Big Creek Ame Church

Why we will no longer be a welcoming church

We’ve decided to quit being a welcoming church. No kidding. We’re giving it up. Like so many congregations, we’ve sunk an amazing amount of time and energy into becoming a welcoming church. We changed worship styles, trained greeters and ushers, wore name tags, brewed coffee, went to workshops on hospitality and put our friendliest people …

Why Homosexuality Is Not Like Other Sins

Homosexuality is not the only sin prohibited in the Bible, but it is different from all the rest, at least right now. And we have really good news for homosexuals.

What alcoholics can teach churches

Daybreak Fellowship blends language of addiction recovery with Christian worship

Why We Need an Entrepreneurial Church

Chris Lowney on the church’s current crisis of membership, management, and Catholic identity, and what can be done

Should We Still Dress Our Best for Church?

I’m a millennial and I still think it’s best to wear our best to church. Recently my brother (Jonathan) and his wife (Vera) launched an online tie store called French Thread (shameless …

Teaching the who, what and why of The United Methodist Church

If someone were to ask a member of your congregation,

10 Ways Your Church Can Embrace Technology

Today's technology has the power to bring people together in ways like never before. Whether you’re a pastor, staff member, or just a member of the congregation, here are 10 ideas to help make your church more tech-savvy and connect with even more people!

My father and his Methodist dog taught me a few things about writing and life

A few weeks ago, the Methodist church where my father worshipped held a program to mark the centennial of one of its Sunday school classes. Since Daddy, who died in

It Takes a Methodist Doctor

A poem recognizing all Methodist physicians in honor of Doctor's Day

Learning from Precocious Methodists

Dr. Chuck Kelley recently advanced my education. While that is not a difficult task, I remain most grateful to him. In my late teens, I read a couple of books on preaching by the Methodist scholar, W.E. Sangster. Imagine my chagrin when the learned Dr. Kelley pointed out a Sangster volume about which I was unaware. He

6 Ingredients to Create Continuous Growth in Your Church

Every church leader facing a growth barrier desperately wants to break through, because every church leader, including me, desires a growing, thriving church. Not because church attendance is the only measure of success, but because increasing attendance is proof that people are being reachedIf that is true, then breaking through barriers is important. But, what if instead of just breaking through a specific barrier we…

What St. Francis can teach United Methodists

The people of The United Methodist Church are putting our faith in action by making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

To those who are contemplating leaving the United Methodist Church

I write this letter with an aching heart. I have heard the pain in the voices of so many of you, wondering if it is time to “shake the dust off” and leave your local church. As your bishop, I cannot ask you to stay in a place where your soul cannot be at rest. However, I will share with you why I, a

10 Reasons Why You Should Underprogram Your Church

The "simple church" is able to cast off that which entangles it, even the religious nets of its own devising for the fishing for men, and follow Christ wherever he may go.

When good branding goes great: First United Methodist Church

About this time last year, Oxide started working on a branding and identity overhaul with First United Methodist Church of Omaha. We have a tremendous relationship with them, not just because they&…

The Kind of Church that God Uses as a Sending Church