Welcome to Thursday evenings at All Hallows.
Since the early days of Christianity, Christians have begun and ended each day with praise and prayer offered to God. This practice would eventually evolve into what are called Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer in the Anglican Church and in Matins and Vespers in the Lutheran Church. Other Christian traditions also have their equivalent of these two services. They are a beautiful way of consecrating and setting apart the day to God.
Reading: Matthew 7: 24-27
Message: No Part-Time Disciples
Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2024/05/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows.html
Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.
If you are new to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:
-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.
-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.
-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.
-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.
May Thursday Evenings at All Hallows be a blessing to you.
18 Common Mistakes Made When Going Multisite
Though nearly 8 out of 10 multisite campuses are flourishing, many multisite campuses struggle, and a small number do fail. Why do people return to the sending campus after launching a multisite campus or even go to another church? What hinders sent people from becoming staying people at a church they helped birth in their own community? What is the key to retaining the launch team and sustaining a growing multisite campus?
Before You Modernize Your Church Building
There are plenty of ways to modernize your church building without having to ruin the history of the building by renovating it or tearing it down to build something new.
Church Shopping, Hopping, and Should It Be Stopping?
Contrary to how some view the church today, leaving a local church is no small matter. It’s a family where you’ve invested in others and others have invested in you. It’s a community united to Jesus Christ, gifted in a manifold of different ways for service, for the purpose of displaying Christ to others and becoming more like Him (cf. 1 Cor 12).
Three Key Questions to Ask Your Mormon Friends
he LDS church gets a lot right, but the most important things it gets wrong. Here are my three go-to questions that get to the heart of our most important differences.
Five Things Clear Core Values Can Really Do for You
I’d like to suggest they really do matter. But discovering and defining them is only the beginning. Learning how to USE them in your organization is where the difference is made.
7 Essential Preaching Skills to Reach a Post-Christian Audience
As you know, everything is changing, and that includes preaching. Many Western nations have become post-Christian over the last century: Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand just to name a few. America has been a holdout—until recently.
The Response of Preaching: Why the Invitation Matters
Oddly, some preachers today avoid extending Gospel invitations when they preach. That seems so unbiblical and strange. Why tell people about salvation and not give them the chance to receive it?
Switching, Not Ditching
Your phone rings with the dreaded Saturday night phone call. Even as you answer, you know how this conversation will go. One of your kids ministry volunteers is canceling. That inevitable phone call or text or email that says “I’m sorry…” followed by the reason and rationale for why a volunteer can’t fulfill on the commitment they have made happens all too frequently.
Ed Stetzer: 4 Reasons Small Groups Are Vital to Your Church’s Health
If you think community is an important part of healthy church life, and I hope you do, then small groups should also be important to you. They are actually crucial to the church’s health. I’m not the only one who thinks so—we have the research to back it up.
A Starting Point for Strengthening Your Church’s Discipleship
Here’s a way to strengthen your church’s discipleship efforts today.
Five Cultural Trends Killing the Church's Mission
But while some, albeit loud, voices are telling you to look over there, you might be missing some everyday cultural shifts occurring that are having a greater and unnoticed effect on the church. In fact, it is now becoming clear that these trends are killing the mission of the church far more effectively than the hot-button issues that get all the attention. Here are five that come to mind....
3 Necessary Shifts in the Way We Think About Missions
After more than 30 years of serving as a local church pastor, I have learned that we must make a few critical changes if we are going to have the kind of global reach God desires. Organic outreach in our church and around the globe will happen as we embrace specific changes in attitude and action.
Remember the 4 ‘Alls’ of the Great Commission
In the Great Commission Report, issued ahead of this year’s meeting of the Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization in Seoul, South Korea, Victor Nakah and Ivor Poobalan offer a theological basis for “the Great Commission” as one of the most-used phrases within global Christianity today...I’m grateful for this contribution in their introduction to the Great Commission Report, especially for opening my eyes to the four “alls” in the missionary mandate Jesus gave his disciples, as seen in Matthew’s formulation.
How You (Yes, You!) Can Share Jesus
People all around us are wondering about the meaning of life—about their identity and their purpose—and they’re often eager to talk about it with someone who’s open to listening. And these conversations provide perfect springboards to care for people and share the Good News of Jesus.
United Methodist conference begins to drop contentious rules restricting LGBTQ clergy
Among the rules overturned were a ban on bishops ordaining LGBTQ candidates for ministry, a ban on funding for LGBTQ affinity groups as well as a series of mandatory penalties for clergy who officiate same-sex weddings.
UMC General Conference removes much of LGBTQ restrictions in consensus vote
The 52-year battle over the exclusion of LGBTQ people from full participation in The United Methodist Church turned a major corner April 30 through a parliamentary move designed to adopt measures that have broad consensus from legislative committees.
April 30 wrap-up: Some LGBTQ bans lifted, Episcopal communion approved
On the second full day of General Conference voting, delegates fast-tracked a large number of items via the consent calendar.
40-year ban on gay clergy struck down
In an emotional morning, General Conference eliminated the ban on “self-avowed practicing” gay clergy. Following the vote at break, delegates and observers sang hymns in joy. General Conferences continues to quietly reverse some of The United Methodist Church’s longtime restrictions against LGBTQ members. More potential changes are to come.
