July 2014

22 July by Jared Wellman

Why Your Vibrant Church Might be a Dying Church

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I remember watching a documentary some years ago on the life of Paul Wight, a seven foot, four hundred and forty one pound wrestler for the WWE. You might know him better by his stage name, “The Big Show.” The documentary detailed how, during his sophomore year in college, Wight was diagnosed with acromegaly, a condition that causes […]

21 July by John Roland

PREEMPTING CONFLICT FROM HAPPENING IN YOUR CHURCH by an Attorney/Mediator

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PREEMPTING CONFLICT FROM HAPPENING IN YOUR CHURCH” BY ATTORNEY/MEDIATOR R. WILLIAM ROLAND—-TRANSCRIBED BY SON, REV. JOHN ROLAND. I interviewed my Dad regarding church conflict on a webinar when I worked at Luther Rice.  Here is the text of our interview.  My Dad is a Martindale AV Preeminent rated lawyer (highest rating you can get) and practiced law […]

19 July by Todd Benkert

How to (and how NOT to) Minister to Families Battling Cancer

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Reflecting on our past and present experience with cancer, we have been blessed to have family, friends and a church family who have been wonderfully supportive. Quite often, people want to know how they can help and encourage someone going through the experience of cancer or other medical related trials. I hope that you will […]

18 July by John Roland

Praying for Daily Struggles with Forgiveness

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As pastors with extensive theological education, forgiveness is hard to do even though we can preach a sermon on it.   When we are devastated by the destructive actions of others we need a daily prayer strategy to help us with our struggle to forgive.  Here is a prayer for you as you offer your […]

17 July by Guest Blogger

Theology Thursday: Our Approach to Scripture, and to Culture (by Joel Rainey)

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Joel Rainey is the Director of Missions at Mid-Maryland Baptist Association, an adjunct professor at Capital Bible Seminary and blogs at Themelios (Twitter - @joelrainey).  This week, I’m teaching a doctoral seminar atSoutheastern Baptist Theological Seminary on current issues affecting the church.  Western evangelicalism faces an increasing number of challenges when it comes to engaging its surrounding culture in a […]

16 July by Guest Blogger

Will one in four SBC churches be closed by 2030? (from William Thornton)

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William Thornton is the SBC Plodder. Occasionally, I run across an assertion or a statistic that stops me cold. Here is one that did just that: “Fear of change is one of the reasons one in four congregations will close during the next 15 years…” Let me digest this: Twenty-five percent of American congregations will […]

15 July by Ben Simpson

Gearing Up for Growth

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Are you gearing up for growth?  Brothers and sisters, we are heading into the fall of the year, which is a prime time for church growth.  I’m so excited to see what God is going to do! Perhaps you’ve not thought about it in this way, but there are at least five different types of […]

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