Hi, Friends,
I subscribe to a weekly internet newsletter called "CHristian Leaders Intelligence Report." It provides snippetts of all kinds of information and statistics regarding life and trends that affect today's leaders and churches. I found this article today, and I thought you would be interested in it. Happy reading!
Men & Church
Less than 40% of church attendants at a typical worship service are men.Men are the world's largest unchurched people group, according to Church for Men, founded by David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church. He argues that worship services today are typically built around feminine values, with worship songs that are sweet and sentimental and sermons that emphasize home, marriage and family. Men need more masculine imagery and more opportunities to use their unique skills. They have their own language, culture and needs. Murrow says that, rather than having a separate men's ministry, churches need to integrate everything they do with a masculine spirit. Here are some of the suggestions Church for Men makes, based on their research:
Have special worship services with a theme targeted at men, such as "Great Outdoors Sunday," so men feel at home and not uncomfortable on cushiony pews with fresh flowers everywhere and quilted banners hanging around the church.
Shorter is better when reaching men. Sunday worship services should always be wrapped up in one hour or less.
Worship songs should have lyrics that men can relate to. While hymnals are full of anthems for men, today's praise songs sound more like love songs. Men prefer upbeat music and songs that do not repeat over and over.
Services need to be relevant to the world in which men live if they are to change the perception that church is boring or irrelevant.
Churches that have more men active in the church (60% or more) are more likely to be growing.“Here's the wonderful truth about women,” argues Church for Men. “They are comfortable with guy things.” And with 1 out of 5 married women worshiping on Sundays without their husbands, most women would gladly try something new in order to attract their husbands, sons and fathers to church. Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, 6/8/07
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
First-Time Visitors
Here's an article from an online newsletter (Monday Morning Insight) I subscribe to that I think is useful for all of us to consider for Sunday mornings.
Printer Friendly Version
How Churches Decline
The head of the Church is our Lord Jesus Christ. We see this particularly in the way he writes to the seven churches in Asia Minor in Revelation chapters two and three. He encourages and corrects and reproves. He observes too that while faithfulness in doctrine is commendable, it is possible to lose our first love and so incur his displeasure (Rev. 2:3).1] Christ as head of the churches maintains his ministry among them as prophet, priest and king.Christ’s prophetic ministry is maintained through the ordinance of gospel preaching. Week by week we hear the message of Christ by way of teaching and application of the Word. He is the Word of God (John 1:1, Rev. 19:13). That is one reason why preaching is so important.Christ’s priestly ministry is maintained through prayer in the worship services where prayer is led from the front by the elders. Opportunity is given in the prayer meetings of the church where all members of the church can pray because all members of the body of Christ enjoy equally the right of access to the throne of grace. We call this the priesthood of all believers.Christ’s kingly ministry is maintained in the discipline of the church. The members are to are to live holy lives and be loyal and faithful to their leaders and to each other. Christ’s body is different from the world because Christ’s body is holy just as he is holy.Churches decline when Christ’s ministry as prophet priest and king is negated. This never takes place suddenly. It is a gradual process.2] Churches decline when the sermon is removed from the services to be replaced by simple visual teaching methods.The removal of the pulpit ministry and the sermon is to negate Christ’s ministry as prophet. In our non-church-going society some churches add seeker sensitive services. That can be advantageous because even there a brief preaching ministry can be successfully maintained. Everything is made simple and such services can precede the main stated services so that those who wish to attend both the seeker service and the main service may do so. Thoughtful ways of reaching out to the community are needed. With much hard work these can be put in place without negating the place of preaching in the main stated weekly services of the church. To remove the sermon from Lord’s Day services is like inviting people to a gospel feast but when the guests arrive all there is is cakes and cookies.3] Churches also decline when the evening service is removed which reduces by half the prophetic ministry of our Lord on his day.We rejoice to keep the Lord’s Day - not to keep just the Lord’s Day morning. In some churches evening congregations have increased because the faithful from other churches attend since they have no evening service of their own.4] Christ’s priestly ministry is negated when churches abandon the weekly prayer meeting.The main reason for this change is that fellowship house groups are deemed better. The prevailing opinion in many churches is that prayer can be maintained in the house groups. This system has worked in some churches mainly because of sterling leadership and constant coordination and oversight. But is has not worked well in other churches. The evidence in the New Testament is that the churches as well as house groups gathered together with the specific purpose of prayer. C H Spurgeon testified that at New Park Street there was a prayer meeting every morning from 7:00 am to 7:30 am, as well as one every week attended by 3000. When there is no stated prayer meeting in a church, that reduces the profile of Christ’s priestly ministry among his people. That weakens the church. Intercessors who have the gift of laying hold of the Lord are very rare today. They should not be discouraged. If they do not fit comfortably into house groups why not suggest a time and place where they can pray together on a regular basis?5] Christ’s kingly ministry is negated when discipline ceases in a local church.Authoritarianism is to be avoided by the elders, as that does not reflect the mind of Christ. On the other hand the letters to the seven churches and to the Corinthians show that discipline must be maintained with regard to immoral living and with regard to heretical doctrine. Also lukewarmness is to be reproved (Rev. 3:14-21). Those members who fail without good reason to attend for months on end should be visited and challenged. If there is no repentance, discipline should be applied. When there is little or no difference between the behaviour of the church and the world, the witness of the church is weakened.Believers from abroad or from another town who have been well taught may ask the following questions: Is there preaching? The answer to that is: Most times, but expect to come to family services which are seeker friendly where there is no sermon. The next question is, Is there a weekly prayer meeting? The answer is: No; we have house groups. The next question by a discerning enquirer is, Do the members really have to take their church covenants seriously or is that just idealistic? The answer is: We hope they will take them seriously, but in reality they are idealistic.
