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The Intentionally Empty Church Building
An Associated Press story begins with this report of a Belgian church-building-of-sorts: The church is made of rusty steel beams separated by gaps, and its austere beauty won it an international prize. Yet the eerie desolation of the see-through art installation has also turned into a reflection on the state of Roman Catholicism on a religion-weary continent where real churches, like the dozen dotting the hills of this verdant area, increasingly lose their flock and function. The article goes on to talk about how it is not on Roman Catholicism that is struggling on the European continent. They speak of how many churches turned to adding restaurants, coffee shops, and…
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10 Phrases to Use if You Want to Stop the Congregation from Growing
We all “talk a good game.” We are very good at saying that we want the Church to grow. We pray, “Help us to grow, both spiritually and numerically.” But we must ask ourselves, “Do we really want our congregation to grow?” I would like to suggest that many phrases we use show that we don’t. We might be afraid of the types of people who might come if we really grew. People are weird! (I know. I am one.) So, if you don’t really want the congregation where you attend to grow, here are some tried-and-true phrases you can use to slow and even stop any growth that might…
