Church & Ministry

“Four recommendations released today are designed to ‘prioritize and emphasize the authority of messengers in defining the boundaries of our cooperation while clarifying and refining our structure,’ said a statement from the SBC’s Cooperation Group.” - Baptist Press

“How do you shepherd a flock to healthier pastures when the sheep aren’t yet convinced that the grass is greener on the other side? Some answers are obvious: we must walk faithfully with the Lord and patiently love the flock. Okay, but what else?” - 9 Marks

“God calls people to be accountants, medical doctors, and farmers too…. why could God not call a man to be a schoolteacher for twenty years and then redirect him into pastoral ministry?” - P&D

“I will agree that how we write is not nearly as important as what we write….. But the supreme importance of what we communicate does not negate the importance of how we communicate.” - Jared C. Wilson

“When you become the lightning rod with every change effort…. When you give up on innovation and find deep comfort in the status quo of the past…. When apathy or anger dominates your feelings.” - Sam Rainer

“United Methodist delegates are heading into the homestretch of their first legislative gathering in five years — one that appears on track to make historic changes in lifting their church’s longstanding bans on same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy.” - AP

“This General Conference will liberalize United Methodism’s teachings on marriage and sex….over 7660 traditionalist churches, including up to 1.5 million members, exited the denomination under a temporary policy allowing departure with property.” - Juicy Ecumenism

“Devin Pope didn’t think so either. Instead of relying on the answers people traditionally give to pollsters, Pope decided to use cellphone data to confirm who was really going. If a new study is accurate, people have been lying about going to church. A lot.” - Daily Citizen

“The pastor study posed six exclusive questions and 11 questions modified from the Harvard wellness project. Of those shared across the two studies, the average pastor score was higher on all but one question.” - Lifeway