffer? Why do my prayers go unanswered? Why can’t I see God’s will for my life? He concludes with a few words about Why God’s […]
I recently just finished Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results by Lovett H. Weems, Jr. and Tom Berlin. Along with other members of the senior staff, I read this in preparation for our semi-annual retreat today. I have been considering what it fruitful and effective ministry is like, especially in response to Kevin Watson’s post, […]
I have had several clergy friends ask about the details of my recent paternity leave, so I wanted to share some of the questions and my responses, as well as the letter that I used to initiate the process. I was on paid leave for 5 weeks full time and 3 weeks part time. My […]
These are straight from the Barna Group and I claim no authorship to these themes. You can find the entire article at http://www.barna.org/culture-articles/462-six-megathemes-emerge-from-201 The Christian Church is becoming less theologically literate. Christians are becoming more ingrown and less outreach-oriented Growing numbers of people are less interested in spiritual principles and more desirous of learning pragmatic solutions […]
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Top Posts from 2010
Here are the top posts for the past 365 days that were written in 2010: Church Growth = Increased Pastor Salary? Top 8 Reasons to end Guaranteed Appointments in the UMC Ordination Paperwork in the UMC: A Provocative Proposal Do I have to believe all the beliefs in Methodism to be a Methodist? What to Do with […]
Last week, I suggested that if a church is not growing, it is dying and I wanted to take a moment to respond to a comment from my friend, Jimmy Taylor. He pointed out that I am a young pastor serving at a high energy church with significant leadership. He is absolutely right. My pastoral identity […]
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The Difference between Belief and Practice
Paul is brought before the city leaders in Athens and preaches the good news of Jesus Christ. In response, “Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.” Acts 17:34 The text clearly states that […]
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Invitation ≠ Evangelism
While there is some discussion as to whether the The Missional Church… Simple video is helpful, I found one point particularly helpful. Invitation does not equal evangelism. Inviting someone to show up to church to hear a ministry professional share the good news is quite different from sharing your own story of how you encountered […]
Each year, Resurrection takes an anonymous survey of the congregation. This year there were 134 people who took part in the survey that indicated they primarily worship with Resurrection Online. I have completed some analysis of the survey. What do you make of these results? More gender balanced than the rest of the church with […]
Rev. Andrew Conard 