TIME’s ‘If He Wins’ interview with Trump doesn’t mention religion, faith or religious liberty
A 5,000-word interview with Donald Trump published April 30 in TIME magazine does not mention the words “church,” “religion,” “faith” or “religious liberty” anywhere. The sweeping article focuses on what Trump plans to do if sent back to the White House in this November’s presidential election. If that agenda has any faith component to it, that is not included in this article.
Virginia church with historic ties to SBC will vote on leaving due to Law Amendment
A Virginia church with deep historical ties to the Southern Baptist Convention will vote May 19 on a proposal to sever ties with the SBC due to the denomination’s intolerance for women serving as pastors.
Only 6% of self-professed Christians hold biblical worldview amid increasing syncretism in the US: survey
Only 6% of Christians have a biblical worldview as many Americans embrace syncretism, according to a new survey. The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released a new batch of research from the American Worldview Inventory 2024.
Teaching the Trinity: Deep Waters, Strong Churches, Robust Joy
Without the Trinity as the core of our beliefs, every other doctrine of our faith starts to come unglued and unhinged.
The little known story of how Victorian Christians re-invented May Day
Maypole dancing was re-invented in the Victorian era as a tradition for Church of England schools. This is the story....
Survey: New Data on Bible Reading Released
The American Bible Society has released the first installment of its State of the Bible USA 2024 report. The first chapter, titled “The Bible in America Today,” examines the incidence of Bible usage and Bible reading in the United States in addition to sampling respondents’ views on the effects of the Bible on their lives.
US birth rate continues to drop, lowest in decades: CDC report
The U.S. birth rate has continued to decline, according to recently released statistics, with the reported number of babies born in 2023 being the lowest in decades.
Vital Voices from Rural Churches
Despite the population shift from rural areas to urban areas and their outskirts, rural churches, irrespective of their denominational affiliation, continue to play a vital role in the lives of the people who attend them and the communities in which they are located.
"Religion's Important, But I Don't Attend"
Ryan Burge believes that religion has been reduced to little more than a tribal marker, much in the same way that people say they are a fan of the Yankees, or they are Irish, or graduated from Stanford. It’s a way to create an "us vs. them" dynamic.
Understanding America’s overlooked religious middle
In America’s religious landscape, the groups attracting the most public attention are those staking out the poles in our political divides: the shrinking, aging, but still influential group of white evangelicals on the right vs. Black Protestants and the growing religiously unaffiliated cohort on the left. With the media, political and philanthropic spotlights all focused on the edges, however, America’s important religious middle remains in the shadows.
The Suicide Epidemic Deserves Our Attention
Suicide rates are skyrocketing, and the church is not immune. According to the CDC, in the U.S., suicide is “the second leading cause of death in people aged 10–34 and the fifth in people aged 35–54.” This is staggering. In 2023, the U.S. surgeon general called mental health “the defining health crisis of our time.” That same year, more than 50,000 Americans committed suicide, “more than any year on record. It’s difficult to argue with the Harvard Medical School, “Suicide is an epidemic.”
Most Pastors Report Feeling Lonely
In a troubling sign for many congregations, half of pastors say they are often or frequently lonely, according to a report of clergy health.
When Intrusive Thoughts Come
Our minds are factories of thoughts—some intentional, some not. We strategize, reflect, and ruminate. And sometimes uninvited thoughts pop into our minds...How do we deal with such thoughts? Let’s consider four questions to help us examine and proactively fight against them.
35 Questions First-Time Worship Guests Are Probably Asking
We’ve all heard the adage about only getting one shot at a first impression. So in addition to evaluating sermons and songs, we should also evaluate our worship spaces and structures. Those first-time guests are inevitably asking themselves questions about their worship service visits. If we ask those same questions preemptively before they visit, then maybe their answers will be positive ones when they actually do visit.
8 Keys to Personal Prayer
Every believer can have a dynamic personal prayer life. The Bible gives us the keys we need to develop a powerful prayer life. The Scriptures are full of examples of men and women who walked with God and used prayer to impact their world, and you can do the same thing through prayer.
How to Know When You’ve Stayed Too Long as a Pastor
The prevailing wisdom for pastors is longer tenure is better. Sam Rainer believes this principle is generally true. A string of shorter tenures is usually not healthy for churches. But it is possible to stay too long. What are some of the signs?
Resources to prepare Your Worship Team
Josh White brings us some practical advice on making sure our teams are ready for Sunday.
Why are the books of the New Testament ordered the way they are?
The New Testament consists of 27 books. The story of how we got the order we have today is very interesting, and it affects how we engage with it. This is the story....
What About All Those Other Secret or Lost Gospels?
This question is mostly linked to conspiracy theories questioning the trustworthiness of the Bible.
Don’t Waste Your Season
God doesn’t waste the season we’re in, but sometimes we do. The question is this: How can we not waste the current seasons we’re in when we’re so ready to see fruit in our lives? Well, perhaps we start by asking ourselves, What are some ways I might already be wasting my season?
Sin Wants Us Isolated
Sin wants us to itself. We find this heart-stopping line in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic work, Life Together. “Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation.”
