Excellent in my eyes! Love the ending, we raised our daughters in the congregation I grew up in. (I am 79.) None of us are there now but some are still there and one daughter has great love as I do for them and the ones in our memories. It’s so good to be with a congregation for many years, the love is enduring and the “roots” have great meaning. You are an excellent writer, you express yourself so well. Thanks for your ministry of writing!
My church went through a bad patch of theology that took years to excise and heal from. We lost 70% of our congregation. Just as we started to increase, COVID hit and we lost ground again. In my opinion, the double whammy wiped out a generation of our future leaders. Men and women weren't there to go through the spiritual maturation process.
Been telling the rest of the deacons that we need to fix this before we end up leading into our 80s. But it is SO hard getting the under-50 crowd to do more than just attend every other week. I see a couple of future leaders in the 15-20 year-old group, so I guess we'd better get started. This article helps.
Thank you for your article. I was actually thinking recently about the shortage of preachers. I hope you don’t mind but this may be off topic. Over the past year or so, I have been hearing more about church of Christ ministers getting involved with a “ministerial alliance” in which they are working with other so-called “pastors” and “ministers” from denominations. I don’t agree with this for different reasons. I suppose one reason would be that if we call someone our “brother” in Christ, then how did they become our brother in Christ? Did they become our “brother” in Christ by simply confessing the name of Christ and that’s it? Is someone our “brother” in Christ if they believe they are saved by faith alone? Sometimes we look at those in a denomination and say they are from a “Christian” faith but what exactly does it mean to be a “Christian”? If someone is waiting around for the rapture to occur, are they a “Christian”? Do we seek fellowship with a “brother” who speaks in tongues every Sunday? Is a female “pastor” a Christian? A “ministerial alliance” is about joining with those in other denominations (churches not found in scripture) and working with them to strengthen relations and faith. But how can we “alliance” with someone when we can’t even worship with them? How can we develop an “alliance” when we are so divided? I once saw a minister in the church of Christ ask the men of the congregation about joining a prayer meeting at a HS football field on a Saturday morning with denominational leaders in town. Thankfully, the men said no. But how can we pray with denominational leaders on Saturday but yet we can’t even worship with them on Sunday? Do you mind sharing your thoughts on “ministerial alliances”? Thank you.
Excellent, thought provoking article. Thank you for this! I wrote a book, A Few Things Against You, which deals with the leadership issue in our congregations. Leadership is an issue that certainly needs to be addressed.
Excellent in my eyes! Love the ending, we raised our daughters in the congregation I grew up in. (I am 79.) None of us are there now but some are still there and one daughter has great love as I do for them and the ones in our memories. It’s so good to be with a congregation for many years, the love is enduring and the “roots” have great meaning. You are an excellent writer, you express yourself so well. Thanks for your ministry of writing!
My church went through a bad patch of theology that took years to excise and heal from. We lost 70% of our congregation. Just as we started to increase, COVID hit and we lost ground again. In my opinion, the double whammy wiped out a generation of our future leaders. Men and women weren't there to go through the spiritual maturation process.
Been telling the rest of the deacons that we need to fix this before we end up leading into our 80s. But it is SO hard getting the under-50 crowd to do more than just attend every other week. I see a couple of future leaders in the 15-20 year-old group, so I guess we'd better get started. This article helps.
You make some cogent points. Investment in our youth, as you suggest, would help restore a sense of purpose to an aimless generation.
Thank you for your article. I was actually thinking recently about the shortage of preachers. I hope you don’t mind but this may be off topic. Over the past year or so, I have been hearing more about church of Christ ministers getting involved with a “ministerial alliance” in which they are working with other so-called “pastors” and “ministers” from denominations. I don’t agree with this for different reasons. I suppose one reason would be that if we call someone our “brother” in Christ, then how did they become our brother in Christ? Did they become our “brother” in Christ by simply confessing the name of Christ and that’s it? Is someone our “brother” in Christ if they believe they are saved by faith alone? Sometimes we look at those in a denomination and say they are from a “Christian” faith but what exactly does it mean to be a “Christian”? If someone is waiting around for the rapture to occur, are they a “Christian”? Do we seek fellowship with a “brother” who speaks in tongues every Sunday? Is a female “pastor” a Christian? A “ministerial alliance” is about joining with those in other denominations (churches not found in scripture) and working with them to strengthen relations and faith. But how can we “alliance” with someone when we can’t even worship with them? How can we develop an “alliance” when we are so divided? I once saw a minister in the church of Christ ask the men of the congregation about joining a prayer meeting at a HS football field on a Saturday morning with denominational leaders in town. Thankfully, the men said no. But how can we pray with denominational leaders on Saturday but yet we can’t even worship with them on Sunday? Do you mind sharing your thoughts on “ministerial alliances”? Thank you.
Excellent, thought provoking article. Thank you for this! I wrote a book, A Few Things Against You, which deals with the leadership issue in our congregations. Leadership is an issue that certainly needs to be addressed.