Categories
renewing the church

6 Themes of the US Religious Environment in 2010

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 […]

Categories
blog communications

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 […]

Categories
church leadership renewing the church

Living in the Resurrection Bubble

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 […]

Categories
faith

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 […]

Categories
changing lives

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 […]

Categories
ministry

2010 Congregational Survey Results for Resurrection Online

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 […]

Categories
church renewing the church

Church Conference via Skype

As Pastor of Resurrection Online, I hope to help build a Christian community online where non religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians. A key to this purpose is building community. There has been a good deal of conversation about whether there can be authentic Christian community online, so how about a […]

Categories
leadership ministry renewing the church

Non-Negotiables for Church Staff

I was inspired by Alexandra Bornkessel to consider What Are Your Non-Negotiables? I have four non-negotiables for church staff. They are: Commitment – You need to be committed to Christ and to the mission of the church. If this is missing, there is really no use continuing a conversation about possible involvement. Passion – You […]

Categories
church ministry renewing the church

How to Launch Online Worship or an Internet Campus for Your Church

This is a collection of posts from this blog that you might find helpful when considering beginning online worship or an internet campus at your church. These are collected blog posts from my experience as Pastor of Resurrection Online. Before Launch 4 Ways to Consider “Spiritualising the Internet” Four Narratives for Online Spiritual Community Top […]

Categories
ministry renewing the church

My Response to Top 12 Questions before Launching Online Worship

A couple weeks ago I posted the Top 12 Questions before Launching Online Worship and received the request that I share some of our responses to these questions from Resurrection Online. These will be brief responses. For each of these questions there were long conversations that lead to these conclusions. In addition, the answers to […]

Categories
church life united methodist church

How to Request Paternity Leave as a Pastor in the UMC

The Book of Discipline provides for both paternity and maternity leave for pastors. To initiate the leave a letter from to the Staff Parish Committee is necessary. I have included the text of my letter, in case any one out there is looking to take some time away for the birth of your child. You […]

Categories
ministry

Resurrection Online Update for 2 Nov 2010

On the last Resurrection Online Update, I asked for you response about guidance for next steps for Resurrection Online. I want to share with you some of the next steps. In the months ahead, I will work to create the highest quality online experience with the best possible connection and follow up with you and […]