Whoa. Look at these stats.
* 23 percent of all current pastors in the United States have been fired or forced to resign in the past.
* 45 percent of the pastors who were fired in one denomination left the ministry altogether.
* 34 percent of all pastors presently serve congregations that forced their previous pastor to resign.
* The average pastoral career lasts only fourteen years—less than half of what it was not long ago.
* 25 percent of the churches in one survey reported conflict in the previous five years that was serious enough to have a lasting impact on congregational life.
* 1,500 pastors leave their assignments every month in the United States because of conflict, burnout, or moral failure.
No wonder the church in America is dying. When the leadership is being destroyed this fast there is no way for the church to be healthy.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Atheism versus Religion - Part 2
Here's the other more interesting part of that article:
Vox Day notes concerning atheism and mass murder:
“ Apparently it was just an amazing coincidence that every Communist of historical note publicly declared his atheism … .there have been twenty-eight countries in world history that can be confirmed to have been ruled by regimes with avowed atheists at the helm … These twenty-eight historical regimes have been ruled by eighty-nine atheists, of whom more than half have engaged in democidal acts of the sort committed by Stalin and Mao …
The total body count for the ninety years between 1917 and 2007 is approximately 148 million dead at the bloody hands of fifty-two atheists, three times more than all the human beings killed by war, civil war, and individual crime in the entire twentieth century combined.
The historical record of collective atheism is thus 182,716 times worse on an annual basis than Christianity’s worst and most infamous misdeed, the Spanish Inquisition. It is not only Stalin and Mao who were so murderously inclined, they were merely the worst of the whole Hell-bound lot. For every Pol Pot whose infamous name is still spoken with horror today, there was a Mengistu, a Bierut, and a Choibalsan, godless men whose names are now forgotten everywhere but in the lands they once ruled with a red hand.
Is a 58 percent chance that an atheist leader will murder a noticeable percentage of the population over which he rules sufficient evidence that atheism does, in fact, provide a systematic influence to do bad things? If that is not deemed to be conclusive, how about the fact that the average atheist crime against humanity is 18.3 million percent worse than the very worst depredation committed by Christians, even though atheists have had less than one-twentieth the number of opportunities with which to commit them. If one considers the statistically significant size of the historical atheist set and contrasts it with the fact that not one in a thousand religious leaders have committed similarly large-scale atrocities, it is impossible to conclude otherwise, even if we do not yet understand exactly why this should be the case. Once might be an accident, even twice could be coincidence, but fifty-two incidents in ninety years reeks of causation![10]
Again, read for yourself here: http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_Mass_Murder
Vox Day notes concerning atheism and mass murder:
“ Apparently it was just an amazing coincidence that every Communist of historical note publicly declared his atheism … .there have been twenty-eight countries in world history that can be confirmed to have been ruled by regimes with avowed atheists at the helm … These twenty-eight historical regimes have been ruled by eighty-nine atheists, of whom more than half have engaged in democidal acts of the sort committed by Stalin and Mao …
The total body count for the ninety years between 1917 and 2007 is approximately 148 million dead at the bloody hands of fifty-two atheists, three times more than all the human beings killed by war, civil war, and individual crime in the entire twentieth century combined.
The historical record of collective atheism is thus 182,716 times worse on an annual basis than Christianity’s worst and most infamous misdeed, the Spanish Inquisition. It is not only Stalin and Mao who were so murderously inclined, they were merely the worst of the whole Hell-bound lot. For every Pol Pot whose infamous name is still spoken with horror today, there was a Mengistu, a Bierut, and a Choibalsan, godless men whose names are now forgotten everywhere but in the lands they once ruled with a red hand.
