Hundreds of New Churches Not Enough to Satisfy Southern Baptists
Body
“Baptisms are at a 70-year low, while Sunday worshipers are at a 20-year low.” CT
I bake new neighbors bread to welcome them, and they never say hello to me again
Body
Each time a new neighbor moves in I bake a loaf of bread and take it to them. They thank me at the door and then close it. That is the last I see of them other than when they go to their cars. The Federalist
Discussion
Sunday School Syndrome
Body
“Do you believe that God used evolution to create human beings?”
- yes. 24.6% of those who attended Sunday school
- yes. 18.5% of those who did not attend Sunday school
Discussion
Do you think traditional hymns are making or will make a comeback?
We are talking about Bible-believing fundamental and evangelical churches in this question.
Some churches have never stopped singing hymns (and we can sloppily include Gospel songs within in the word “hymns” in this broad discussion). Some have continued to sing hymns exclusively, others (like ours) have taken a blended approach. Some churches have Totally forsaken the congregational singing of hymns or have almost totally forsaken them.
Discussion
'We Are Not Dying, We Are Reforming,' Says PCUSA Leader Amid Report on Declining Membership
Body
“While still the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, in 2016 PCUSA saw a loss of nearly 90,000 members, slipping below the 1.5 million-member mark. This is nearly 300,000 fewer members than in 2013.”
Discussion
The Sickness in Discernment Ministries
Reposted with permission from Randy White Ministries.
In the past few years, a new form of ministry has emerged called discernment ministry. Make no mistake, it has become a big business, providing the livelihood for many men and women who are making their living as the world’s theological police.
Discernment is sorely needed.
We are in an era in the church in which discernment is utterly lacking. The church has a generation or two of Christians who have had a steady diet of felt need sermons filled with life-application. These Christians have little to no understanding of the content of Scripture itself. Their “Bible studies” are really book studies, and their sermons are self-help pop-psychology that is not fundamentally different from what you find in the self-help section of any secular bookstore.
I can only think of a few things that the church needs more today than discernment. But I am completely convinced that discernment ministry is not the way the church is going to gain this discernment.
Discussion
Which time of year SEEMS busiest at your church, typically?
Some folks might well say, “all the time,” or “whatever seasons we are in.”
And, of course, the comment “it depends” is always understood. Business can vary year by year. For example, we once had three people move on to glory in one day, an hour and a half a part. Between funerals and funeral dinners, that was a busy couple of weeks!
So we are asking for the typical. This cannot be very scientific, for perception and reality (we know) do not always match. So if you are mistaken, that is okay!
Discussion