By Erroll Hulse
Back to TopBack To Articles
It should not be assumed that any statements of fact or of opinion appearing on this website have been approved by or represent the views of the Trust, its Trustees or employees.
Home About Us Book Catalogue Magazine Articles Events Contact View Cart
The Banner of Truth Trust
3 Murrayfield Road,Edinburgh EH12 6ELU.K.Tel: +44 (0) 131 337 7310info@banneroftruth.co.uk
P.O. Box 621, Carlisle,Pennsylvania 17013,U.S.A.Tel: 717-249-5747info@banneroftruth.org
© 2003 Banner of Truth. All rights reserved
Printer Friendly Version
How Churches Decline
The head of the Church is our Lord Jesus Christ. We see this particularly in the way he writes to the seven churches in Asia Minor in Revelation chapters two and three. He encourages and corrects and reproves. He observes too that while faithfulness in doctrine is commendable, it is possible to lose our first love and so incur his displeasure (Rev. 2:3).1] Christ as head of the churches maintains his ministry among them as prophet, priest and king.Christ’s prophetic ministry is maintained through the ordinance of gospel preaching. Week by week we hear the message of Christ by way of teaching and application of the Word. He is the Word of God (John 1:1, Rev. 19:13). That is one reason why preaching is so important.Christ’s priestly ministry is maintained through prayer in the worship services where prayer is led from the front by the elders. Opportunity is given in the prayer meetings of the church where all members of the church can pray because all members of the body of Christ enjoy equally the right of access to the throne of grace. We call this the priesthood of all believers.Christ’s kingly ministry is maintained in the discipline of the church. The members are to are to live holy lives and be loyal and faithful to their leaders and to each other. Christ’s body is different from the world because Christ’s body is holy just as he is holy.Churches decline when Christ’s ministry as prophet priest and king is negated. This never takes place suddenly. It is a gradual process.2] Churches decline when the sermon is removed from the services to be replaced by simple visual teaching methods.The removal of the pulpit ministry and the sermon is to negate Christ’s ministry as prophet. In our non-church-going society some churches add seeker sensitive services. That can be advantageous because even there a brief preaching ministry can be successfully maintained. Everything is made simple and such services can precede the main stated services so that those who wish to attend both the seeker service and the main service may do so. Thoughtful ways of reaching out to the community are needed. With much hard work these can be put in place without negating the place of preaching in the main stated weekly services of the church. To remove the sermon from Lord’s Day services is like inviting people to a gospel feast but when the guests arrive all there is is cakes and cookies.3] Churches also decline when the evening service is removed which reduces by half the prophetic ministry of our Lord on his day.We rejoice to keep the Lord’s Day - not to keep just the Lord’s Day morning. In some churches evening congregations have increased because the faithful from other churches attend since they have no evening service of their own.4] Christ’s priestly ministry is negated when churches abandon the weekly prayer meeting.The main reason for this change is that fellowship house groups are deemed better. The prevailing opinion in many churches is that prayer can be maintained in the house groups. This system has worked in some churches mainly because of sterling leadership and constant coordination and oversight. But is has not worked well in other churches. The evidence in the New Testament is that the churches as well as house groups gathered together with the specific purpose of prayer. C H Spurgeon testified that at New Park Street there was a prayer meeting every morning from 7:00 am to 7:30 am, as well as one every week attended by 3000. When there is no stated prayer meeting in a church, that reduces the profile of Christ’s priestly ministry among his people. That weakens the church. Intercessors who have the gift of laying hold of the Lord are very rare today. They should not be discouraged. If they do not fit comfortably into house groups why not suggest a time and place where they can pray together on a regular basis?5] Christ’s kingly ministry is negated when discipline ceases in a local church.Authoritarianism is to be avoided by the elders, as that does not reflect the mind of Christ. On the other hand the letters to the seven churches and to the Corinthians show that discipline must be maintained with regard to immoral living and with regard to heretical doctrine. Also lukewarmness is to be reproved (Rev. 3:14-21). Those members who fail without good reason to attend for months on end should be visited and challenged. If there is no repentance, discipline should be applied. When there is little or no difference between the behaviour of the church and the world, the witness of the church is weakened.Believers from abroad or from another town who have been well taught may ask the following questions: Is there preaching? The answer to that is: Most times, but expect to come to family services which are seeker friendly where there is no sermon. The next question is, Is there a weekly prayer meeting? The answer is: No; we have house groups. The next question by a discerning enquirer is, Do the members really have to take their church covenants seriously or is that just idealistic? The answer is: We hope they will take them seriously, but in reality they are idealistic.
