Ministry Today

I Got the Preachin' Blues

Published on Monday, 15 October 2012 16:00

Written by Chris Jackson

Feeling discouraged after a sermon? You’re not alone.

Discouragement. It’s one of the greatest hounds of hell that assaults us pastors who are trying to share powerful, dynamic messages from God’s Word with our people every Sunday morning. There’s a reason for the pastors’ adage of “no resignations allowed on Mondays”; post-preaching discouragement can be brutal as we review every nuance of the sermons we’ve so painstakingly crafted and delivered.

Tracking With Jesus' Mission

Published on Monday, 15 October 2012 12:00

Written by Steve Pike

A friend of mine who pastors a church of 120 people in a town of 1,000 recently told me about a strange encounter he had with a megachurch pastor in another area about what constitutes a megachurch. The megachurch pastor led a church of 10,000 in a town of 600,000 and told my friend that if your church was reaching at least 1 percent of the population of your town, then you were leading a megachurch.

His assertion made my friend wonder if this was really true or was it just faulty logic. He asked this pastor how he would classify a church that was reaching 12 percent of the town’s population. The pastor was stunned.

“Who is doing that?” he asked.

“Our church is consistently running 120 people in a small town of 1,000!” my friend responded. To which the megachurch pastor quickly replied, “Yes, but that’s a different model .”

Pastors Support Romney Despite Mormon Faith

Published on Monday, 15 October 2012 09:00

Written by Carol Pipes/LIfeway

Three times more Protestant pastors plan to vote for Mitt Romney over Barack Obama in the upcoming presidential election. Romney's Mormon beliefs are a factor for only a small number of pastors who plan to cast their ballot for another candidate.

A survey conducted by LifeWay Research Sept. 26-Oct. 3 found that 57 percent of Protestant pastors plan to vote for Romney compared with 17 percent for Obama. Twenty-two percent are still undecided.

The breakdown is similar to what it was in 2008 when John McCain challenged Obama for the presidency. A survey conducted by LifeWay Research in October 2008 found that 55 percent of Protestant pastors planned to vote for McCain compared with 20 percent for Obama and 22 percent undecided.

Protestants Declining With the Rise of the 'Nones'

Published on Friday, 12 October 2012 15:30

Written by Charisma Staff

The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion is growing at a rapid pace.

According to a new report from the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, about one-fifth of the U.S. public--and a third of adults under age 30--are religiously unaffiliated today. Those are the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling.

In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15 percent to just under 20 percent of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6 percent of the U.S. public), as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14 percent).