Lesbian UMC bishop laments denomination’s ban on ‘queer clergy’
Karen Oliveto previously claimed Jesus had bigotries, raised concerns about making Him into 'an idol'
Bishop: ‘Love every neighbor’
Bishops at General Conference on April 29 consecrated 26 laypersons, including three central conference members, to a lifetime of service as deaconesses and home missioners.The consecration followed a morning worship message from Mountain Sky Area Bishop Karen Oliveto, who called on attendees to make God’s love visible in all they do and to embody the fullness of God’s love with justice and mercy. Oliveto gave thanks for deaconesses and home missioners who have committed to a lifetime of service and called on attendees to look to the order’s history of serving the marginalized.
United Methodism’s Last Meaningful General Conference
United Methodism’s General Conference started yesterday, April 23, in Charlotte, North Carolina. It will likely be the last important governing convention for United Methodism as the denomination, with the rest of American denominationalism, recedes into almost irrelevance. This General Conference will liberalize United Methodism’s teachings on marriage and sex, over which traditionalists and progressives have fought across fifty years. Between 2019 and 2023, over 7660 traditionalist churches, including up to 1.5 million members, exited the denomination under a temporary policy allowing departure with property.
Church broadens defense of human rights
General Conference delegates approved the first batch of revised Social Principles, including an affirmation of the basic rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. This particular group of Social Principles offers the United Methodist social witness on government responsibilities and human rights. More Social Principles are coming up for a vote next week by the full General Conference plenary.
'Frustrating and saddening': Central United Methodist Church in Phoenix to close after 150 years
Billed as Phoenix’s first Protestant church, Central United Methodist Church is shuttering after more than 150 years. The church’s pastor, the Rev. Brandon Gilmore, told The Arizona Republic on Thursday that congregants decided in a 26-4 vote on April 21 to close the house of worship on North Central Avenue near East McDowell Road due to dwindling attendance and lack of funding. "It was frustrating and saddening," Gilmore said of the decision to close the historic church.
Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.
This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Two more Sundays and then it will be the Feast of Pentecost, or Whitsun, which falls this year on May 19. On Pentecost Sunday Christians celebrate Jesus’ keeping of his promise to send the Holy Spirit to empower his disciples to continue his mission in the world. A number of churches celebrate the birth of the Church on that Sunday as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This Sunday’s message looks at how Christians can be fruitful branches in the true vine, Jesus.
Readings: Acts 8:26–40, 1 John 4:7–21, and John 15:1–8
Message: Fruitful Branches
Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2024/04/sundays-at-all-hallows-sunday-april-28.html
Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.
If you are new to Sundays at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:
-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.
-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.
-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.
-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.
May Sundays at All Hallows be a blessing to you.
Evangelism and the Privatization of Faith
...it would be a mistake to view the decline of cultural Christianity in North America as signaling the decline of Christianity as a whole around the globe. Nevertheless, the North American church does have unique challenges to confront.
3 Relationships That Keep First Time Guests Attending Your Church Timothy Parsons believes that these three relationships are key to to retaining first time guests who are searching for a church home.
A Most Overlooked Scripture
On more than one occasion and prompted by more than one news cycle, my mind has turned to a very obscure passage in the Bible that is often overlooked.
Jesus Didn’t Come to Make Any Nation Great
While the well-known maxim that “history repeats itself” is certainly oversimplistic, history does reveal what’s possible among human beings seeking to live in relation to one another. The constant of human nature teaches us that if it happened once, something similar could certainly happen again. While the complex historical circumstances that brought the Nazis to power will never reemerge, the human tendency to follow political leaders and movements blindly and enthusiastically without regard to moral character or agenda persists.
# 1 Overlooked Quality of a Leader
Without heart, leadership can feel like medicine; necessary, but undesirable. Heart brings, among other essentials, kindness into leadership.
Kindness is the #1 overlooked quality of a leader.
8 Ways to Extend Your Influence Post-Graduation
When our teenagers graduate from high school, our “shepherd” calling means they don’t graduate from our lives. Most churches offer very little for college-age students—that means your voice and presence in their lives is still primary. We care and connect with our kids, no matter how old they get! So, you can extend your influence past cap-and-gown day in at least 8 ways....
Soft Discipleship Through Friendship
Serena Wang tells how she was informally discipled, what she calls “soft discipleship,” by her college roommates thatshe lived with for 3 years: Charissa, Lucy, and Julianne. They didn’t even know that they were discipling her, but because we shared a home together, she was able to see how they lived and walked with the Lord, and understand what it looks like and feels like to have intimacy with God.
Rico Tice leaves Church of England over same-sex blessings
Respected evangelist Rico Tice has left the Church of England over its decision to introduce blessings for same-sex couples.
Tice, who co-created the Christianity Explored course, told Evangelicals Now that he left after failing to receive a satisfactory answer from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, about the concerns of evangelicals towards the Prayers of Love and Faith.
See Evangelicals Now's exclusive interview with Rico Tice.
The plan, called ‘regionalization,’ must now go before each region, called an annual conference, for ratification by the end of 2025.