By Erroll Hulse
Back to TopBack To Articles
It should not be assumed that any statements of fact or of opinion appearing on this website have been approved by or represent the views of the Trust, its Trustees or employees.
Home About Us Book Catalogue Magazine Articles Events Contact View Cart
The Banner of Truth Trust
3 Murrayfield Road,Edinburgh EH12 6ELU.K.Tel: +44 (0) 131 337 7310info@banneroftruth.co.uk
P.O. Box 621, Carlisle,Pennsylvania 17013,U.S.A.Tel: 717-249-5747info@banneroftruth.org
© 2003 Banner of Truth. All rights reserved
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Young People in Church
Many churches, like ours, today are asking, Where are all the young people? Of course, there are several ways to answer that question. Below is a snippet of information I found in a newsletter I subscribe to online "Church Leaders Report" by Lifeway. I share this information with you for your consideration and commentary.
Young Church Dropouts
LifeWay Research reveals that more than 70% of young adults who attend a Protestant church for at least a year in high school will stop attending church regularly for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22. 97% of dropouts list a life change or life situation as the reason for leaving. Their reasons are: wanted a break from church (27%), moved to college and stopped attending (25%), work responsibilities prevented me attending, (23%) and moved too far away to continue (22%). Also 22% became too busy, though still wanted to attend, and 17% chose to spend more time with non-church friends. LifeWay VP Brad Waggoner observes, “Relationships are often the glue that keeps people in church or serves as the attraction to begin attending again following a period of absenteeism.” About 66% of those who leave do return at some level. Baptist Press 8/7/07
So, what can we glean from this report? One thing that occurs to me, is to make church (worship) available at times other than Sunday morning when a lot of young people are out in the workforce. What about those who are too busy? It would be easy to say, "You have to just make the time." Pat answer; not helpful to the young people, I think. Our lives are always going to be too busy unless there's some dramatic change in the atmosphere, something akin to what caused the dinosaurs to become extinct!
What about the way worship looks? Might that be something to change so that it is attractive (catches the eye) of the busy young person? Maybe music and teaching and prayer are the way to a young person's heart. Maybe understanding "their" music and culture would help us help them connect to Christ. I guess what I am thinking is that it's not all about changing them to meet Christ our way but to educate ourselves to speak a language that connects all of us to the Lord.
What do you think?
Young Church Dropouts
LifeWay Research reveals that more than 70% of young adults who attend a Protestant church for at least a year in high school will stop attending church regularly for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22. 97% of dropouts list a life change or life situation as the reason for leaving. Their reasons are: wanted a break from church (27%), moved to college and stopped attending (25%), work responsibilities prevented me attending, (23%) and moved too far away to continue (22%). Also 22% became too busy, though still wanted to attend, and 17% chose to spend more time with non-church friends. LifeWay VP Brad Waggoner observes, “Relationships are often the glue that keeps people in church or serves as the attraction to begin attending again following a period of absenteeism.” About 66% of those who leave do return at some level. Baptist Press 8/7/07
So, what can we glean from this report? One thing that occurs to me, is to make church (worship) available at times other than Sunday morning when a lot of young people are out in the workforce. What about those who are too busy? It would be easy to say, "You have to just make the time." Pat answer; not helpful to the young people, I think. Our lives are always going to be too busy unless there's some dramatic change in the atmosphere, something akin to what caused the dinosaurs to become extinct!
What about the way worship looks? Might that be something to change so that it is attractive (catches the eye) of the busy young person? Maybe music and teaching and prayer are the way to a young person's heart. Maybe understanding "their" music and culture would help us help them connect to Christ. I guess what I am thinking is that it's not all about changing them to meet Christ our way but to educate ourselves to speak a language that connects all of us to the Lord.
What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
