Posted by Ray Pritchard on 12.17.07 in Church Trends, Theology
Last Thursday night at the men’s Bible study, we had a lively discussion about the meaning of “the husband of one wife” in 1 Timothy 3:2. At one point, I was asked to explain my views regarding divorced men serving as elders and/or deacons in the local church. My answer was simply that I don’t think this phrase …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 12.13.07 in Church Trends, Congregational Singing
So what’s happening in the “worship wars” these days? Terry Mattingly provides one answer in a column called FM Radio Reality in Church, which describes how one megachurch in California manages to put together three “radically different services” each week. Conventional wisdom suggests that nothing divides a church mo …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 12.4.07 in Church Trends
The email arrived from somewhere on the other side of the world. It came from a person I do not know and described a most unusual situation, asking for my advice. Here are the particulars. A few years ago, this couple felt called of God to start a new church to reach immigrants in a city in Asia. Both husband and wife worke …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 10.29.07 in Church Trends, Churches
Before leaving Grand Ledge this morning, I had breakfast with Andrew, Brian and John—the three staff pastors at Grand Ledge Baptist Church. Andrew I have known for 17 years but I just met Brian and John this weekend. The church recently voted to go to a unique three-way co-pastor system in which the three pastors will toge …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 8.28.07 in Church Trends, Preaching, Theology
The current issue of Vanity Fair carries a report by Christopher Hitchens on his book tour to promote his mega-bestseller God Is Not Great. As always, Hitchens has many provocative things to say, and those who are enjoy his sometimes acerbic comments on various religious leaders will not be disappointed. I found it fascinat …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 7.19.07 in Books, Church Trends, Churches
What would happen if a pastor and an atheist decided to visit some of America’s largest churches together? That simple question led to a book called Jim and Casper Go to Church. Over a period of several months in 2006, Jim Henderson (the pastor) and Matt Casper (the atheist) dropped in unannounced on Willowcreek, Sadd …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 5.14.07 in Church Trends, Churches
Recently I met someone who is a bit discouraged because his church has gone through several staff changes. Pastors who had been in that church for years have announced that they will soon be moving to other ministries. The person said, “I think God is cleaning house.”To which I replied, “Perhaps he’s just redecorating …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 4.5.07 in Church Trends
Keith Drury teaches at Indiana Wesleyan University. Lately he has been studying his students to get some hints on what the next generation of church leaders might look like. He offers 25 prominent characteristics of the coming wave in the church. Here are a few that caught my eye.1. From larger churches, yet value smaller o …
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