This summer I’m preaching a series of sermons titled “The Wisdom of …..” and today’s sermon was “The Wisdom of Justice and Mercy.” Each of the 8 sermons is based on a text from the revised common lectionary for that day. Here’s today’s sermon: The Wisdom of Justice and Mercy Genesis 18:20-32 20 Then the [...]
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Archive | July, 2010
The Most Overlooked Outreach Opportunity
July 21, 2010
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This fall I’m leading a breakout session at NOC2010 titled, Outreach in the Crises of Life. I’m convinced that care and ministry during life’s crises is not only a great thing to do, but the most overlooked outreach opportunity churches have. Crisis ministry focuses on what churches do best — helping people find meaning in [...]
Read moreSimplifying my life: so long Twitter
July 14, 2010
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I deactivated my Twitter account today. I also deleted a couple of blogs, including my oldest, Amicus Dei, but it was time to pull the plug. I’ll be closing down NewChurchReport.com soon. Here at Confessions of a Small-Church Pastor, I’ll be focusing on small church life and ministry exclusively. No more opinions about what Congress [...]
Read moreWe’ll be back shortly….
July 14, 2010
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To quote Mark Twain, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated!” I’ve been away from the blog for a few days, and will be for a few days more. A major writing project is occupying my spare moments, but I’ll be back soon. Enjoy the July heat!
Read moreRunning Out of Communion Cups is Not All Bad
July 4, 2010
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Today we ran out of communion cups. I don’t mean we didn’t have any in the cupboard. Rather, we ran out while serving communion to a larger-than-expected Fourth of July congregation. And it was all my fault. You see, almost everybody I had talked to the week before told me something like – “Sorry we [...]
Read moreGet Your Own: Outreach Magazine’s “Small Church” Issue
July 2, 2010
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Outreach magazine’s annual small church issue is on its way to subscribers right now. For those of you who don’t subscribe, you can order this single issue from Amazon. That’s right, the entire issue is available to you today from the friendly folks at Amazon.com. After you check out this one issue, you’ll want to [...]
Read moreNew Sermon Series, “The Wisdom of ….”
July 1, 2010
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I’m starting a new sermon series this Sunday using texts taken from the Revised Common Lectionary readings for July and August. As I read through each of these scripture selections, I picked up a theme of “wise living” from them. Each text seemed to me to be pointing out the wisdom of one or more [...]
Read moreBe Dunkin’ Donuts, Not Starbucks Is Good Advice for Small Churches
July 1, 2010
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Michael Kelley gets to the heart of small church authenticity over at Ed Stetzer’s blog today. Here’s an excerpt: I would propose that the church has something to learn from Dunkin’ Donuts. The reason we have something to learn is that we have tried to be Starbucks. We’ve tried to be slick, trendy, and hip. [...]
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