Pastors of 20 years ago had to deal with the occasional anonymous hate mail, but today, pastors can get hit daily with negative social media posts.
What is that stupid thing I did in marriage? To be clear, I have not done this act of stupidity one time, but many times. Too many times. You would think I would learn by now.
For many churches, the quarantine was a time for introspection and evaluation.
In the post-COVID world we are entering, I see the need for many churches to replant instead of revitalizing.
We get reports regularly from church leaders who share excitedly about the number of people who have visited the church as a consequence of these efforts. We have heard of many who have become followers of Christ.
Far too many churches are handling designated giving in ways that can get them in trouble.
"I'm not getting fed." It's one of the most common complaints of church members looking for excuses to leave a church.
The attractional church is yielding to the local church. This one phenomenon explains what is taking place in the three categories of churches described in this article.
May I make a few suggestions so that you might regain your physical, emotional, and spiritual stamina?
Though we don't have a precise picture of what churches will look like two years from now, we are at least getting some early indicators as the congregations regather.
Most of the attention has been focused on the regathering of in-person worship services, but small groups are regathering as well.
When will our churches get back to normal? If "normal" means pre-COVID behavior, we will not return at all. We will, however, experience a new normal. We have to be ready for it when it comes.
As churches return to in-person gatherings, they are abandoning their digital and streaming services. At the very least, they are not giving them the attention they did during the quarantine. It's a big mistake.
It is time to rethink how we treat our pastors. Time to be less critical and more prayerful; less judgmental and more forgiving; and less expecting and more serving.
While escaping 2020 has been a stated goal for many people, there will still be challenges in front of us as we move into 2021. Churches will be among the organizations to confront clear and present challenges.
I asked pastors a simple question: "What are your prayers for your church for 2021?" I received hundreds of responses, but the answers were amazingly consistent.
We are in a post-quarantine era that behooves us to make comparisons from 2021 forward.
During this trying season, I have been devouring news and studies of churches and other organizations that are poised to move positively in the future.
Who would have predicted the articulation of these sentences in churches prior to 2020? It has been a strange year. It has been a painful year.
You may feel the pain of the losses, but God has a plan for your church to embrace the new reality to which you are headed.
