Archive for category Church Articles
The Epidemic of Shortage of Men in the Church
“De Man dem short and de ooman dem plenty”
It Nuh Pretty at all
Welcome to Man Short Church, the statistically average US congregation. This week:
• Man Short Church will draw an adult congregation that’s 61 percent female, 39 percent male.
Local Visitors As Local Opportunities for the Local Church
Local visitors present local opportunities for the local church. The local church has an open opportunity for both outreach and follow-up through its visitors. Churches are limited by limited resources, but these same churches may utilize their internal resources to optimize their opportunities.
The local church entertains visitors Sunday by Sunday, depending on the evangelism and outreach conducted by the congregation within its local community. The church has a calling to go and make disciples, adhering to the parting words of the resurrected Jesus Christ. This is oftentimes referred as the Great Commission. This typically manifests in interactions between believers and unbelievers through collective and individual activities conducted within the community. Such evangelism efforts produce visitors.
Warning – The Dangers of Buying Used Church Chairs
A church a few miles away from yours just built a new sanctuary. They are now remodeling their old sanctuary for other purposes and as a result they have 200 church chairs they purchased 15 years ago available for sale. Your church has long considered moving from pews to chairs. Is this the cost-effective solution you have been waiting for? What are some factors you should consider as you contemplate this opportunity? Let’s take a look together.
* Décor Considerations: Yes, “retro” has it place. But do you really want to “update” your worship space with 15 year old fabric styles? I would suggest that if the same church was disposing of 15 year old carpet, you likely would never think about that being a great deal for your church. Be sure and think seriously about the appropriateness of the fabric on the church chairs for today’s culture.
In the Church, What Does Charity Mean?
As I write this at Christmas time I’m being bombarded by the usual discussion on television and in churches about who is donating to charity and who isn’t and what “donating” really means. I wanted to discuss the different claims about what giving really means and where the Bible comes down on the subject.
The first thing that comes to a lot people’s minds when you mention giving to your church is tithing, which means donating 10% of your income to charity. I was at a friend’s house once and he was telling me about how his church had really been pushing tithing and how great he thought it was. Somehow the conversation led to him asking me where I sent my tithes. I told him I did not pay tithes. His reaction was that of stunned surprise. “You don’t tithe? You’re such a good Christian, I can’t believe you don’t tithe.” I explained to him that I donated to causes and individuals as I was called on to do so. Nowhere in the New Covenant are we as Christians called on to tithe.