10 critical trends for churches in 2018

Never in my lifetime have I seen local congregations at such a critical juncture. Cultural Christianity is all but dead. The “Nones,” those without any religious preference, are increasing. Many of the communities are no longer friendly to local churches; some have become adversarial.

But in the waves of these seas of negativity, are mercy drops of hope and possibilities. Look at these ten major trends carefully. See how God would have your church respond.

3 Ways for Christians to Respond to Tragedies

I wrote this in response to the shootings in Oregon a couple years ago – almost two years exactly. Some thought it was helpful, so I share it here in light of the shootings in Las Vegas, which has been called “the worst mass shooting in U.S. recorded history.”

Why Dying Churches Die

Many churches are dying.

Some are so sick that they are a few years, perhaps just months, from death. But too many refuse to do anything. Any potential and dramatic turnaround will not take place because these churches do nothing.

Why? Why do these dying churches walk resolutely down the path of death? Why don’t they attempt something dramatic, something bold? I have worked with too many of these churches. Allow me to share six common responses to these questions.

How to talk about Charlottesville

Because of the global nature of my job and the fact that I don’t pastor a local church in North America, I typically avoid commenting on American cultural and political issues. It is important — in fact, vital — for American pastors to engage these topics with wisdom, but this blog is written for pastors and leaders from every nation. I only engage American issues when they have global implications or unique global parallels.

There is much that could be said about the tragic events in Charlottesville this past weekend. We could talk about racism in America (and in the American church); we could talk about the need for multi-ethnic churches; or we could talk about the centrality of the gospel in racial reconciliation.

Why many of our churches are still one color

“What’s wrong with our church?”

It was a sincere question. The elder wanted to know why there seems to be a steady erosion of attendance, discipleship, and evangelism at his church.

Then I showed him the demographics of the church’s community. Over 40 percent of the area was non-white and growing, but the church was above 95 percent white. My response was simple. “You are not connecting with your community. The ethnic and racial diversity of the community is not reflected in the church.”

This church is one of tens of thousands of congregations that are one color, one race, or one group. Why? Why is this reality still taking place today? Let’s look at six reasons.

If you don’t care for the poor, you don’t understand the gospel

Karl Marx famously called Christianity the opiate of the people, but I think it’s actually the smelling salts. Because when you really understand God’s grace, you wake up to injustice, and you are moved by compassion.

The reverse is true as well: When you are blind to the needs of the poor, it raises the question of whether or not you’ve actually ever believed the gospel, because you are unaware of your own pressing need for God’s merciful attention to you in your sin.

Attracting Crowds or Making Disciples?

Observing the life of Jesus in the gospels is often an abrupt and painful reality check, especially in our social media saturated do-anything-for-fame ministry culture. I can’t imagine Jesus being obsessed with how many people “liked” his latest pithy post or how many people “friended” or “shared” his content.

His only obsession was to please the Father. We should be likewise obsessed.

Three characteristics of effective churches today

Many in church leadership today are asking if they are doing church right. This healthy questioning is necessary as culture changes quickly and the perceptions of non-Christians regarding Christians have shifted. Let me share three questions that I think all those in church leadership should be asking as we seek to be communities that love Jesus and love others.

Pro-Life & Pro-Refugee

As most of you know, last week was President Trump’s first week in office as President of the United States. Some people praised Trump’s flurry of activity as he signed numerous executive orders, setting into motion many of his major campaign promises. Others criticized (and even demonized) the new president as he began do to many of the things they feared he would do.

My emotions were mixed on Trump’s first week.