by social@thebtscenter.org | Jun 30, 2017 | 21stCenturyMission, 21stCenturySpirituality
Sumer is icumen in. Lhude sing cuckoo! Summer has come in—or so the “Cuckoo Song,” also known as the “Summer Canon,” tells me. The piece, which dates to the 13th century, is the oldest known musical composition to feature six-part polyphony. In other words, it was...
by social@thebtscenter.org | Jun 23, 2017 | 21stCenturyMinistry, Bearings Review 2017, ChurchChange, Incubator
One year ago, I began studying a rare but important species that many church officials wrongly believe doesn’t exist: the mainline Protestant congregation that finds vitality after doing away with the full-time pastorate. To be sure, it wasn’t always the easiest...
by social@thebtscenter.org | Jun 15, 2017 | 21stCenturyCulture, 21stCenturyMinistry
It usually goes something like this: People are in a committee or team meeting. Someone proposes a new idea. The group embraces the concept and starts talking excitedly about how to implement it. Then, suddenly, someone begins to raise the dreaded questions: Where...
by social@thebtscenter.org | Jun 9, 2017 | 21stCenturyBible, 21stCenturyCulture
My daughter is being confirmed this year. Now I understand why parents always say that they don’t know where the time goes. It feels like it was just yesterday that she was baptized. Now she is claiming all those baptismal promises we made on her behalf as her own. At...
by social@thebtscenter.org | Jun 2, 2017 | 21stCenturyMinistry, 21stCenturyMission
It’s hardly breaking news that many congregations struggle with financial stewardship. Perhaps there was a time when Christians gave to the church without a second’s thought. In days of yore, giving was considered a duty and solemn obligation, and members reliably...
