In our Resurrected King’s Kingdom, the values are often opposite of this world. We have been included in what many refer to as an upside-down Kingdom where the weak are strong, the first are last, and the servants are the greatest among us. As we celebrate our King’s defeat of death this Easter weekend at…
Worship
What to Do With Christmas Trees, Halloween, Meat Offered to Idols, and New Year’s Celebrations
We recently held a Lunar New Year party after one of our worship services on a Saturday night. The Lunar New Year is a big deal in Asian cultures and our context is highly Asian — which I love. Someone sent a message that we should not celebrate Lunar New Year because the celebration’s origins…
5 Thoughts from Gathering in the Middle of a Pandemic
The church I serve gathered again last weekend for large gatherings – outside with chairs set up in a physically distanced format. It has been a progression for us. In June we began gathering in homes. In July we launched smaller gatherings in neighborhoods throughout Orange County. In August we started using our largest campus…
Your Online Worship Services AFTER Live Gatherings Resume
This is NOT a post about when live worship gatherings should resume, which is a highly debated and increasingly divisive topic. Data, depending on which data one is looking at, can actually inform two very different conclusions. When one looks at data surrounding the spread of the virus, one can conclude that churches should not…
WHAT!?! Instructions to Not Sing at Church?!
On Friday my phone started blowing up with text messages from friends, both in and outside of California, sending me links to articles where Governor Newsom, California’s governor, issued instructions banning singing and chanting in churches while continuing to limit attendance of indoor gatherings. The orders immediately resulted in divergent viewpoints, adding to the increasing…
The Foo Fighters and the future of Large Gatherings (and Corporate Worship)
The word “when” is a word that seems to be filling more conversations lately. When will our kids go to school with friends again? When will our favorite restaurants fully open? When will there be large gatherings again? And so on. The word “when” in those questions denotes a sense of hope and longing. The…
Choosing the Time of Your Next Worship Service
For years churches have moved to multiple worship services instead of building bigger buildings, which is a wise use of the facility the Lord has provided to the church. When adding a second service, the choice is fairly simple. While the times may vary from context to context, two services “back to back” make it…
3 Ways Pastors and Musicians Should Share Worship Ministry
I am honored to lead the Resources Division at LifeWay and serve with a team of leaders who are passionate to serve the Church in her mission of making disciples. Each Wednesday, I share the heart behind one of the resources our team has developed and give an opportunity for you to register to win a free copy of…
3 Places the Word Must Be Central in Your Church
There is one spiritual discipline that increases engagement in every other spiritual discipline. In the research behind Transformational Discipleship, we discovered that when someone is engaged in studying the Bible, participation in every other spiritual discipline is positively impacted. While the other spiritual disciplines are important, engagement in one of these (from a research vantage point)…
How Leaders Can Cultivate Godliness
The following is a guest post by Dr. Nathan Finn. Nathan serves as director of the Center for Spiritual Formation and Evangelical Spirituality at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he teaches courses in church history and historical theology. He also serves as one of the pastors at First Baptist Church of Durham, North Carolina. For this reason…