Over the years I’ve received several flyers in the mail advertising a local church, often in conjunction with some kind of special Sunday service or promotion. One church in Minnesota not only sends out flyers every August, they purchase billboards advertising free tickets to our huge, end of summer state fair: all you have to do is come to their service.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the desire to reach as many people with the good news of Christ as possible. I also recognize that lives can truly be changed through receiving a flyer or seeing a billboard advertising a church. However, when a church turns to advertising, it is orienting itself towards an attractional model. What’s the problem with the attractional model? Well, let’s start with who is likely to be attracted: people who already have some desire to find a church. In all likelihood, people who are already part of a church, but are open to shopping for a better option on Sundays. The average agnostic/atheist generally has no receptivity for church advertisements…

Ok, yet another click-baity title. I couldn’t resist!

In all seriousness though, I’d like to pick up where I left off with my previous post: is there something about the structure of church as we know it (at least in the Western world) that not only allows toxic leadership to inhabit our communities of faith, but actually encourages it?

The board of a large, multi-site church with thousands of members, led by a charismatic pastor, announces that, after much prayer and many difficult conversations, they have asked the pastor to take a leave of absence while charges against him are reviewed by a special committee.

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

It’s my birthday, and birthdays are for me some of the best times to step back and reflect on things: the past year, what’s truly important to me, what is God up to? 

Alright, so I'll come right out and say it: the title of this post is a bit click-baity. I am a firm believer in the church. Just see my about page.

With that said, over the last few years, part of that as a full-time Presbyterian pastor, and most recently working outside the church in a secular setting while still being active in a local congregation, I am certain that the form of church needs to evolve, and is indeed evolving as we speak. And it needs to do so in order to remain faithful to Christ's original vision and plan for his disciples.