The Violin Guild
Parable taken from Tom Wright’s John for Everyone.
I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.
Telling a good story
Stories are a vital part of every sermon or presentation. They engage the audience on an emotional level in a way that delivering information just can’t do. Here’s some of my ideas about how to tell a really good story.
Skate to where the puck is going, not to where it’s been.
Why I’m lucky I’m not a woman
We still live in a world that is grossly unfair to women - the result of a world whose direction has been set by male eyes.
In our Lab leadership team, six out of the twelve members are female. However, over the last year, only two of our weekly Sunday gatherings have been led by women. For me, this is something I feel I should be constantly working to correct and looking actively for women to encourage into leadership positions.
Either as a male or female leader, what should your responsibility be to the women you lead?
Social media is about people
This is the latest motion graphic on the role social media plays in our lives. This one is also from a UK perspective, which makes it especially helpful.
What role does social media play in your life? What role does it play in your faith?
While God’s words are eternal and unchanging the tools we use to access those words do change, and those changes in technology also bring subtle changes to the practice of worship. When we fail to recognize the impact of such technological change, we run the risk of allowing our tools to dictate our methods. Technology should not dictate our values or our methods. Rather, we must use technology out of our convictions and values.
Why I still believe in the sermon
I still believe in the sermon. I know it isn’t necessarily cool or clever these days to think that. In an age when young people and young adults are leaving the church in huge numbers, a lot of people, especially youth workers, have suggested that the old method of preaching is outdated and needs replacing. But I still believe that preaching, when it’s done well, is an art form.
6 Reasons why young people are leaving the church
David Kinnaman (author of unChristian) and the Barna Group have just released their latest research, this time interviewing American young people who left the Church after the age of 15. Here are the six main reasons they found for young people / young adults leaving the church:
- Churches appear to be overprotective
- Their experience of Christianity was shallow
- Churches appear to be against science
- They’ve made mistakes and feel judged in church because of them
- Churches are afraid of the beliefs of other faiths
- Church is unfriendly to those who doubt
Kinnaman unpacks his findings in his new book - You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church and Rethinking Church.
How do these findings resonate with your experience as a young adult?
How can we grow church in a way that works for young adults?
Actions speak louder than words.
What are you busy talking about that you should just get on with doing?
