Just about every religious group out there is producing materials to assist congregations in this difficult time. In addition to whatever your own denomination may be providing, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship is compiling things that many Protestant leaders may find useful. Click here. If you want to learn from someone who’s already been…
Here’s a research project for anyone curious about the theology that is being preached when the preacher isn’t in the pulpit. Go back through the orders of service for the last year and see what was being sung. What sorts of pictures of God were in those songs? What sorts of calls to action? What…
In every religious community that has life there are people who embody and extend that life. At Boston’s historic Trinity Church, one of those people is Bob Yearwood. His story invites us to think about all the small things that make up the culture of a congregation. Profiled in the Boston Globe, Yearwood is introduced…
Two stories back in 2014 had me thinking about that old children’s finger play – “Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the doors and see all the people.” Congregations certainly are “the people.” But most are also the building and all the “stuff” they accumulate. Lots of theologians and church critics lament the emphasis…
In recent years, many people have wondered whether new forms of religious gathering might be replacing traditional gatherings like congregations. As the nonaffiliates – better known as “nones” – become an increasing share of the U.S. population, there is every reason to suggest that many existing congregations may not survive. But will that simply leave…