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…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, church draft, community, congregations, dialogue, Formation, leadership, Missional churches, Relationships, the church draft
Posted in Blog Posts, Leadership

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…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Christianity, Church, Church Leadership, community, congregation, congregations, faith, Formation, leadership, ministry, missional, outreach, Politics, Relationships, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice
Posted in Leadership

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

Lessons From Stone Mountain

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Julie Pennington-Russell — 4 Comments ↓

It all started with my teeth. A couple of years ago I was reclining in the chair of my dentist, Dr. Uetsuki, waiting for the nitrous oxide to kick in. “Are you doing anything special for New Year’s?” he asked…

Tagged with: challenges, faith, Formation, Gratitude, living in the moment, mental health, ministry, nature, new year, obstacles, overcoming, paying attention, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Stone Mountain, sunrise, worship
Posted in Faithful Living, Grief, Health & Wholeness, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Ministry, Spiritual Formation, Worship

The edgy Christian media startup you need to check out

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

More and more, Christian media outfits try to create their own social media platforms to get noticed. However, a new edgy social media startup, “Sogo” is taking a different route on social media to get their message out. Sogo describes…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Brian McLaren, change, dialogue, faith, Formation, missional, social media, sogo, spiritual formation, Spirituality, Steve Knight, Tripp Hudgins, what is sogo
Posted in Technology & Church

Why the “nones” are leaving church, but not God

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Alan Rudnick — 1 Comment ↓

It should make any established American denomination panic: the dramatic increase in number of Americans leaving organized religion. In 2007, the percentage of the religious unaffiliated was around 15% and now that number is around 20% according to a new…

Tagged with: congregation, faith, Formation, missional, Relationships, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice, trends in church decline
Posted in Missiology, Spiritual Formation, Theology

Social media can change spiritual habits

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

Remember to enter to win a free copy of my new Judson Press book. Even though 89% of American households have a Bible, the number of those who read it daily is very low. A new study released by LifeWay…

Tagged with: church and social media, community, congregation, faith, Formation, Relationships, social media, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality
Posted in Technology & Church

Long, long ago in a time far, far away…

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Tommy Deal — 1 Comment ↓

I remember a day when one would get in trouble for passing handwritten notes in class! I also remember the first time a girl passed me one—be still my heart! Yes, I also remember black and white TV with a…

Tagged with: faith, Formation, hope, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice, yesterday and today
Posted in Faithful Living, Generational Differences, Social Issues, Spiritual Formation, TV

Three responses to 9/11 grief

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Alan Rudnick — 3 Comments ↓

Eleven years ago on September 11, I was in college. I was getting out of a Tuesday morning class when I heard people talking about an airplane crash. As I walked back to my apartment, I heard more and more…

Tagged with: 9/11, Baptist, Baptists, change, Christianity, community, dialogue, faith, Formation, missional, september 11, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice
Posted in Grief, Health & Wholeness, Ministry, Religious News Voices, Social Issues

Beautiful City

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Peggy Haymes — No Comments ↓

As I’ve been doing some writing today I’ve been listening to music on my computer. I’d loaded some new songs and I smiled as the opening notes of “Beautiful City” from “Godspell” began. It’s always been one of my favorite…

Tagged with: Broken Open, change, faith, fear, Formation, Funeral, Godspell, Grace, Jesus, Music, Spiritual Practice, suffering
Posted in Faithful Living, Grief, Mental Health, Suffering