Also see: United Methodists endorse change that could give regions more say on LGBTQ and other issues
General Conference gives regionalization green light
In what outgoing Council of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton called “a historic day for our church,” delegates voted 586 to 164 in favor of a constitutional amendment that aims to put The United Methodist Church’s different geographic regions on equal footing. The amendment now moves to annual conference voters for potential ratification. Earlier in the morning plenary, delegates approved four other Worldwide Regionalization petitions on the consent calendar.
United Methodist Church votes to allow Eurasian churches to leave denomination
Delegates at the United Methodist Church General Conference voted to allow a regional body based in Eastern Europe to disaffiliate from the denomination over theological issues. At the churchwide legislative meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, delegates voted on Thursday to approve Petition 21103 in a tally of 672 ayes to 67 nays, thus giving the Eurasian Episcopal Area, which has four annual conferences, autonomy.
April 25 wrap-up: Regionalization gets go-ahead, Eurasia leaves
The plenary session on Day 3 of General Conference produced two historic moments: the passage of a constitutional amendment that aims to put The United Methodist Church’s different geographic regions on equal footing and the approval of four Eurasia conferences’ official departure from the denomination. Bishop Eduard Khegay, episcopal leader of the Eurasia Area, gave a moving farewell speech following the passage of a petition that will enable four Eurasian annual conferences to become autonomous. He expressed gratitude to the denomination, using the phrase for “thank you” in Russian: “Bolshoe spasibo.”
The rise of the US evangelical right
Evangelical Christian churches in the US are a very important feature of American life and have had a great influence on the world evangelical community. They make up a large part of the Christian population of the US as well as the overall population. More on that later, because the situation is fluid. Their impact on culture, communities and individual lives is difficult to exaggerate. However, it is their involvement with politics which has increasingly gained attention. Their close association with the Republican Party is well known but their support for Donald Trump has become a defining feature since 2016.
We’re on a mission from God? Why America needs the church, not Christian nationalism
While “the shift to secularity,” as Charles Taylor argues, is characterized by a “society … in which (belief in God) is understood to be one option among others, and frequently not the easiest to embrace,” the shift to secularity does not preclude civil religion. As I note in Serpents and Doves, civil religion constructs or borrows partial theological claims as “a tool of the state to be used for the state’s ends.” The religious commitments of citizens are tolerable so long as they support the authority of the state. They cannot subvert the giving of the state’s legitimacy. Civil religion is troublesome because the state has no vested interest in encouraging citizens to cultivate a stronger allegiance to one’s religious convictions than one has for the state.
When All Hell Breaks Loose
It’s been 25 years since the Columbine massacre. It wasn’t the first school shooting in America, but the shocking scope and sheer evil of it made it the measuring stick by which all future shootings would be gauged. It also radically changed my life. Here’s why....
9 Things to Remember in a Church Crisis
In 20 years of strategic communications for clients ranging from Fortune 100 corporations and business startups to global Christian ministries and churches, I have learned a lot about how church leaders can be proactive when crisis strikes their ministry. To hear the details of what I’ve learned, you could listen to the recent podcast interview I did with NewChurches.com, but in this space I’d like to share a big-picture overview of several key factors in church crisis communications.
Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows
This past Monday, April 22, was the 54th Earth Day. It has been more than five decades since the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970. This year’s theme was Planet vs. Plastics. The aim was to raise people’s awareness of the harmful effects of non-biodegradable plastics on our environment, on wildlife, and on human beings. You can learn more about these effects at EarthDay.Org.
In this evening’s message we will explore the connection between caring for the Earth and the Great Commandment.
Reading: Mathew 22: 34-40
Message: Creation Care and the Great Commandment
Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2024/04/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows_25.html
Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.
If you are new to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:
-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.
-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.
-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.
-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.
May Thursday Evenings at All Hallows be a blessing to you.
Demographics and the future of the church
Authors Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson argue that far from having another 80 years or so of uninterrupted growth ahead of us, we are quickly entering into a stage where populations are set to level off and diminish, and in some regions of the world, implode. If so, it will have massive implications not just for the world in which we live but also for the church and its mission. But how could that be?
Small Churches Struggle to Grow Because Of The People They Attract
A new study by the Barna Research Group, of Ventura, California, shows that there are both demographic and theolographic reasons why small churches stay small and large churches grow larger. While some church growth can be attributed to geographic location and population growth, the Barna study indicates that there are fundamental dynamics at work that keep small congregations from growing numerically as well as several basic factors that contribute to the numerical expansion of mid-sized and large churches.
7 Statistics That Predict Church Growth
These seven statistics from a recent study give a picture of the churches bucking the trend of decline across U.S. churches.
Should Churches Target a Defined Demographic as a Strategy for Church Growth? Casting a wide net vs. narrowing your focus
In this issue’s Perspectives, we look at whether a church should target a defined demographic, such as a specific age group, and leverage it as a church growth strategy at the risk of alienating or ostracizing others. That may mean going all in on one particular characteristic of your surrounding area. Or it may mean shaping service times, locations and elements to reach a specific subgroup.
4 Themes in Lausanne’s ‘State of the Great Commission’
This week, the Lausanne Movement released “The State of the Great Commission,” a compendium of dozens of charts, graphs, and essays from more than 100 contributors around the globe, looking at world Christianity in light of current trends, with an eye to enhancing evangelical mission efforts in both declaring and displaying Christ in the world.
