Full disclosure: you may not be the reason, either. There are many, many reasons church attendance is down--changing demographics, work schedules, busy lives, youth soccer/hockey/volleyball--the list is long. You could be doing all the "right" things and still not see your congregation growing in number. However, there is one sure-fire way to make sure a church won't grow: if the congregation is more concerned about meeting their own ...

Shut-downs, shelter-in-place orders, mask requirements and no hugs. People are worn out. Parents are especially fried. Healthcare workers are on the verge of collapse. Everyone is being crushed under the weight of economic, social and political tensions.   Everybody (well, most everybody) wants to do whatever they can to make things better. But in the midst of the pandemic madness, our go-to phrases for social interaction may not always be the ...

Religion has had a rough 2019. From the rise of anti-Semitism here in the US and around the world to the Trumpification of evangelicalism to the attempted purging of Muslims by India's leader to watching Notre Dame burn to the heart-breaking loss of Rachel Held-Evans, religion has been hit hard. Yet, religion and religious communities keep keeping on. In spite of all the bad news, I've managed to find 10 ...

Y'all. There are some questions we really should just stop asking. Questions that simply serve to make others uncomfortable or less-than or just plain irritable. Questions that don't move a conversation forward or give us much insight about the person. Let's just stop it. Let's agree to eliminate these questions from our repertoire. When are you getting married? Not everyone wants to get married. Really. It's true. Some people who ...