May 1, 2021
Measure What Matters
As elders we also measure what matters. What should be important to us? What should we be measuring?
Articles for tag: Spiritual Vitality
September 12, 2019
‘What Does It Mean to Be a Real Christian?’
Christian Standard pushed a program called Christian Action from 1934 to 1943 that James DeForest Murch—a name familiar to many—started “as a means of restoring the spiritual vitality in the church during this time of great social upheaval” (from an article about Murch by Jim Estep, available at www.biola.edu). Perhaps some day we will devote an entire column to Christian Action—and/or to Murch—but today we will focus on a “letter” Murch wrote 85 years ago that was part of that week’s Christian Action section. It seeks to answer this important question: “What does it mean to be a real Christian?”
Statistical Snippets from Our Survey
By Kent Fillinger AVERAGE SIZE Megachurches: 4,901 Emerging Megachurches: 1,375 Combined average weekly attendance: 386,035 GROWTH RATES Megachurches: 1.3 percent (down from 3.5 percent in 2014); overall, 54 percent of the megachurches grew (down from 68 percent in 2014). Emerging Megachurches: 2 percent (down from 5.4 percent in 2014); overall, 57 percent of emerging megachurches grew (down from 65 percent in 2014). Large churches: 4.1 percent (down from 4.9 percent in 2014). Medium churches: 3.3 percent (up from 3.1 percent in 2014). FASTEST-GROWING CHURCHES Worthington (OH) Christian Church, 35.1 percent New City Church, Phoenix, AZ, 33.3 percent New Day Christian
November 7, 2011
Negatives We Can”t Ignore
By Mark A. Taylor A quick skim of the newspaper on a Friday in September reminds me of other correspondence I had seen earlier in the week. “¢ A Wall Street Journal report quotes the Pope who warned against increasing apathy toward religion in Germany. “We are witnessing a growing indifference to religion in society,” he said in Berlin. “¢ A column appearing a few pages later chronicles and decries efforts of the Obama administration to promote sermonizing by rabbis on such topics as the President”s jobs bill, the impact of budget cuts on the poor, and the country”s need
