Christian Unity

Christian Unity
“Small Church Pastors Should Quit” (and More Monday Google Searches)
I’ve always known that Mondays are hard for pastors. I now have direct evidence that they can be especially hard for small church pastors.
“Small Church Pastors Should Quit” (and More Monday Google Searches)
Image: Alon | Flickr

You give away a lot more than you realize when you’re on the internet.

Now that I operate a website, I get to see some of those secrets because I can read the search terms that have led people there.

I’ve always known that Mondays are hard for pastors. I now have direct ...

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Christian Unity
Imagine a World Without Megachurches
Megachurches and small churches aren't in competition with each other. At least we shouldn't be.
Imagine a World Without Megachurches
Image: Trubble | Flickr

What would the world look like if all the megachurches disappeared tomorrow? Would it be a better place? Or worse?

I propose it would be worse.

But, by the way some of my fellow small church pastors talk (and the way I used to talk), you’d think that if all the megachurches ...

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Christian Unity
5 Principles Small Churches Can Learn From Megachurches
Small churches are uniquely different from megachurches. But that doesn't mean we can't learn from each other.
5 Principles Small Churches Can Learn From Megachurches
Image: Alan Levine | Flickr

Small churches are not scaled-down versions of megachurches.

We’re different, not just in size, but in methodology. A lot of what works in big churches just won’t work in smaller ones. And vice versa.

But there are some overlapping principles. Starting with the scriptural ...

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Christian Unity
5 Principles Megachurches Can Learn From Small Churches
Healthy small churches have characteristics that make them work. And many of them can work in big churches, too.
5 Principles Megachurches Can Learn From Small Churches
Image: Darrell Birkett | Flickr

Small churches receive a lot from our megachurch friends. We read their books, sing their songs, use their curriculum and attend their seminars. And we’re grateful.

But the benefits don’t have to flow only one way. There are important, though less obvious principles ...

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Christian Unity
How Church Size Culture Is Affecting the Decline of Denominations
The size of the church we minister in has almost invisibly become a greater point of connection and disagreement than our denominations.
How Church Size Culture Is Affecting the Decline of Denominations
Image: anyjazz65 | Flickr

We live in an increasingly post-denominational world. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, it’s just the way things are now.

Years ago, virtually every friend I had in ministry was within my denomination. Every program we used came from our denominational headquarters. ...

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Christian Unity
Tony Morgan, Church Growth and the Small Thinking that Shouldn't Divide Us
Different ministries approach church health and growth in different ways. If we didn't, we probably couldn’t help each other very much.
Tony Morgan, Church Growth and the Small Thinking that Shouldn't Divide Us
Image: Uwe Potthoff | Flickr

Yesterday I got frustrated while reading Tony Morgan’s latest blog post.

But it wasn’t Tony’s fault.

Tony Morgan is the founder of The Unstuck Group and he’s starting a new series on growth strategies for churches of different sizes.

In the first sentence, ...

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Christian Unity
What’s Better? 10,000 In One Megachurch Or 10,000 In 100 Small Churches?
The work of the Holy Spirit in neither enhanced nor diluted by the size of the crowd.
What’s Better? 10,000 In One Megachurch Or 10,000 In 100 Small Churches?
Image: Florian Plag | Flickr

“How can you possibly say that a church of 100 is as valuable as a church of 10,000?”

Yes, I was actually asked that question.

I ignored the insult and answered it this way: I’m not saying that a church of 100 is as valuable as a church of 10,000. Or vice versa. ...

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Christian Unity
Dear Andy Stanley, Please Be the Small Church's Ally, Not Our Enemy
A plea from the 90 percent about "that" sermon you preached.
Dear Andy Stanley, Please Be the Small Church's Ally, Not Our Enemy

(This post has been updated – twice – with Stanley’s apolog(ies). Scroll down to see them.)

I hate situations like this.

I just listened to a sermon from a guy I like, who insulted me, my church and 90 percent of the churches on earth for no good reason.

For over ...

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Christian Unity
Jesus Called Us to Make Disciples, Not Baptists (or Catholics, or Lutherans, or...)
A humble call to remind all of us that it’s about Jesus and his church, not our little segment of it.
Jesus Called Us to Make Disciples, Not Baptists (or Catholics, or Lutherans, or...)
Image: Kevin Dooley | Flickr

The world doesn’t need more Episcopalians.

No one wakes up with a hunger to be a Methodist.

No child says "I want to be Assemblies of God when I grow up."

We live in a post-denominational world. The day of being Presbyterian because we grew up Presbyterian is ending. ...

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Christian Unity
Four Reasons I Love the Church Unapologetically
The Bible isn’t shy about showing the warts of its heroes. But the church receives praise that's second only to Jesus himself.
Four Reasons I Love the Church Unapologetically
Image: *_Abhi_* | Flickr

I love the church.

For a lot of years, “I love Jesus, but not the church” or “the church may stink, but it's the only thing afloat” have been cool things for a lot of Christians to say.

I used to be one of those people. Not anymore.

I love ...

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