How to Leverage Existing Ministries for Outreach
Most churches could start three to five new outreach ministries in the next six months with almost no cost, no new staff and no new volunteers. The key is not to begin new ministries but to rethink your existing ministries. Let’s be honest: Most churches do plenty of good things for their own people. Most of the money, time and energy in local churches are invested in taking care of those who already call our church their spiritual home. We invest far less in reaching out to those who are still outside the church.
Evangelism in Ordinary Life
...how do you expand your evangelistic repertoire?
The Church must do its part to end plastic pollution
It's been decades now since that first Earth Day in 1970, and despite the environmental movement's efforts and achievements, we must acknowledge that we have not done enough to fully prevent the ecological crisis. How did we get here? When did we lose sight of our responsibility to care for God's creation, and for our neighbours, whether near or far?
The Least of These: A Guide To Practicing a Faith Without Margins
Angie Ward suggests four key practices, based on biblical principles, that can help us better show God’s love to “the least of these.” Following each practice, she provides questions to move you and your church toward concrete action in that area.
Understanding God's Unconditional Love
Have you ever found yourself questioning whether God still loves you? It may seem like a silly question, but let's be honest - we've all had moments where we've done or said something foolish and wondered if God's love for us could waver. However, as believers in Christ, our position is that of sons and daughters of God. This means that our perspective when we look towards heaven is that of heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).
What Type of Leader Are You?
Leading in church is challenging already, but today, members and the community closely watch pastoral leadership under a microscope. The pastor’s leadership style can create a nurturing place to grow in faith or a toxic environment that fosters unhealthy relationships. The ability to more closely align with the leadership traits of Jesus makes a pastor more effective in reaching others.
VBS Opens Doors for Discipleship
VBS is a discipleship starting point for kids and families and a missions opportunity for more seasoned disciples.
A Game-Changer for Churches: The Know Your Beliefs Report
Church Answers has created a new tool for determining what the members of your congregation believe. Pastors and other church leaders can no longer assume that their congregations subscribe to orthodox beliefs as a number of recent surveys show that large numbers of American Christans are heterodox if not heretical in their beliefs. Syncretism, the blending of Christian beliefs and practices with non-Christian beliefs ad practices, is also on the rise.
Optimistic Denominationalism
Tim Challies offers an interesting perspective for viewing the various lines along which Protestantism and Protestant churches are divided.
5 Creative Fundraising Ideas for Summer Church Projects That Won’t Make Your Eyes Glaze Over
Hey there, fellow pastors! Summer’s just around the corner, and with it comes the exciting whirlwind of church camps, mission trips, and all sorts of awesome outreach programs. But let’s be honest, funding these initiatives can sometimes feel like pulling teeth. Bake sale, anyone? Been there, frosted that.
John Wesley and Faith at Aldersgate
The importance of justification by faith to the thinking of John Wesley (1703–1791) both during and after his Aldersgate Street experience in May 1738 has long been doubted by some Wesley scholars. This article demonstrates that the historical data surrounding Aldersgate is compelling and points to the validity of Wesley’s own interpretation of that occasion. A reprise of the historical data, coupled with an examination of some alternative interpretations by distinguished modern Wesley scholars, demonstrates the weak historical basis for interpretations that downplay justification by faith. John Wesley remains an important and instructive figure in the history of evangelical revivals.
The way churches are affiliated has changed over the past 20 years. We used to identify churches according to their denominational affiliation; now we are more likely to find a church that affiliates with a network in the place of or in addition to a denomination. To understand how we got to this place, we need to wind back the clock to the late 1990s when two parallel trends emerged, danced around each other and finally intertwined.
The church could increase resilience in survivors
Communities can enhance resilience with supportive measures such as deliberate action to decrease stressors, educational programming or effective interventions. However, when the community (think congregation for the case of this article) does not provide supportive measures, social support and assistance after disaster (domestic violence in this instance), it impacts not only the well-being of the survivor and any children, but it also impacts how that survivor understands the congregation to be the body of Christ.
Supreme Court hears case that could empower cities to fine people for being homeless
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments April 22 in a case that could decide if homeless people can continue to be fined or jailed for sleeping outdoors even when shelter space is unavailable. Under review are rulings by the U.S. Ninth District Court of Appeals that punishing people for sleeping in public spaces violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Also see: Do homeless people have constitutional rights?
Demographic decline is upon us — what’s next?
Without immigrant families producing children, U.S. population might fall by 107 million between 2022 and 2100.
The post-evangelicals take their next step forward
Many post-evangelicals would say that, in their widespread embrace of MAGA-evangelicalism and frequent turns toward misogyny and xenophobia, evangelicals were the ones that have done the leaving; that is, they have left behind the very faith and values they had once attempted to live and to teach their children. That is to say this: The preponderance of post-evangelicals are the disillusioned children and grandchildren of evangelicals.
Leading Beyond Likes: The Challenge of Decision-Making in Leadership
If you like to be liked, leadership will be a challenge. Discover how to lead effectively, even when your choices aren't popular.
