It was one of those Sundays where nothing went right. Attendance was way off, with many people apparently away for the weekend. The hymns were slow and the choruses just dragged along like a funeral service. Everyone acted like they were depressed. From where I was in front of the congregation, nobody seemed to want to be there. And the preaching? Well, that was the worst part of all. Even though I had prepared thoroughly and felt ready to preach, things just didn’t work out. The introduction fell flat. The main points of the message that had seemed so luminous in my study turned out to be tawdry and irrelevant when displayed […]
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In the last book he wrote before his untimely death in 2007, “The Younger Evangelicals,” Christian scholar Robert Webber explores the surprising developments in many American churches. For those interested in what’s going on in the contemporary church scene – as well as those congregations that want to be more effective in ministering to their communities – Webber’s book not only is an eye-opener, it’s nearly indispensable. Webber’s basic theme is to explain the rapidly evolving nature of congregational life, and he pokes holes in many of our most cherished traditions in the process. Church leadership, for example – one of the most visible changes in modern churches is the […]
Read MoreLike most preachers, I don’t often get emotional during worship services.Many in my congregation do, to be sure. Just recently, as I preached, I watched a dear friend sitting near the front weep for almost the entire service. I know her background and understood exactly why she was so emotional. But her situation – as much as I care about her – didn’t create the same response in me. I’ve seen men walk down the aisle at the conclusion of a service, overcome with emotion and fall on their knees before the altar to pray. I feel deeply for them and have sometimes knelt with them in prayer. But even […]
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