To use a somewhat dated expression, it’s “hot off the press.” I am referring to the latest Pew Research Center “Religious Landscape Study.” This is Pew’s third large-scale “Religious…
Read More
Pastor Don Brandt The Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), on its website, lists the average worship attendance of each of their 818 U.S. congregations. This data represents a…
Read More
Given the increasing shortage of ordained pastors available for call, now is the time when many churches will need to take the initiative to enlist one or two (or three)…
Read More
Consider the contrasting good news and not-so-good news ministry challenges that are confronting many of our congregations in 2024: Good News: Many local churches have now been blessed by the…
Read More
This article is written especially for smaller congregations that are either 1) already experiencing a pastoral vacancy, or 2) know that their solo pastor will be retiring within the next…
Read More
I recently attended a traditional worship service where the emotional and spiritual highlight for me was the opening and closing hymns. This was not because the sermon message was subpar…
Read More
As Americans we are living in a time of increasing emotional despair. And this crisis presents the Body of Christ with tremendous challenges as local churches consider how they might…
Read More
Perhaps my perspective is somewhat distorted by being one among so many retired or retiring Boomer pastors. After all, the Boomer generation has been accused—often justifiably—of having an inflated view…
Read More
Note: "This is a ministry resource article for churches that might be interested in the new upcoming CORE ministry called the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative (CLI). The article below offers a…
Read More
It has, for decades, been an incredibly unfair reality faced by smaller rural and inner-city congregations. In a denomination that has traditionally insisted that viable, healthy congregations must be led…
Read More
