Category: Church

Maybe very little!   I’m not trying to be cute.  I’m serious.  In so many churches, very, very little is expected.  In fact, you can usually  boil our expectations down to a few things:   Be present in the assembly on Sunday mornings (well, most of them anyway). Don’t be a sexually immoral person. Don’t… Continue reading What Does This Church Expect of Me?

Last night we went to our "Life Group". A small (actually not so small) group of people of varied ages.  Some with small children.  Others with grown, married children.    One of our guys led the group last night and did an excellent job.  I watched as the group discussed implications of the sermon message… Continue reading We Can’t Do This Alone

It is Sunday morning.  Early.  I’ve been up since 5:00 AM.  In many ways, the morning has already been typical for a Sunday.  At the kitchen table, I read through my notes for the message this morning.  Two cups of coffee later, I feel good about what I intend to say–though always, just a little… Continue reading What Will Happen This Morning?

Ok I’ll admit it.  I go to church every Sunday.  I’m in a small Bible study group.  I am even at church on Wednesday evening.  I happen to be the minister in this church.  So maybe that pushes me over the edge in terms of being halfway normal.  I don’t know.   I do know… Continue reading You’re Going to THAT Chuch?

The church is God’s idea.  Not mine.  Not yours.  Not religious leaders.  No, the church is God’s idea.  I respect and appreciate what God was doing in Scripture as he reveals to all of us what he has in mind for a church.  What wears me out though, is the church.  No, not the church… Continue reading I Love the Church, But…

I recently saw this on Jeff Garrett’s blog.   I really like this vision.  Thanks to Jeff and to Ken Durham, the originator of these nine dreams)   1. The dream that Jesus would be the star and the message and the true Lord of our church. And that the Church of Christ would be a… Continue reading Would You Like to Be a Part of This Church?

  I came across this note from Forree Grove who is the minister of the A&M Church of Christ in College Station Texas.  This came via Edward Fudge’s GracEmail: Friday morning a member of St Thomas Catholic Church called to say they were over-flowing with evacuees from the south due to Rita. We opened our… Continue reading Caring for Evacuees: OUR Blessing

  I was nervous the night I went.  Maybe it was the unfamiliar territory.  I was going to my first AA meeting.  That night, I went with a friend, a recovering alcoholic.  He had invited me to this meeting.  This, he said, was one of his "favorite groups."  I stepped inside and there were a… Continue reading Do We Want An Honest Church?

For the past 28 years, I have worked with several different churches.  This has given me the opportunity to come to know many people and to be around many, many people.  Let me tell you what I have observed over these years.   1. I’ve learned that the majority of these people want to do… Continue reading What I’ve Learned About People in Churches