(Excerpted from: Sunday Schooling Our Kids Out of Church! The True Story of How One Congregation Dropped Sunday School to Save its Soul) The latest statistics paint a disturbing picture of faith trends in the U.S. Although 70% of the country still claims to be Christian, the numbers of those identifying with Christianity are dropping (an 8% drop since 2007), while those identifying as “none” in terms of religious faith are growing. The Nones Are Coming! The Nones Are Coming!... Read more
For the last several years, authors like my friend, David Murrow, have passionately argued for re-engaging men with the Gospel, through the Church–creating a two-fold dilemma for the Christian Church in the 21st Century: The first dilemma: Does the Church even want men? Some will find that question preposterous. Of course the Church wants men. The call of the Church is to reach all people, male and female. I would argue, however, that at least in my denomination, the Evangelical... Read more
Why do men hate going to church? My friend, David Murrow has written a best-selling book on the subject. Filled with all kinds of great insights, David points out many of the ways in which the Church, over the years, has increasingly conformed itself to values and programs that speak better to women. Or, to say it another way, while men may not be able to articulate it, they hate going to church because the church has been feminized. David’s... Read more
In my last post I referenced a book by Paul Raeburn entitled: Do Father’s Matter? What Science is Telling Us About the Parent We’ve Overlooked. Below I highlight 8 of his findings plus two Biblical reasons for why dads matter. I won’t go into the Science or give much detail. You can check out the book. But these are some of the things I found fascinating about the power of dads. (more…) Read more
Near the end of his book, Do Fathers Matter? What Science is Telling Us About the Parent We’ve Overlooked, Paul Raeburn writes this: Multiple studies suggest that fatherlessness is a major contributor to crime and juvenile delinquency; premature sexuality and out-of-wedlock births to teenagers; deteriorating educational achievement; depression, substance abuse, and alienation among adolescents; and the growing number of women and children in poverty. That list comes from David Popenoe of Rutgers University, who says the decline of fatherhood “is... Read more
Man-up! Take it like a man! Shake it off! Most boys hear those words and exhortations constantly throughout their lives. Men don’t cry! Men suck it up! Act like a man! Recently I’ve been hearing push back on that phrase, with some, like Joe Ehrmann, suggesting that Man Up! is one of the most damaging phrases a boy can hear. Anyone raising a boy or seeing the way boys are often robbed of the ability to express what we often... Read more
If Jesus matters to us, then what matters to Jesus will matter to us. If it matters to us that Jesus matters to our kids, then what matters to Jesus will matter to our kids. The Church matters to Jesus because: Reason #1: It is his Body—the Church is intimately tied to him and he to the Church. He gave his life for the Church. For Jesus, the Church is a matter of life and death and life. Reason #2:... Read more
In my first two posts on this issue I have argued that the Church matters…and that it matters to your children. I offered the first reason for why I believe this to be true in the last post: The Church matters because it matters to Jesus. The Church is a matter of life and death and life for Jesus. He is deeply committed to it and in fact, stakes his reputation on it in many ways. The Church is... Read more
As I cited in my first post on this subject, church attendance among Christians has been in serious decline. Where a generation ago those considered “regulars” attended 3-4 times per month, today “regulars” attend once every 4-6 weeks! And these are people who are committed to Jesus. We live in a society today where Sunday is no longer sacred. In addition to shopping, movies, and football, increasingly sports practices and games and recitals now take place on Sunday morning. In... Read more
Philip Yancey, in his book, What’s so Amazing About Grace, opens up with a gut-wrenching story about a man who was approached by a prostitute in Chicago. She was homeless, broke, sick, and unable to feed her 2-year-old daughter. Through tears of shame she admitted that she had been renting out her daughter in order to support her own drug habit. After the man got over his initial shock, he asked her: “Why don’t you go to a church for... Read more
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