Fix the church’s red ink with…ink
Mainline church attendance is declining in the US, not just in the Episcopal Church. People are trying all sorts of things (that is, the people who aren’t sticking their heads in the sand). The...
Category: mission
When something is missing
The Lens at the New York Times has a fascinating collection of images entitled, “Iconic Scenes, Revisited and Reimagined.” Here are famous photos, but without the thing that made them famous. Recognize this one?...
The ekklesia of social media
I contributed an article for the Fall 2011 issue of Reflections, the journal of Yale Divinity School. It’s a whole issue on new media, and I was humbled to join some pretty great company...
The church is not its structures
ASBO Jesus is singing my song. While the church needs to be structured in order to carry out its mission, we often make the mistake of elevating the structures above their actual importance. What...
Death by grief
Keith Anderson has put his finger on a phenomenon within our church which I have been unable to name until now. Anderson says that our church is dying. We’re not being killed by culture....
Change is the point
It always amazes me — but never surprises me — when people object to the need for change within the church. Most often you encounter comments along the lines of, “We are already making...
To reinvigorate the life of the Church
As many 7WD readers know, I have been discerning where I might be called to serve next. Well, I am delighted to announce that I have accepted a call to serve as the Executive...
A dashboard for your congregation?
No, I’m not talking about dashboard Jesus. In fact, we’re talking about virtual dashboards. It seems that the Methodists have been experimenting with the idea of “dashboards” to provide up-to-date indicators on congregational health....
Article XX: Of the authority of the Church
This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles. Article XX: Of the authority of the Church The Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies and authority in controversies of...
How big is God’s Word?
ASBO Jesus offers two views of how large we let God’s Word loom in our lives. I think they are both true. In the Episcopal Church, I think we tend to do the former...
Unintended consequences
Sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to work out. OK, that happens a lot. On this topic, I was interested to read Gizmodo’s “The 10 Greatest (Accidental) Inventions of All...
The Great Rummage Sale
Last spring I wrote a series of posts called “Episco-Upgrades“. Most of them explored various ideas to strengthen the Episcopal Church for its work of building God’s kingdom. I got lots of feedback on...
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