Blog Archives

The Church Draft

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

As millions of football fans will undoubtedly will be glued to their televisions and social media, they will hunger for the latest information about NFL draft picks. The NFL draft is part pageantry and part celebration for football teams and their…

How to talk to kids about trauma

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

As the country saw the horrific bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon on television, we learned that there were adult and child victims. Television crews and photographers were at the finish of the race and they captured the raw footage. Every news channel…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Boston Marathon, Children, churches, community, leadership, parenting, trauma
Posted in Health & Wholeness, Parenting

Naked church

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Julie Pennington-Russell — No Comments ↓

Dear Church: if you bring good news to your community you won’t need to inform your neighbors. They already know. If you don’t—well, chances are everybody knows but you. Let’s get down to it: a church is either welcome relief…

Tagged with: Baptist, Christianity, Church, community, congregation, God, Jesus, social media
Posted in Blog Posts, Humor, Leadership, Ministry, Technology & Church

Poll: Most Americans feel connected to local church

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

In an age where cries from denominations about declining membership and church participation, a new poll offers some encouraging news on American’s feelings towards their congregation. A Rasmussen poll found that 54% of American adults feel at least “somewhat connected” to their local…

Wisdom of staying put

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Elizabeth Evans Hagan — 10 Comments ↓

If you are like me, you are probably always looking for the next great adventure around the corner. How can I get a better job? What can be changed in my routines to give me more peace? How could I…

One-eared Mickey Mouse model of youth ministry

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Felicia Fox — No Comments ↓

Churches must be intentional about forming a community that includes everyone. I have been in youth ministry for over 12 years. In college I was introduced to the One-Eared Mickey Mouse Model of youth ministry. I ran into it again…

Dear Boy Scouts of America

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Zachary Bailes — 12 Comments ↓

Dear Boy Scouts of America: I hope this finds you well, though all the conversation in the media seems to say otherwise. You’re apparently between a rock and a hard place, at least politically speaking. You don’t want to alienate your base,…

Tagged with: boy scouts, Christianity, Church, community, Grace, Jesus, sexuality, Southern Baptist Convention
Posted in Faithful Living, Public Policy

Funeral food

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Mark Wingfield — 1 Comment ↓

There are some rules everyone needs to understand about death and funerals. For starters, funerals call for a certain kind of food. There had better be chocolate cake involved, or the family is going to be left to scramble on…

Tagged with: comfort, community, food, Funeral, Grief
Posted in Death, Grief, Humor, Uncategorized

Church matters

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Peggy Haymes — No Comments ↓

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved church. About the only thing I ever resisted was singing in the children’s choir because I considered the robes with their big floppy bows as an affront to my eight-year-old…

Tagged with: abuse, Church, churches, community, congregation, God, Grace, healing, hope, ministry
Posted in Ministry

Robert Griffin III, the Redskins and dying churches

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — 3 Comments ↓

It was awful. It was embarrassing. I couldn’t watch it anymore. My team, the Washington Redskins had started a good fight against the Seattle Seahawks on a recent Sunday night football. The Redskins came out strong and scored 14 points…

Tagged with: Church, community, congregation, congregations, dying churches, faith, Formation, healthy churches, leadership, missional
Posted in Leadership, Missiology