Update

Just a quick update for those who follow this blog. It has taken six months to find gainful employment outside the institutional church: it’s been a rough road and there’s no safety net in the United States for someone who chooses to leave professional ministry for a secular career. No unemployment benefits, no health insurance, [...]

Church Alumni

Here’s a great video clip from Recycle Your Faith, featuring Chad Estes of Captain’s Blog.

Frank Viola’s unfortunate assumptions regarding “postchurch” views

Has anyone read Frank Viola’s broadbrush generalizations of the “postchurch” mindset? He claims that much of our doctrine is based on Matthew 18:20 passage (”where two or three are gathered together”). Then he says, “Because this is the primary passage the postchurch viewpoint is founded on, I’m of the opinion that the position cannot stand [...]

Don’t we need pastors to equip the saints?

As a former pastor, I viewed my preaching ministry through the lens of Ephesians 4 (below) and seriously believed that my twice-a-week sermons fulfilled, to a large extent, the discipleship mandate found in the Great Commission. I invested an enormous amount of energy and time out of my weekly schedule to study a passage of [...]

UK churchgoing “not in decline” says TearFund

At first glance, a January 2009 article published by Tearfund, a Christian relief and development agency in the UK, seems to paint a bright, rosy picture where the ancient churches and chapels in the United Kingdom seem to be enjoying an increase in attendance after decades of decline in church attendance. Upon closer examination, one [...]

Go to Church or the Devil Will Get You!

Those who live in northwest Florida or South Alabama may be familiar with this billboard along Interstate 65 north of Montgomery, Alabama. Evidently it’s been there for years, but I just saw it a few days ago as I was traveling to Birmingham. It speaks volumes about the use of guilt and manipulation, based in [...]

Packiam Defends the Institutional Church

Here’s an interesting post from Glenn Packiam’s blog: In Defense of the Institutional Church. Some interesting feedback since the article was posted on June 8th, so I thought some of you might like to weigh in.

Transition update

These past two Sundays have been my first experience outside the institutional church. Ever. Sure, I’ve skipped a few “services” (I’m beginning to loathe that term) in our lifetime, but otherwise we’ve been active, faithful members of a Southern Baptist church since birth. On the first Sunday, my wife and I slept a little later [...]

My Last Easter Service

Yesterday, I attended the church where I have been on staff for several years. All of the church elders were out of town, so they had asked me to lead the service. When I agreed to the date a few weeks ago, I didn’t realize it was Easter Sunday. A slight oversight on my part, [...]

Pastor, what does God really want you to do?

From my earliest childhood, I remember always thinking that God was especially pleased when young men and women “surrendered to full-time Christian service.” Since I was raised in a right-wing conservative evangelical culture, for me that meant becoming a pastor or a missionary; and no matter how much one might be well-suited to be a [...]

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