From Worship Leader to Lead Pastor – Of course they don't use that terminology in the Church of England, but Tim Hughes is moving from the church that gave the world The Alpha Course to be "Priest in Charge" of a church in downtown London. "While a significant change for the worship leader, he's keen to point out he won't be putting his guitar down anytime soon. Inspired by a book called Chasing Francis he says he wants to become an 'artist pastor' who leads in creative ways. He said: 'You lead out of who you are. I don't want to think the leader who works in a church is someone who does x,y,z. It's what are my gifts? What are my strengths? The big thing is leading with a team, and a community. I'm not gifted in everything so I need people who can help supplement that.'"
David and Goliath is Next in a line of Religious Epics – The film's director: "'Well first off, I'm not only a director, but also an evangelist,' says [Tim] Chey who has spoken at some of the largest churches in the U.S. and abroad. ’So obviously I'm not going to make a film that's biblically not correct or does not give honor to the Lord.' David and Goliath is considered one of the big three Bible movies hitting theaters after Noah and Exodus: Gods and Kings. The film wrapped principal photography in North Africa and in studios in London and opens as a platform release nationwide on April 3. Chey refers to the backlash of the film 'Noah' which many Christian pastors and leaders shunned. The film still was a box office hit at $120 million, but Christians stayed away in droves."
An Open Letter to High-Profile Pastors – "Famous pastor, your actions and words (written and preached) have ripple effects which reach into the churches whose pastors do not carry your clout. It’s not because they are less gifted or less faithful. It’s because the famous man’s words carry more weight, even in our churches. So when you mess up and preach things that fail to square with God’s Word or you appear alongside false teachers it leaves the rest of us to deal with it in our own churches. These are people we love and pray for and visit in the hospital. You don’t know them. You’ll never meet them. But they listen to your teaching and read your books. Because they never see your own faults they tend to place you on a pedestal."
The Theology of Afterlife – Even within Evangelicalism, there are differences as to what happens when we die, or more particularly, what happens to the unbelieving, unregenerate upon death. Views range from annihilation of the soul to eternal conscious torment. Scot McKnight has assembled a number of texts from the period of Second Temple Judaism that show an equal diversity of teaching. He presents them raw and without comment, except to note that, "Into this kind of diversity Jesus and the apostles stepped and spoke of judgment."
Ultimately, the Kids Don't Want the Y-Min to be Cool – "I think there is a reason youth ministers on average only last 18 months before they move on to a new church. Teenagers are stress machines with enough emotional baggage to sink a ship. You can be great at playing games, planning outings, and writing jokes into lesson plans, but if at the end of the day if you don’t love your kids I don’t know how you are going to make it … In spite of what people might tell you, teenagers don’t really want a youth minister who is “cool.” What youth really want is the freedom to be who they are, and to be loved for who they are."
Church Staffing: Smaller is Better – You'd expect a pastor on the frontlines of multi-site to be all about growth and numbers, but when it comes to staff size, Craig Groeschel leans toward the idea that a few too few is better than a few too many. Sample: "In ministries, a bigger staff often means a smaller volunteer base. When you start to hire people to do what volunteers once did (or could do), you rob your church members of the blessing of using their gifts in ministry. When you stop empowering volunteer leaders, you lose a great source of future staff members and ultimately weaken the strength of your church or non-profit."
NYC Too Pricey for this Non-Profit – The American Bible Society is moving to Philadelphia: "'New York has become so extraordinarily expensive that nonprofit staff cannot afford to live in proximity to headquarters,' said Roy Peterson, the society’s president and CEO. ‘We don’t have a cohesive, synergistic global headquarters staff right now. And that’s why we wanted to find a city that was diverse, rich with culture and churches and language, but yet affordable.'" The new home is just a block from the Liberty Bell.
Preaching to the Crowd You Wish Was Present – Some fairly standard advice is that if you're a church of 50 and you'd like to grow to 250, start preaching like there are 250 people in the room. But an expert on small(er) church ministry rejects that: "That’s some of the worst advice I’ve ever received in ministry. And I’m not the only one who’s received it. Many of you have heard it too. Some of you may have repeated it. If so, stop. It’s not a good idea. In fact, it’s a very bad idea. The only time we should preach like the room is full is when the room is actually full."
Who Says They Never Return? – Pat Robertson welcomed back former 700 Club co-host Sheila Walsh, albeit for a 9-minute interview to promote a book. For his part, Pat was on his best behavior, but wasn't afraid to ask Sheila what medication she was taking for her clinical depression. Ostensibly there to promote her latest book, Loved Back to Life, most people know her for her books, many know about her music career, but some may have missed what was for the flagship program of the Christian Broadcasting Network a golden era.
@PaulW1lk1nson blogs at Thinking Out Loud.