The Art of Extemporaneous Preaching: Lessons from Charles Spurgeon
Spurgeon once delivered a lecture to his students on extemporaneous speaking, summarizing his approach on sermon delivery (“The Faculty of Impromptu Speech” in Lectures to My Students). He divided extemporaneous speaking into two categories: “speech impromptu” and extemporaneous sermon delivery.
When a Bad Group Launch is Worse Than No Group Launch
An ill timed launch is nearly as bad as no small group launch at all. You probably launch groups along with everything else in the fall and in the New Year. Those are great windows to launch groups, so what’s the problem?
Hiking, disc golf, flower arranging: UMC initiative connects people around non-church interests
'Fresh Expressions' is a denominational initiative intended to connect people who may not be interested in church but are interested in learning a new skill or making new friends.
How evangelicals promoted, then abandoned environmental stewardship
Rising temperatures made 2023 earth’s hottest year on record. Climate scientists say human activity increases heat-trapping gasses that contribute to weather-related disasters, which in 2022 forced more than 3 million Americans from their homes and cost the world $360 billion in damages. But most evangelical Christians largely reject this scientific consensus, making their tribe the least likely to see climate change as a problem, according to Pew and PRRI. Many evangelical leaders use their influence to oppose climate-friendly legislation.
The nation’s future will be 'decided in the pulpits and sanctuaries of American churches': columnist
Last month, the Pew Research Center noted in an article that for much "of the last decade, observers have been trying to understand why so many highly religious Americans have a favorable view of Donald Trump, asking how values voters can support a candidate who has been divorced twice, married three times and found liable for sexual abuse." In a Sunday, April 21 op-ed published by the New York Times, columnist David French points points to the juxtaposition of "great good" and terrible evil" often on display throughout American Christian churches.
Transgender Meds for Kids? 4 Findings from New Report
This month saw the publication of “the largest review ever undertaken in the field of transgender health.” Led by Dr. Hilary Cass, a former president of the UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics, it was commissioned by Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) with the stated goal of figuring out “how best to help the growing number of children and young people who are looking for support from the NHS in relation to their gender identity.” The findings of this four-year review were written up in a 388-page report which is, as The Economist puts it, “damning of practices that were commonplace in England until recently and remain widespread in other countries, notably America.”
Many pastors begin a new assignment and get blindsided from issues they never expected. When that happens, it can be deadly. I’ve found that creating a genogram of your church, called a family diagram in psychology, can yield much insight into how people may have perpetuated unhealthy patterns in a church. It’s simply taking a bird’s eye view of your church’s past, looking for connections, and drawing them out.
The Church Should Mind Its Spiritual Business
The calling, or mission, of the church as the church is to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, not to be another merely (or even chiefly) political, social, or economic institution. The church, in its full-orbed existence, may have political, economic, or social concerns that develop out of its mission, but those aspects are not what primarily mark and define it.
12 Attractive Traits for Senior Leaders
There are some attractive traits for in successful senior leaders. If a leader has these, he or she will be more likely to have loyal followers...These are some of the “best of the best” traits for those who attempt the daunting responsibility of leading others.
Counting the Cost: Why Having Children is Priceless Despite the Price Tag
Even if you pinch pennies, there’s no getting around the financial cost of having children. But what is the cost of not having children?
Why I Attend Church
Thom Rainer shares ten reasons he attends church.
Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.
This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The Gospel readings for this Sunday are traditionally taken from the “I am the Good Shepherd” discourse in the Gospel of John.
Today's message looks at one way that we can search the Scriptures by looking for God's grace in every passage that we read.
Readings: 1 John 3:16–24; John 10:11-18
Message: Looking for Grace in All the Right Places
Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2024/04/sundays-at-all-hallows-sunday-april-21.html
Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.
If you are new to Sundays at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:
-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.
-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.
-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.
-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.
May Sundays at All Hallows be a blessing to you.
Christianity's global centre has shifted, conference hears
The Global Christian Forum's (GCF) fourth global gathering kicked off in Accra, Ghana, with an emphasis on major demographic shifts in global Christianity. With the theme That the world may know, the event held from April 16 to 20 brought together 240 participants from 60 different countries representing all major Christian traditions.
Learning from Farmers: Innovation for Churches
What are churches to do in this increasingly secular era? We can mourn the bygone era of high attendance and moan about how things are not like they used to be., Or we can reinvent ourselves in response to the needs of a changing society while still remaining faithful to Scripture and Christian tradition.
The Power of Hymns
There is a reason God’s people have sung the poetry of our faith ever since faith began—the beautiful reality of shared truth, conviction, and hope. There is a tangible bond when people of faith speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and songs of the Spirit—a reality that we truly are surrounded by the promised great cloud of witnesses (who are probably singing with us); that the music we make even within the limitation of our little human experience is somehow hardwired into the “music of the spheres.”
4 Functions of a Church Choir
I originally posted a link to this article this past December. In a number of churches a worship band has taken the place of the choir in the services of the church but not assumed its functions. Indeed, it has become one of the reasons for the decline in congregatioal singing in these churches. As the late Betty Pulkingham observed, "every local congregation has need of a worship leadership group, a group thoroughly committed to the corporate worship life of that body of people." Whatever the group was called, she identified as its purpose "to aid all of God’s assembled people to be released into praise."
