A Case for Congregationalism By Reverend Tom Loghry As an Advent Christian pastor serving in Rhode Island, I have found that people are sometimes puzzled by the congregational governance of our churches. They expect that as pastor I would have unilateral power in making decisions for the church, just as one of our local Roman […]
How to Make Guests Feel Welcome at Church Witness Magazine, Summer 2022 Many churches struggle to make guests and newcomers feel welcome. This isn’t because church members want to be unwelcoming. Most churches believe themselves to be very friendly and welcoming. But the reality is, that over time, people just lose track of how to […]
Don’t Despair Editorial by Justin Nash Are we really losing? Is the church really doomed? I don’t think so. So, don’t despair. Is the church dying? Is Christianity going the way of the dinosaurs? If you listen to media pundits in the popular culture and the prophets of woe in the church, you might think […]
You Cannot Revitalize Your Church Blog post by Justin Nash At times, church revitalization can be hard and discouraging work. There is no one size-fits-all approach or silver bullet solution for revitalizing. There are endless books to read, conferences to attend and systems to be implemented. Some are very helpful, others, not so much. Instead […]
Five Reasons Ecclesiology is Critical for Church Health Blog post by Justin Nash Ecclesiology is the study of the doctrines of the church. This includes things like church membership, church discipline, baptism, the Lord’s Supper and polity, to name just a few. For many people in the pew, and even in the pulpit, ecclesiology is […]
Is Church Membership Even Biblical? Blog post by Justin Nash Do you think it’s necessary for a Christian to be a member of a local church? Most people think church membership is like membership in a club. If you want a few extra benefits, or if you aspire to be a leader someday, you should […]
Christ’s Beautiful Church Editorial by Justin Nash Like any family, we fight sometimes. We get on each other’s nerves. We even cause each other pain. But at the end of the day, we love and forgive one another, because that’s what families do. I was recently reminded of the beauty of the local church. Someone […]
The Secret to Revitalization (And It Ain’t Flashy) Blog post by Justin Nash “Preach – Pray – Love – Stay” I’m not sure the first time I heard that phrase, but after graduate studies, a lot of reading, talking to many pastors and attending much training, I have come to believe that this is the […]
How to Sort Through the Noise to Find the Truth How To article from “Witness Magazine,” Winter 2022 In today’s world there is more information than ever before. The numbers are mind-boggling. By 2020, there was 40 times more bytes of data on the internet than there are stars in the observable universe. Some estimates suggest that […]
Love People, Don’t Use Them Blog post by Justin Nash A word to pastors – love people, don’t use them. I fear many pastors do this unintentionally when they are trying to revitalize their church. A new pastor is called with a mandate from the congregation and a vision to bring new life into a […]