Posted by Ray Pritchard on 2.12.07 in Churches, Pastors
A recent survey on One News Now asks, “Do Evangelical Pastors exaggerate attendance and conversion numbers?” According to 63% of those who responded to the online survey, the answer is yes, pastors do sometimes exaggerate attendance figures. The non-scientific survey was occasioned by an article called Body-Count Evangelism …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 1.14.07 in Churches, Uncategorized
Today I preached in the morning and evening services at the First Baptist Church of Tupelo. When I arrived, I learned that they were voting on calling a new pastor in both morning services. As we waited for the 8:30 AM service to start, there seemed to be a noticeable spirit of anticipation that was somewhat different from …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 12.23.06 in Christmas, Churches, Internet/Blogging, Personal
I am writing this note from a condo a few yards from the beach in Gulf Shores, AL. This particular area, a region that starts here and goes east into Florida—to Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Destin and then on to Panama City, is affectionately known at the Redneck Riviera. The beaches here are sparkling white, and outside …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 12.19.06 in Churches, Current Events, Homosexuality, Theology
Until last week I had never paid any attention to Jay Bakker, the son of Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner. Then someone sent me a link to a CNN article called What the Hell Happened to Christianity? It turns out that Jay is the pastor/founder of a church called the Revolution, with branches in Atlanta, New York and Charlot …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 11.5.06 in Churches
Kudos to the leaders at New Life Church for acting quickly to remove Ted Haggard from his position as senior pastor. Here is their letter to the congregation explaining the decision. When the facts are clear, as they evidently were to those doing the investigation, nothing is gained (and much is lost) by delaying the final …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 11.3.06 in Churches, Pastors, Theology
The email began very simply: “I am so discouraged.” The day before her pastor had resigned. Twelve years ago she had been brought back to the Lord by a pastor who seemed to be a godly man. Later he left his wife to enter the homosexual lifestyle. Then came a good pastor who was falsely accused of financial wrongdoing. Thoug …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 10.21.06 in Churches
I ran across these two articles about local church conflicts that became so bitter that they spilled out onto the Internet:Church Fights Turn High-Tech
Bellvue Conflict Bleeds Onto InternetWhat should we say about this?1) Church fights are nothing new. Go all the way back to the New Testament and you discover that Christian …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 10.16.06 in Churches, Current Events
Here’s a significant statistic every church leader should know about . . . Married couples are now a minority in the U.S. For the first time ever, less than 50% of American households are made up of married couples. Here is the money quote:The numbers by no means suggest marriage is dead or necessarily that a tipping …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 10.16.06 in Churches
A friend sent this in an email and I thought it was so good that it ought to be shared with everyone. My friend hopes for . . .1) A church that prays for and supports their Pastor and Board (not because they are perfect)…but in obedience to God.2) A church where forgiveness is more important than being right.3) A ch …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 10.15.06 in Churches, Theology
Over the weekend a received a question from a friend in Atlanta asking me about the role of elders in the local church. That led me to revisit a series of sermons I first preached in 1992 called In Search of the Early Church when our congregation in Oak Park was considering a new constitution that would establish a board of …
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