In general, we found smaller churches offered more opportunity to make connections. We also discovered that most liturgical churches weren’t very friendly. Consider these two discussion questions about church format and size: 1. Churches have characteristics that often relate to their size. How can you tap the strengths of your church’s size and counter its […]
Too often one person made the difference between us feeling welcomed or ignored, forming our perceptions of the church. Greeting well occurs at three times: before, during, and after the service. Consider these two discussion questions: 1. The pre-service greeting forms a first impression, while a post-service greeting provides the impression people leave with. How […]
Our journey of visiting fifty-two churches is over, though the memories will last forever. Here are some of my church reflections from this year-long adventure. Consider these two discussion questions about our journey of visiting churches: 1. I hope the questions have spurred a lot of great ideas. But without action, great ideas amount to […]
We Must Examine Our Church Meetings to Make Sure They Are Truly Beneficial In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he talks about worshiping God and then he talks about celebrating the Lord’s Supper. In between these two topics he slips in a condemning one-liner. He says that their meetings are more likely […]
To wrap up our adventure, we picked churches to provide the most varied experiences. For this phase my thoughts center on church size, coupled with my desire for community with other believers. We’ve completed the final phase of our adventure. Even though most of these churches in this group are medium to large in size, […]
It’s Easter and we’re returning home to our church, the people we love and miss. This marks our first Sunday here since last Easter. It’s great to be back for Holy Week. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #53: 1. There’s nothing special about the building, except that it’s 150 years old. Even with […]
Our destination is not a church to visit but a revisit, returning to the congregation we were part of a decade ago. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #52: 1. This church would be bigger, except they keep sending members away to plant new churches. How could your church do better at sending people […]
Make Sure Your Faith Community Focuses on the Right Thing We need to examine the purpose of church. Why do we meet each week? What are our goals when we come together? What should our focus be? Though people will give various answers, the responses fall into two broad categories: ourselves and others. Church Is […]
I’m both excited and apprehensive about visiting our area’s largest church, a megachurch. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #51: 1. A sign at their drive tells first-time visitors to turn on their four-way flashers—because they want to give us VIP treatment. I don’t bother and follow the flow of cars, but it’s a […]
A few months ago, we went to church on Saturday morning. Now we head off for a Saturday evening mass. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #50: 1. The worship leader directs us to “page one in the white book,” but what we find doesn’t match what they say. We’re confused and can’t follow […]