Here are my top book picks for the year 2012: -The Definate-ish Guide for Using Social Media in the Church, Bruce Reyes-Chow Bruce Reyes-Chow’s new-ish book is a great read and resource for both social media novices and sages. It’s easy to read, easy to find specific things you’re looking for, and connects many dots [...]
This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. Again. Isn’t it strange that every year we take the beautiful story that many of us have been told all our lives and that we consider very familiar and try to make it strange and new? I can’t be the only person who thinks this is weird. [...]
Below is the sermon I preached earlier this month at the CPM meeting where I was certified ready to receive a call. I got great feedback, and if I preach this again I will tweak some things. For now, I have kept it as I preached it. Will you pray with me? Holy Spirit, come [...]
Many Mainline preachers follow the Revised Common Lectionary, a 3-year rotation through the Bible including 4 readings a Sunday (Hebrew Bible, Psalm, Epistle, Gospel usually). But when someone tells me I can preach on whatever I want to, I usually go to the Lectionary and preach the text for that week anyway. Basically, I don’t [...]
Last week at PC(USA)’s General Assembly I was on a panel about social media and the church. I listed five tips or themes that were emphasized in this post and promised to write a little more about each of them. So, tip #1: Be yourself; be authentic. Social media amplifies our Spider Senses. I am [...]
Did you ever sing that song? “I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together! All who follow Jesus all around the world, yes, we’re the church together!” I learned that song while working with a children’s ministry at a Disciples of Christ church in Missouri. It was one of the [...]
Yesterday I received an urgent text from a friend asking if I had seen what Bruce Reyes-Chow had just posted on Facebook. I quickly looked him up and found a post on both Facebook and Twitter reading: Having a very interesting convo about community in the gaming world. “Where to they find community?” If you [...]
In my last post I stated that young adults want to matter in church communities. They want their presence to make a difference, to have a share in what is created, to have their point of view honored, to be useful, to learn and teach, to know and be known, to be themselves without fearing [...]
It’s time to stop blaming young adults. It’s time to stop blaming young adults for “leaving” the church. It’s time to stop blaming young adults for the declining membership of churches. It’s time to stop blaming young adults for being too disinterested, too busy with other things, too caught up in social media. The church [...]
At Unconference East I participated in a breakout group discussing how to raise funds for innovative ministries. Here are some highlights. -Many people have creative ministry ideas but don’t have the resources to formulate a sustainable business plan -Many local/national church structures are aware they need to fund new ministries but may or may not [...]