November 12, 2021
Bob Beckman's first book, "Presence in Solitude: The Pastoral Promise of the Pandemic," takes readers “on a brief journey through the New Testament with others who were seemingly alone in grace circumstances.”
May 1, 2021
Hearing people use the phrase "new normal" has been like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Still, I sometimes find certain cultural changes can be very good.
March 1, 2021
I received an email from Jonathan, a person I’d never met, last June. He explained that he’d hit a point in his life where he had questions about life, faith, his purpose, and how to respond to everything that was happening in the world. We were in the midst of a pandemic; people were losing their jobs, and there was political turmoil and racial injustice. Jonathan said he didn’t know how to process all the chaos we all were witnessing. Jonathan had found our church through Google and Instagram. Unbeknownst to me, he had been listening to our sermons and
January 1, 2021
7 Counterintuitive Ways to Interpret Reality By Phil Claycomb I’ve coached, mentored, and trained church planters since 2001, so I’ve been involved in many different crisis situations. I’ve sighed deeply and asked, “OK, what just happened?” more times than I care to remember. I’ve brainstormed through a host of “where do we go from here?” discussions. I’ve rolled up my shirtsleeves and jumped in to help “pick up the pieces and move on.” And I’ve discovered that while the causes of crises may vary, and churches are amazingly creative at finding ways to get into trouble, the one thing leaders
October 24, 2020
When the pandemic suspended their short-term mission trips indefinitely, churches responded at home and abroad. Here are three alternatives they’ve discovered. By Justin Horey Just weeks into the new year, Riley Weaver sensed that 2020 might be an unprecedented year for his ministry. He didn’t have a premonition about the pandemic—quite the contrary. Early in the year, Weaver thought 2020 could be the first year on record that he didn’t have to cancel, postpone, or reschedule a single short-term mission trip. It was an exciting thought for Weaver, the global and local impact minister at Plainfield (Indiana) Christian Church. Plainfield
May 13, 2020
By Chris Moon As coronavirus-related social-distancing rules are eased and churches crack open the doors to their buildings, they do so knowing many things will be different—some for the worse, but possibly some for the better. Churches will need to figure out how to make the most of the challenges and opportunities. SAME STORM, DIFFERENT BOATS“We’re all in the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat,” said Rick Rusaw, chief executive officer of the Spire Network and former pastor of LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colo. Spire has been surveying pastors and church members about their attitudes
April 21, 2020
By Jim Nieman A small, country church in South Dakota is doing its best to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the minister is convinced, “We’re going to come out of this stronger.” Preston Christian Church in Bruce, S.D., has adopted the same strategy as many other churches across the country by incorporating a drive-in service in their parking lot on Sunday mornings. A difference is that Preston Christian has been worshipping with their sister church, Brookings (S.D.) Christian Church, which is located about 20 miles away, the last three Sundays. PCC minister Tim Smith and BCC minister
April 4, 2020
A Step-by-Step Guide for Leading a Discovery Bible Study (or Any Group or Class) While Social Distancing By Rick Lowry In this season of social distancing, getting your small group or class together for an online or “virtual” meeting is a great alternative. If you are a computer novice, this can sound intimidating. But many simple tools are available to assist even those among us with little Internet experience. Since technology is the greatest concern for those who haven’t yet tried virtual meetings, we’ll discuss the technical details first. After that, we’ll look at some ways virtual groups are different
March 30, 2020
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused our Christian colleges and universities to switch from in-person learning to various forms of Internet instruction or distance delivery. Here is a listing of the colleges with very brief explanations of what each has done and links for more information: Alberta Bible College (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)Campus is closed until further notice. Classes are running on their normal schedule, but now remotely, via Zoom. More information Boise Bible College (Boise, Idaho)Boise Bible College has scaled back to critical services only. All students were to move out of residential housing by Saturday, March 28. Classes will
March 25, 2020
By Jim Nieman When Southeast Christian Church in Parker, Colo., learned that a nearby church was making its technical and production equipment and expertise available to some churches displaced because of COVID-19 outbreak, they realized they should do the same. In fact, “We were embarrassed we didn’t think of it first,” said Tom Fitzgerald, executive pastor with Southeast. Staff at Southeast were aware of a couple of churches meeting in school buildings that have been closed because of the outbreak. Those churches weren’t able to gather to worship or to effectively produce their worship services to share via the Internet.
March 18, 2020
(This article was updated on Wednesday morning, March 18.) Johnson University is suspending face-to-face classroom instruction for one month. Hope International University has tacked on an additional week of spring break. Great Lakes Christian College will be teaching all classes remotely from March 16 through April 3. And Milligan College is extending its current spring break until March 20 and transitioning to online classes through April 5. These are just a few of the actions Christian universities have announced in response to the COVID-19 (or coronavirus) pandemic. Several of these announcements have been issued just today. Below are short excerpts
September 19, 2018
How several smaller churches and congregations in rural or small-town areas are overcoming isolation through intentional interaction and working together with other area ministers By Rick Lowry Pastors who minister in rural areas or smaller towns can sometimes feel isolated. Most have good friends who are members of their church, but it often takes a pastor to understand a pastor. Interaction with other ministers can be a source of encouragement, a place to discuss problems, and a great way to hear new ideas. Many pastors of smaller churches have found creative ways to get together with one another for support
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