If you have not read Betty Pulkingham's Sing God A Simple Song, it is available on the internet free in PDF format at https://www.communityofcelebration.com/Books/sgass.pdf.
The Case for Children's Worship Services
As Tim Cahllies wrote, "You don’t have to agree with everything an article says to benefit from it. And that was the case for me with this one (though I am generally in favor of offering some programming for at least the youngest children during services)." Two decades ago I wrote an unpublished occasional paper on how to integrate children into the worship of the church and I have not changed my mind on that subject. However, like Challies I also see a need for some programming for at least younger children during services.
[Pin]spiration for a Meaningful Mother’s Day Celebration Reach mothers and mother figures with these 9 ideas for a Mother’s Day celebration at your church. Create keepsakes that will touch hearts for years to come!
Small Group Evangelism & The Bridges of God
What are the bridges of God? How does the gospel spread from my small group to a lost and dying world?
This truth is applicable to choirs, ministry teams, Sunday School classes, men's clubs, women's circles, youth groups, and other groupings in the local church.
5 Tips for Building Bridges with Immigrants in Your Community
God calls the Church to show and share his love to everyone.
The Blessing of Constraints
Early in the pandemic, a friend recommended the book A Beautiful Constraint to me—a book for marketplace leaders that encourages them not to think like a victim when an unforeseen constraint happens, and not even to think like a neutralizer who simply works around the constraint, but to think like a transformer and view the constraint as a gift. The book helped me ask the question: “How can the pandemic actually help us launch new congregations?”
Near Chicago, a Lutheran church finds new life at the YMCA
A struggling Lutheran church has found new life by giving its building to the YMCA.
Open-Air Celebration
St. David’s in Washington, D.C., grows by taking its gatherings into the neighborhood.
How Does Church Planting Benefit the Sending Church?
Here are six ways.
4 Habits of A Healthy Team
Commit to creating a healthy culture for your team that supports, encourages, and propels the mission forward.
Making People Want to Listen to Your Sermon
Forty-seven seconds. If you are a preacher — or, really, any kind of public speaker, you have 47 seconds to catch your listener’s attention. How do I know that? Keep reading and you’ll find out.
Why We Preachers Need Sermon Feedback
If teachers of God’s Word want to continually refine our craft, we should build formal sermon feedback into our schedules.
The Great Rewiring of Childhood
....the younger generation today is different from the generations that came before it. That difference is expressed in many different ways, though perhaps the ones we notice most are the levels of anxiety experienced by young people along with their relationship to social media.
Welcome to Thursday evenings at All Hallows.
Christians are called to make a difference in the world, in their community and in the wider world. They are called to be salt, light, and yeast.
Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:11-18
Message: Are Christians known by their love for one another?
Link: https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2024/04/thursday-evenings-at-all-hallows_18.html
Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested.
If you are new to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows, you may find these directions helpful:
-When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check auto-play to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first.
-If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.
-If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play.
-An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.
May Thursday Evenings at All Hallows be a blessing to you.
Finding the gospel amid a ‘churchgoing bust’
In a recent Atlantic essay titled “The True Cost of the Churchgoing Bust,” columnist Derek Thompson writes that “more Americans today have ‘converted’ out of religion than have converted to all forms of Christianity, Judaism and Islam combined. No faith’s evangelism has been as successful in this century as religious skepticism.”
Surprising Mourners for the Decline of Christianity
In an interview with LBC in London, famed atheist Richard Dawkins offered two startling admissions: first, that he mourned the loss of much of what reflects the Christian faith in the world, and second, that he would consider himself a “cultural” Christian.
How the Gospel Confronts Culture
In every time period and historical context during which it has been shared, the gospel has confronted culture in one way or another.
The Challenges and Opportunities of Intergenerational Leadership
Due to longevity, it’s not uncommon for four distinct generations of adults to be vying for leadership within our churches, says Melissa Cooper. She explores how the church can be a place of unity and reconciliation that uses the gifts of every generation.
VOICES: Who prays for you and your church?
John Wesley (1703-1791) was a traveling preacher and founder of the Methodist Church. Wesley said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. God does nothing but in answer to prayer.”
Youth Ministry Tasks You Can Delegate to Volunteers and Teens
Youth ministry tasks aren’t just for youth ministers. How well do you delegate? Are you reluctant to hand off certain responsibilities? Do you think you’re the only one capable of tackling some jobs?
How to Find Your Purpose in Life
Let’s take a brief look at how to discover your God-given purpose...There are at least three things you can do that will help in the process of discovery.
Everyday Evangelism
Evangelism in the modern age is defined as spreading the gospel witness through preaching or public witness. Yet, in most churches, the pastor is expected to preach and share the message while the congregation sits and watches. Every member can reach out to someone, and you can help them do it.
What will it take to turn around your church? It’s time to evaluate your priorities, inspire your team, equip the church, and set the course.
‘Weaponizing’ Clergy Disciplinary Canons for Ideological Purposes
In late 2023, at least four Episcopal priests faced or were threatened with serious disciplinary charges related to their participation in a discussion group for theologically conservative Christians. The priests have separately told TLC that they believe they were targeted by a progressive activist seeking to drive conservatives out of the Episcopal Church. There is evidence to support their belief. One of the priests has, in fact, left the church. All have left the discussion group.
