Something foundational has changed in local church life, the Great Recession has simply accelerated the pattern. Let me offer suggestions about church budgets in the future. First the past Church budgets vary greatly from congregation to congregation. A typical congregation’s budget tends to fall into several categories as follows: 50% personnel 20% buildings [...]
Go to post pageInsight is always rooted in context. What works in Richmond rarely works in Asheville and never works in Orlando. Recently, I was in Florida visiting with Dr. Duke McCall, retired president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a former president of the Baptist World Alliance. Dr. Caleb Oladipo our mission professor was with me. Dr. [...]
Go to post pageOut walking I saw a neighbor with her white, fluffy, five-inch tall dog. Apparently, she was teaching the dog to obey commands and walk on a leash. My approach excited the tiny dog who offered a fierce, wimpy bark. The owner spoke to her dog, “Willy, stop that. Behave yourself Willy.” I turned toward [...]
Go to post pageBrian McLaren was Skyped into a conversation with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia’s spring meeting. In his comments, he suggested churches are going to get larger and smaller in the coming decades. In the age of Walmart, Target, and Costco, American cultural presses churches toward big and small: it is either a church providing [...]
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