Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (James 1:2-4, NLT) One…
Month: February 2022
Barna Report on Pastoral Credibility
Barna Research has published a new report on the credibility of pastors in America. Much of the erosion, as you will read, is due to the mishandling of power and authority that comes with the office and will only be remedied by reimagining what pastoral authority in congregational life looks like.
Introduction to James (James 1:1)
This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! (James 1:1, NLT) Welcome to my next series of online Bible studies. Today I will begin a series from a significant, albeit misunderstood New Testament letter, the Book of…
Racial Diversity in U.S. Congregations
Here’s an interesting article on the lack of racial diversity in American congregations. While racial diversity is still desired by the vast majority of pastors, it is by and large aspirational given they do not know how to achieve this goal. According to the study, a congregation is racially diverse when the predominant ethnicity is…
The Final Word (Ecclesiastes 12:8-14)
“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.” Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly. The words of the wise are like cattle…
U.S. Pastor’s Identify Their Greatest Needs
Lifeway Research has compiled a survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors in order to list and rank what they cite is their greatest needs. I don’t believe there are any eye-popping surprises here, but I encourage you to take three minutes and take a look. If you’re a layperson, you might discover ways to be helpful…
One Man’s Opinion
A work colleague shared this Twitter thread with our team this week from Eugene Kim. It’s not an article, per se, but he does make some interesting observations about the state of today’s Church from his personal experience. The thread has provided some interesting conversations. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Where…
Remember Him (Ecclesiastes 12:1-7)
As Ecclesiastes comes to an end, the Preacher transitions from his exploration of life’s absurdities to a chapter of exhortations for the reader to consider. Scholars are divided as to whether this section should be taken as an apocalyptic view on the end of all human life (Peter Enns, Iain Provan) or if it should…