Who’s an evangelical? New poll finds Southern Baptists separating from Christian nationalists on some points
The question of whether Southern Baptists should be counted among the nation’s conservative evangelicals is not a new one, but it is up for debate again thanks to results from a new Lifeway Research survey on faith and politics. That survey found some key differences between Southern Baptist pastors and laity compared to other broadly defined evangelicals.
How not to comfort the mourning: Hospital chaplain J.S. Park talks grief in new book
‘The biggest myth I see is that grief is a poison to get past,’ said Park.
5 Ways to Build Trust with your Team
Without trust, a church staff or ministry team simply won’t function at its best.
A New Testament Passage That’s Older than the New Testament
Within the New Testament books are early Christian creeds that predate the books themselves. These creeds show us what the earliest Christians believed and which doctrines existed from the inception of the church.
4 Creative Ways to Pray with Your Small Group This Spring
Prayer is a vital part of every Small Group gathering. It is also a part that can sometimes become routine, especially if your group prays the same way every time. Here are 4 creative ways you can pray together this spring.
It’s Okay To Be a Two-Talent Christian
From the parable we learn that God distributes opportunity according to ability, for “talents” are all that God distributes among his people—gifts, passions, abilities, influence, education, money, and anything else that can be used to honor (or dishonor) the Lord and carry out (or fail to carry out) his purposes.
A Long Walk to Jesus
Do what you can do and trust Jesus to do what only he can do.
Why Trying to Reach Everybody Is a Really Bad Evangelism Strategy
Trying to reach everybody is one of the fastest ways to ensure you'll reach nobody.
Gen Z and the Draw to Serious Faith
Young people who visit a church expect to experience, well, whatever church is. The strangeness is the appeal. Now that fewer people have any family background in church, no one hears a worship band cover an Imagine Dragons song and thinks, “Wow! This isn’t my Grandma’s church!”—in part because Grandma is in her 60s and never darkened the door either.
For Ministry Success, Leverage Strengths and Recruit for Weaknesses
Here’s one simple strategy for increasing longevity in ministry: Leverage your strengths and recruit for your weaknesses.
Why Is Everyone So Frustrated? Uncovering and Addressing Expectation Gaps
Feeling the strain of unmet expectations in your team? Discover why everyone is so frustrated and how addressing expectation gaps can transform your organizational culture.
Aren’t Christians Just a Bunch of Hypocrites?
The people who are affected by hypocrisy deserve a response when their trust is shattered. But what can we possibly convey to those who have been disillusioned by the church? Here are some thoughts....
An asset map shows how churches are meeting the needs of older adults in rural areas
In recent years, there has been a growing concern about social isolation and loneliness among older adults, particularly in rural communities. Adults older than 65 make up one-sixth of the population of the United States, and that population is projected to increase as the Baby Boomer generation reaches that milestone.
How NOT to Help a Sufferer
In this video Gavin Ortlund shares four things NOT to say to someone who is suffering.
Launching Groups in Smaller Churches
When it comes to launching groups in a smaller church, there is a dilemma. There aren’t many great models. Most materials and training about small groups come from pastors of megachurches. Their models don’t work well in smaller churches. What works in a large church typically doesn’t work well in a smaller church, but what works in a small church will work in any church.
Podcasting Ministry the Easy Way
Livestreaming in houses of worship has become a prevalent practice as ministries seek modern ways to reach those they serve. The digital broadcasting of services has provided opportunities for congregations around the world to connect in ways never before possible. However, as effective as livestreaming has proven to be in creating connections of physical access and distance, it has done little to bridge gaps in availability.
Life in 6 Words App: An Evangelism Power Tool for Teens
5 reasons the LI6W app is an ideal way for youth to share the Gospel.
VOICES: Does evangelism make a difference?
Shane L. Bishop explains how evangelism has made a difference at his church.
Religious Change in America: They Buried the Lead
The North American mission feld has changed. We still learning how much.
The 3 Phases of Church-Planting Churches
It seems for the last four decades or so, church communities have been talking about planting other churches. But much of that time was spent talking without taking action. The difference today is that people are actually walking out the talk. In other words, we’ve moved beyond just the idea of planting churches to actually doing it.
“Trends in Latino Congregations” featuring Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi
How are the trends in majority Latino congregations different from those in non-Latino congregations? We speak with Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi about her report Latino Congregations: Trends from the Faith Communities Today (FACT) and Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) Studies. It reveals that while Latino congregations face financial difficulties, a majority have experienced growth or remained stable in recent years.
5 Characteristics of Effective Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma
How would you preach next Sunday if a mass shooting, a natural disaster, or a public health crisis shook your community? Sadly, such events are so common that every preacher needs to be prepared. Preaching professor Kimberly Wagner outlines five characteristics of preaching in the wake of mass trauma that create a safe space for people to lay their experiences and brokenness down before God and one another.
“Brace Yourselves!“: The Reduction of Public Bible Reading
We are certainly a long, long way from being congregations which are devoted to the reading of Scripture. What on earth are we doing.
I’ve Been Rejected. Now What?
Your next step will often determine your future.
