Innovative Ministry

God Has Never Done a New Thing Using Old Songs

/ 9 minutes of reading

Every old song used to be a new song.

I wonder who the first worship director was who said “hey, I like that new song John Newton wrote,” before introducing Amazing Grace to the church.

Whoever it was, he probably had to deal with complaints from church members who didn’t think it was as good as the hymns they were used to singing. “In six verses the name of Jesus isn’t mentioned once, but it says ‘me’, ‘my’ and ‘I’ thirteen times! Today’s songs are so self-centered and shallow!”

In a recent post entitled, Six Reasons Some Churches Are Moving Back to One Worship Style, Thom Rainer tells us that, according to some of his recent surveys, the contemporary vs traditional worship wars may be drawing to a close.

I hope new music won.

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Church Members Aren’t Attending as Often – Are They Trying to Tell Us Something?

/ 8 minutes of reading

Church attendance is down in the western world. Why? Because church members don’t attend as consistently as they used to. That’s not the only reason church attendance is down, of course. It’s not even the main reason. But it’s definitely a trend I have seen as a pastor. And it needs to be addressed. But how?

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Big and Impersonal, Or Small and Pathetic: Are Those My Only Church Options?

/ 5 minutes of reading

Big churches have a reputation for being overly programmed and impersonal. Small Churches have a reputation for being backwards and lazy. I’ve always fought against those characterizations, believing them to be unfair caricatures. But a recent conversation made me realize that those stereotypes have their foundations in some sad realities. I was talking with a

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Online Church Is Great, But It’s Not Enough

/ 5 minutes of reading

The church needs to be more digital. For Small Churches especially, the digital world can level the playing field and give us a broader reach and wider ministry than we currently have.

We need more churches taking advantage of online services, podcasts, livestreaming, social media, blogging, you name it.

But church will never be digital. Screen-to-screen is no substitute for face-to-face. Digital reality cannot replace actual reality.

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People Aren’t As Loyal to Their Church Anymore – Good For Them

/ 5 minutes of reading

The so-called “good old days” when a person committed to a church, then stuck with it no matter what, have come to an end. Many churches just don’t know it yet. Maybe that’s why I keep hearing ministers harping on the same old complaints. “My church can’t get good volunteers any more!” “People aren’t as faithful as they used to be.” And, my personal [ahem] favorite, “What’s wrong with this generation? You can’t count on them for anything.”

If those complaints sound familiar (as in, you’ve heard them come from your own mouth) please take this in the way I’m giving it – with all the love in my heart. Stop whining about people’s lack of commitment to your church and give them something worth committing to!

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In Celebration of Quirky Churches

/ 5 minutes of reading

I like quirky churches. And I’m pretty sure God does, too. Just take a look at the astonishing variety of churches in the New Testament.

Quirky churches don’t mess with the fundamentals. And they don’t worry about passing fads. Quirky churches are the ones that dare to do the bible stuff in a way that works for them and the people God is calling them to reach. No matter how strange it looks to everyone else.

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