5 Ways to Slow Down Ministry’s Revolving Door

I spoke at a youth retreat recently, during which students acted out skits they made up. Again and again, students walked up and impersonated a caricature of one of their former youth ministers. “Do you see what’s going on here?” my friend asked,...

When We’re Preaching, Why Not Try Honesty?

Anne Lamott infamously said, “The most powerful sermon in the world are the words ‘me too.'” I read those words once – I also read them in Rob Bell’s book “Velvet Elvis,” which is fitting because I recently found myself settling...

Shifting From Inward Devotion to Action and Service

When I was a student at Shorter College in the late ’90s, I heard about a conference for college students in Texas called “Passion.” There were CDs of new and inspiring worship songs coming out of the conference as well as sermons from compelling...

Why Can’t the Church Reach Teens Like MTV?

We got cable in my house when I was in high school, and I was perhaps most excited to have MTV. Granted, this was the ’90s – when bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam were captivating and expressing the angst and fury of a million teenagers who felt enslaved in...

Why Churches Need More Comedy, Less Advertising

Two radio segments illustrated a certain truth. “This American Life” carried the story of Julian Koenig, who wrote memorable advertising slogans for companies like Timex and Volkswagen. The most startling bit from the episode comes in this line from...