In my course, “Starting New Missional Ministries” students have an assignment in which they respond to the prompt, “In a world of conflicting values, pluralistic leanings, and abundant choice, why does church matter?” Try it yourself. It’s a tough question, but an essential one for us — both individually and for our churches collectively. In a way, Steve Oelschlager’s post

I recently came across a stewardship angle totally new to me. That’s a bit strange, though, because it’s in quite an old book. Back in 1954, Jacques Ellul wrote that with our wealth, Christians are called to announce the truth about God. We must use money, Ellul wrote, as a means through which we testify to the truth — about

A church that throws parties, enters floats in parades, and shows up at community festivals? These are all aspects of the work Rev. Dr. Katie Hays supports as lead evangelist in her new congregation, Galileo Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. In today’s post, Hays describes how reading scripture with an eye for Jesus’ penchant for announcing the reign

A blog post by Timothy Siburg Image Credit: Lent by Stephen Cuyos on Flickr Every day is a good day to think about and create opportunities for members of your congregation to lead. This is true for youth too, who are also members of your congregation and community. The season of Lent provides a time for intention. Congregations approach this

A blog post by Kate Reuer Welton “I would like to beg you dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be

By Josh Linman “Becoming missional will save the church.” Whether we want to admit it or not, many mainline pastors and denominations are banking on this idea. In our race to become missional, we have allowed some key assumptions to endure that are actually roadblocks to renewal. Missional Assumption 2: Worship is the centerpiece of Christian life Missional Reality 2:

By Josh Linman  “Becoming missional will save the church.” Whether we want to admit it or not, many mainline pastors and denominations are banking on this idea. In our race to become missional, we have allowed some key assumptions to endure that are actually roadblocks to renewal. Missional Assumption 1: Becoming missional should be our priority Missional Reality 1: Developing

Courtney Young is a graduate of Luther Seminary – M.Div. with an emphasis in Congregational Mission and Leadership. Missional, a Millennial, and a new mother, Courtney shares her thoughts with us here:   When my husband and I moved to small-town Minnesota, an hour away from our closest family and friends, I suddenly found myself without the people who made

A blog post by Megan Clapp There’s been a lot of “talk” online lately about millennials and the church, why they’re leaving, why they need the church, and a whole bunch of responses along the spectrum. I’ve read a lot by Rachel Held Evans, the author of all the links above, and I appreciate the way she wrestles with questions of faith and

Courtney Young is a graduate of Luther Seminary – M.Div. with an emphasis in Congregational Mission and Leadership.  Missional, a Millennial, and a new mother, Courtney shares her thoughts with us here:   The third thing we were to take away from Rethinking Evangelism was an evangelism experiment to actually try, for realz, when we got back home. As we