This morning I read an account of a NAPARC pastor who confessed to violating his vows, of abusing his congregation, of violating the sixth and ninth commandments. Continue reading
church growth
Ministry Is Not Mastery
For all that I learned and tried one aspect of the church-growth movement, perhaps the most fundamental aspect, always made me uneasy and makes me uneasy to this day: the church-growth model was a theology of glory and it turned ministers, who should be theologians of the cross, into theologians of glory. The selling point of the various methods and mentalities was numerical success: look at this congregation. Their pastor and leadership adopted this model and look how many people came. Congregation after congregation was shown to be growing and exciting and influential. Why could we not do the same thing? The possibility was very attractive and it was easily clothed in the pious language of “reaching the lost.” I did want to reach the lost but I also wanted to be “successful.” Continue reading →
A Small Thing That Is Really A Big Thing
Getting caught up this morning with some of my favorite resources. Matt Mullininx, a friend and former student has a brief note at Beautiful Christian Life about the importance of greeting people, especially guests, at church. Continue reading
Good News For The Reformed Churches: Small Is In Again
“According to the recently released Faith Communities Today study, half of the congregations in the United States have 65 people or fewer, while two-thirds of congregations have fewer than 100.” Continue reading →
The Next Church-Growth Fad: Big Data
One of the several quiet revolutions introduced into American life by the two Obama Administrations was the use of “Big Data” to target voters. To that point no campaign had harnessed the power of the internet the way the Obama campaign had. . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 222: A Question & Answer Cornucopia
In this episode Dr Clark answers Heidelcalls, texts, and mails with questions, questions, and more questions from 1) Aaron about “covenant renewal worship” (is this a “federal vision” thing or may orthodox Reformed Christians talk this way?); 2) Ritchie (from Ireland) about . . . Continue reading →
The Beginning Of The End Of The Megachurch Era?
In a May 9 video message to the congregation, Pastor Dave Dummitt said the church was “about half the size we were before COVID . . . and as you can imagine that has financial implications.” He said leadership would be working . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast For June 19, 2022: What Happens When Christians Try To Be “Relevant” And Why The Focus On The Confessions?
Despite our fondest wish to get back to the series on the Canons of Dort, the Science tells us that that it is time for only our second ever best of episode. In this episode we feature some audio from January 2010, . . . Continue reading →
The Five Points Of A Calvinist (On Having A Care For Visitors)
I do not remember exactly when I read Jack Miller’s 1986 critique of the NAPARC world, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, but I suspect it was about 1990. I was pastoring a small NAPARC congregation and I had been charged with helping the . . . Continue reading →
An Update On Ventura Reformed Church
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for . . . Continue reading →
Speaking In Foreign Languages In The Church? The Adoption Of Business Language In The Church In Light Of 1 Corinthians 14:27
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a psalm, a lesson, a revelation, a foreign language, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a foreign language, let there be only two . . . Continue reading →
Idea: Let’s Try Every Way But Christ’s Way
This essay was my response to an 2007 article by Nancy Morganthaler on the failure of the church growth movement (HT: Justin Taylor). It is necessarily somewhat autobiographical. My criticisms of the church growth movement are partly theoretical and partly practical, to borrow an . . . Continue reading →
Three Congregations That Grew During The Covid Lockdown
Three congregations that reportedly grew during the Covid lockdowns in 2020: Christ Church in Moscow, ID; Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA; and Trinity Church in Scottsdale, AZ. These three congregations have a few things in common. Each is led by . . . Continue reading →
The Church Growth Ethos, Presbyterians, & Narcissism
An increasing number of pastors in the PCA are either resigning or being fired due to their narcissistic abuses undermining their ministry, which is truly disheartening. However, the more significant issue lies in the job advertisements for pastors, which often attract narcissistic . . . Continue reading →
The Crystal Cathedral Isn’t What It Used To Be
Editor’s note: Since this essay was first published, the Crystal Cathedral really isn’t what it used to be. In 2019 it became Christ Cathedral, the seat of the bishop of Orange. § Christianity Today reports that the Crystal Cathedral is experiencing a . . . Continue reading →