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Showing posts from May, 2023

The Missing Link in Church Revitalization: Leadership Development

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by Bart L. Denny If you’ve spent any time in church leadership, you’ve likely felt the heartbreak of decline. Empty pews. Aging buildings. Once-thriving ministries now little more than calendar placeholders. Churches across America—especially in small towns and aging neighborhoods—are closing their doors at an alarming rate. And even those that remain open are often mere shells of what they once were. But here’s the good news: Jesus hasn’t given up on His Church. The gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). Still, that doesn’t mean local churches won’t die—because they do. And far too often. That breaks my heart, and I believe it should break yours, too! Why Churches Are Dying Some blame culture. And yes, the data is troubling. Fewer people identify as Christian. Fewer attend worship. And many younger adults have simply walked away from the church altogether (some recent data suggests that is changing, especially with young men). But culture isn’t the whole s...

Dear Self-Published Christian Author

by Bart L. Denny, Ph.D., Th.M.  Dear Self-Published Christian Author, I am rooting for you. I admire you. I have no doubt that you have a message that needs to be out there. I’m glad you think your book would look good on the shelves of the Christian bookstore for which I buy inventory. If we sell your book, you win and we win. So, I am writing to ask, as Tom Cruise’s character, Jerry Maguire, so famously pleads with his client, “Help me help you!” I want to lovingly disabuse you of a few notions as I get rolling. The first one is that because you are local to the store, customers will automatically be interested in your book. I’m sorry, but they won’t. Not only that, but you have a lot of competition from other local, self-published authors and plenty of local authors that publish traditionally with the major Christian publishing houses. You must have at least some local notoriety—and a way to let people know your book is available locally at fine Christian bookstores. Second is t...