Conducting a nationwide survey of Churches of Christ is, obviously, a big task! We began with the mailing list from 2018 that had 10,890 congregations listed. Yep, a big task, particularly since Churches of Christ are not a monolithic, homogenous whole. Even the concept of a “fellowship” of churches may not reflect our reality appropriately….
Ryan Burge has become one of the best known and most active demographers of American religion and politics. Burge is a faculty member of Eastern Illinois University. Through his substack @ryanburge, Burge sends out twice weekly, informative posts on statistical insights on American religion and politics. Through our project to do a census and survey…
I bet you have thought about your church and wondered if you were the only ones dealing with . . . We all do that from time to time. We’re not trying to play into the “misery loves company” syndrome. It’s helpful to know others are dealing with the same thing we are and that…
Heritage21 has joined with 21st Century Christian, and the Christian Chronicle to form the Church Research Council, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit entity. Joining this group in a supporting role is the Siburt Institute for Church Ministry. Additionally, we are talking with our universities and other ministries about joining together in this partnering work. Ah yes,…
The week prior to Thanksgiving NPR radio aired an interview about the origins, meaning, and traditions surrounding Thanksgiving. What was left out, erased, from this “story” was any mention of God and thankfulness as a “believer’s virtue.” Listening to that reinterpretation, which chose an arc that erased a Christian perspective, I wondered what will be…
We use our Bible school classes to bring the Word of God into the lives of people. From when I was just a little guy, I remember going to Bible classes on Sunday morning before the worship. I also went to Wednesday night Bible classes and had some amazing teachers that helped me ingrain the…
Stewart (not his real name) is tired and grieving the losses and disappointments he has suffered in recent years. He qualified for Social Security benefits and received his first check only last month. It helps a little, but he struggles financially because the churches where he preached never paid him enough to save much money…
Each quarter Tony Morgan, director of the Unstuck Group, publishes a report on the state of church health among churches with which they connect. I see this report as somewhat of a thumbnail checkup on what is happening in some parts of American Christianity. It gives me some food for thought. This quarter’s Unstuck Church report…
One of the biggest obstacles American churches must face is the realization that individual congregations have lifespans, just like all living organisms, and that this is not a bad thing. Churches tend to grow to close to their full size in their first decade and rarely grow much after a couple decades. Most churches will…
The Optometrist was clear… my vision was not! I was surprised. Frankly, I had inadvertently become accustomed to how things were. Over time, a lack of clarity and focus became my normal. So, it took an intentional process with a qualified resource to diagnose, prescribe and implement steps to bring a vibrant clarity and focus back into…
What does it mean to be a “member in good standing” in your congregation? This question has become increasingly difficult to answer. Back in the day, we used ugly code words to categorize church members like “Faithful Attender”, or “Sunday Only”, and reserved the lowest category for the unpredictable attender that we might even call…
Holiday greetings! ‘Tis the season. Last weekend we drove some of our grandkids around (“for hours,” the youngest one said) looking at Christmas displays. What a delightful time of year. It’s also the time to reflect back on the year. How did your church fare in 2021? In the Heritage 21 Post-Quarantine Church Forum we were surprised, in…
At the Blue Hole: Elegy for a Church on the Edge by Jack R. Reese. Eerdmans, 2021. “What will be the future Churches of Christ?” This is the question Jack R. Reese considers in his book At the Blue Hole: Elegy for a Church on the Edge (Eerdmans, 2021), More starkly, the question Reese asks…
I have talked with enough church leaders to know the pattern well: attendance is declining and the perceived reasons why are numerous and varied. It is tempting to chalk the trend up to many different personal reasons like crowded schedules, strong preferences, or life just getting in the way. But studies show that people commonly…
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