Discussing Church 20 This week is another doubleheader, but with a twist. First is a Mandarin worship service and English Sunday school, followed by an English worship service and Mandarin Sunday school. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #20: 1. We email to ask if non-Chinese are welcome. We are. Some non-Chinese attend the […]
Discussing Church 18 Today we visit our second Roman Catholic Church. I’m excited—and nervous. We are revisiting Roman Catholicism. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #18: 1. The large sanctuary is grand without being ostentatious. Contemporary and airy, it seats several hundred. It’s the largest we’ve seen so far. Does your building facilitate worship […]
Aligning with Like-Minded Peers Can Propel You Forward on Your Christian Walk A mastermind group is a peer-to-peer mentoring alliance where members work together to help one another solve problems, overcome roadblocks, and move forward. I’m part of two author mastermind groups. In them we encourage and support each other as writers, propelling us forward […]
Discussing Church 9 Today, we’ll go to a United Methodist church, our first visit to a widely recognized denomination. They know how to enhance community by sharing a meal. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #9: 1. Their services are traditional. I wonder if I should dress up, but their website doesn’t say. Though […]
Discussing Church 8 This week we visit our third new church. It’s a grand experiment, one quite radical from their conservative denominational roots. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #8: 1. A greeter welcomes us and explains what to expect during our visit. How can you help visitors at your church know what will […]
Discussing Church 6 This small country church didn’t come up in our online research, but we have driven past it. All we know is their name and service time. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #6: 1. A wheelchair ramp suggests the way inside, but we’re surprised when it doesn’t lead to the main […]
Have a Visitor-Worthy Church With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #48. This church did many things right, especially the warm way they welcomed my wife and me into their community. Several of their practices were personally inviting […]
God Created Us to Thrive in Community In visiting congregations for my book 52 Churches, I realized the importance of community. Regardless of the music or the message we encountered during their service, the bigger factor in our experience was the human connection. Make a Human Connection at Church If I interacted with others before […]
Consider Who You Interact with at Church With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #41. Aside from the usher, we had limited significant contact with the people at this church. (Shaking hands and saying “welcome” is not a […]
The Value of Eating Together With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #39. Many churches share a meal or food after their service, but this one put a new twist on it: we head off to a restaurant, […]