The stats are in, and those 18-30 are increasingly unlikely to "go to church." Recent polling shows 30 percent of this age church claims no religious affiliation at all. And in my own fellowship, Churches of Christ, this age group (and even Gen X, my own generation), is deserting our fellowship in droves. This saddens me greatly, and it is laid upon my heart to do everything possible to reach these generations. 

Why are they leaving? A variety of…

Mothers are so precious! None of us would be alive without a mother (and a father--but it is Mother's Day today). We all have a mother. Our parents had mothers. Our grandparents had mothers. Jesus had a mother. Only Adam and Eve did not have a mother. And yet, they were both made in the image of God.

The creation account in Genesis says this:…

Frank Viola is the author of "Pagan Christianity" and numerous other books. He and I have become Facebook friends over the past couple of years. I have appreciated some of his recent works with his approach of looking at the narrative of Scripture through a Christological lens, too.

Frank has just…

One of my minister friends posted a link to this article, which I have reposted below. Here is the original link: I do think it is okay to honor certain people. The Bible says to give honor to whom honor is due. We can find ways to honor and those those who are not mothers, and many of the suggestions in the article I think can be…

Today I arrived in Malibu to go to the Pepperdine lectures. The Pepperdine lectures are my favorite of the lectureships in our fellowship. I love the weather, and I love the beach. I don't ever actually get to go to the beach, mind you, but I like the thought of it. And the scenery is nicer on the…

One of the great joys of my ministry is helping people discover their Spiritual Gifts.  This helps people see how God has made them, how they can serve in God's kingdom, and where God is already at work in their lives.

Some people rarely are affirmed. Or they have been forced into a box. Or tried to be made a teacher or…

In the book, Outspoken: Conversations on Church Communication by WIll Mancini and Leonard Sweet and…

Whenever I do Missional Outreach Seminars, I divide the participants in smaller…

Easter Sunday was our first official Sunday as the new Senior Minister at the Grapevine Church of Christ in Grapevine, TX. What a great day! Not only did God bless us with a great…

Yep. It's true. Francis Chan and I have decided to tour together and speak at the same workshop. Now, it is true that we have not spoken to each other about this. And the "tour" consists of one stop. And I don't think that he has ever heard of me. But, hey, we are both speaking at the Tulsa Workshop…

In case you missed them, here are the first two blog posts in this series:

Why are Churches of Christ Shrinking - Part 1: A Left-Brained Fellowship in a Right-Brained World…

Well, today was an emotional day. Today I announced that I will become the new lead/senior minister at the Grapevine Church of Christ in Grapevine, Texas. They made a great offer, with a strong leadership position, and the ability to help shape the church's vision. They have a good…

If you have been following the Church of Christ blogosphere, you may have seen the last two posts that I wrote on "Why Churches of Christ are Shrinking:"

Part 1: A Left-Brained…

 In the above video, which we showed this Sunday, Kelly Weatherford talks about how she had prayed for her husband, Charlie, to become a Christian for 13 years. They went through the Story of Redemption, and at the end of the study, he was baptized! Now, everything has changed. Charlie has become the spiritual leader in their home, they are…

Here is the second in a series of blog posts on why Churches of Christ are shrinking. The first post,"A Left-Brained Fellowship in a Right-Brained World," has gone viral. While not everyone agrees with everything in the post, from the new members that joined the network, it would appear that a high percentage of these new…

Why are Churches of Christ Shrinking? - Part 1: A Left-Brained Fellowship in a Right-Brained World

For followers of this blog, you know that most all of my posts deal with larger kingdom and cultural issues. The Missional Outreach Network has readers from all different denominational backgrounds, and I want to bring people together through Christ and his mission.

However, if my non-Church of Christ readers can indulge me, I want to…

Wow. What a week. Lance Armstrong is set to confess to Oprah and the world after 15 years of harsh denials that he used performance enhancing drugs. Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o's story of a girlfriend who died of cancer is discovered to be a hoax--whether he was in on it or not is yet to be seen. Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens all…

Hello! I am continuing to blog through "Effective Staffing for Vital Churches," by Bill Easum and Bill Tenny-Brittian, which is a staffing guide for missional churches. Many churches want to grow. However, they fail to realize the transitions that must take for churches in order for this to happen. While having a…

Hi guys. I need your help!

I am working on adding some additional ministry tools to my Spiritual gifts website. In case you have not seen this site, it is www.YourSpiritualGifts.com. This site lets people discover their top 5 Spiritual gifts. They can…

Here is a short excellent post from SermonCentral about why some churches never grow. Every…