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Showing posts from May, 2021

Everything Belongs to God: Stewarding Life as a Sacred Trust

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by Bart Denny Picture this: a friend hands you the keys to their vehicle and says, “I’m trusting you with this.” Not just any vehicle. Their vehicle. Maybe it’s newer than yours. Maybe it’s nicer than yours. Maybe it’s the one they wash by hand, park in the shade, and somehow notice if one speck of dust lands on the hood. Maybe it’s a Bentley. You drive differently, don’t you? You don’t pull out of the driveway like you’re late for a NASCAR qualifying lap. You check your mirrors like you’re taking your driver’s test all over again. You park at the far end of the lot where there are no shopping carts, no minivans full of energetic children, and ideally, no other human beings. And if you’re brave enough to have coffee in the car, you hold that cup like it contains nuclear waste. Why? Because it isn’t yours. You have real responsibility for it. You can drive it. You can choose the route. You can turn the wheel. But having the keys doesn’t make you the owner. That’s ste...
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"People just don't want to come to church anymore!" The Last Words of a Dying Church

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 Lately, I've had the opportunity to observe some dying churches, and to talk to people about the increasing problem of church decline and death. I know many dying organizations subscribe to the mantra, "We've never done it that way before." But, in the case of churches, it assumes that at least someone  in the organization is trying to turn things around.  Why does no one show up for worship on Sundays? Because "no one wants to come to church anymore." It's actually an answer that I heard before COVID, but the pandemic seems to reinforce that line of thinking. And I understand that cultural Christianity is dead. There is no societal expectation that people show up for church just because that's what "respectable" people do. That should be a win. Do we really want unregenerate people in church leadership? But it does cut into the numbers, especially for churches that don't really have much to offer by way of authentic community, vibrant...
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