Many of the bitter fruits of the COVID crisis can be ignored, at least for a time. But unlike lower attendance, decreased engagement, and smaller reach, parishes can’t ignore the issue of money for long. Bills come due, staff salaries must be paid; maintenance cannot be deferred indefinitely. Giving is down in almost all parishes, […]
Tag: rebuilt
They say in polite conversation to never discuss politics or religion. In my profession, I find it pretty difficult to stay away from the topic of religion. However, I have found it necessary to stay far away from the topic of politics, at least here in church. In fact, I do not talk politics in […]
If there is a single, principal fear that pastors and church workers share in this season of COVID-19, it is the fear that people simply won’t come back to church. Declining attendance was already an established pattern pre-COVID, which has now simply accelerated. Church leaders know that with disaffiliated parishioners comes the loss of funding […]
There was no way we could have known the impact COVID-19 would have on our parishes. But in hindsight, we can see clearly the path the virus took through our normal operating procedures, dismantling with ease the methods and processes we had relied on. Looking back, we can see the steps we might have taken months or […]
Whether you are aware of it or not, if you’re online, the unchurched are watching you. The people you have labored to reach for years are finally tuning in to your messages. Amidst all your reluctance, God is moving through your willingness to go where the unchurched are.
Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:14 (NIV) In a time of such unprecedented crisis and cataclysmic change, everything looks unclear. Things we were so sure of last week – our schedules, our methods, our finances – have suddenly been thrown into a […]
A church here in our community (not pictured above) advertises “Ashes To-Go,” a drive-thru exercise in minimalism when it comes to approaching Lent. I am not criticizing our neighbors in the least, they are observing the season according to their own custom. I just won’t be emulating them. Lent is an ancient tradition observed throughout […]
As a part of our current message series on “Life with Family”, we’ve acknowledged that families come in many different shapes and sizes. They are continuously changing as seasons of life unfold. Even nuclear families change as kids get older, go off to college, and, eventually, leave the nest to start their own families. Increasingly, […]
We are fast approaching the end of January, the time of year when the new resolutions and routines we started are beginning to seem just a little bit tedious. Maybe you just started noticing a little dust on the new exercise bike you got for Christmas or your wallet is feeling a little lighter even […]
We just started a new series for this new year about something that shapes a huge portion of our behavior and identity – though we don’t always know it. Our habits operate below the surface, quietly automating our lives, sometimes unbeknownst to us. It’s an especially timely series, given the multitude of resolutions we make […]