Is a 58 percent chance that an atheist leader will murder a noticeable percentage of the population over which he rules sufficient evidence that atheism does, in fact, provide a systematic influence to do bad things? If that is not deemed to be conclusive, how about the fact that the average atheist crime against humanity is 18.3 million percent worse than the very worst depredation committed by Christians, even though atheists have had less than one-twentieth the number of opportunities with which to commit them. If one considers the statistically significant size of the historical atheist set and contrasts it with the fact that not one in a thousand religious leaders have committed similarly large-scale atrocities, it is impossible to conclude otherwise, even if we do not yet understand exactly why this should be the case. Once might be an accident, even twice could be coincidence, but fifty-two incidents in ninety years reeks of causation![10]
Again, read for yourself here: http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_Mass_Murder
Atheism versus Religion - Part 1
I read this online today...very interesting:
Concerning atheism and mass murder, Christian apologist Gregory Koukl wrote that "the assertion is that religion has caused most of the killing and bloodshed in the world. There are people who make accusations and assertions that are empirically false. This is one of them."[1] Koukl details the number of people killed in various events involving theism and compares them to the much higher tens of millions of people killed under communist atheistic regimes.[1] It has been estimated that in less than the past 100 years, governments under the banner of communism have caused the death of somewhere between 40,472,000 to 259,432,000 human lives.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Dr. R. J. Rummel, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii, is the scholar who first coined the term democide (death by government). Dr. R. J. Rummel's mid estimate regarding the loss of life due to communism is that communism caused the death of approximately 110,286,000 people between 1917 and 1987.[8]
Koukl summarized by stating:
“ It is true that it's possible that religion can produce evil, and generally when we look closer at the detail it produces evil because the individual people are actually living in a rejection of the tenets of Christianity and a rejection of the God that they are supposed to be following. So it can produce it, but the historical fact is that outright rejection of God and institutionalizing of atheism actually does produce evil on incredible levels. We're talking about tens of millions of people as a result of the rejection of God.[1]
To read the whole thing and check the footnotes, go here: http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_Mass_Murder
Concerning atheism and mass murder, Christian apologist Gregory Koukl wrote that "the assertion is that religion has caused most of the killing and bloodshed in the world. There are people who make accusations and assertions that are empirically false. This is one of them."[1] Koukl details the number of people killed in various events involving theism and compares them to the much higher tens of millions of people killed under communist atheistic regimes.[1] It has been estimated that in less than the past 100 years, governments under the banner of communism have caused the death of somewhere between 40,472,000 to 259,432,000 human lives.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Dr. R. J. Rummel, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii, is the scholar who first coined the term democide (death by government). Dr. R. J. Rummel's mid estimate regarding the loss of life due to communism is that communism caused the death of approximately 110,286,000 people between 1917 and 1987.[8]
Koukl summarized by stating:
“ It is true that it's possible that religion can produce evil, and generally when we look closer at the detail it produces evil because the individual people are actually living in a rejection of the tenets of Christianity and a rejection of the God that they are supposed to be following. So it can produce it, but the historical fact is that outright rejection of God and institutionalizing of atheism actually does produce evil on incredible levels. We're talking about tens of millions of people as a result of the rejection of God.[1]
To read the whole thing and check the footnotes, go here: http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_Mass_Murder
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Another Pastor quits
I heard about another Pastor who quit recently. It's a very common thing. Lots of Pastors quit every year. Usually the reasons are always the same:
-Ridiculous expectations
-Low pay
-Little support/encouragement
-Constant conflict
-Church politics
-An impossible schedule
-Rising demands of members (all demanding different things)
-The pain of leadership
...and on and on the list goes. However, what I was told about this one that left was a little more humorous. Here's the quote I was given:
"I'm a fisher of men and they wanted me to be the keeper of the aquarium."
Too funny! I can't say I've heard that one too often, but I sure know how he feels. In my first Church, it was all about "Let's just keep things as they are" despite the fact that they were going under. They didn't care about that and didn't want to change anything. So they didn't and now they no longer exist. I'm always amazed how many churches will cling to their traditions right to the grave.
Brian
-Ridiculous expectations
-Low pay
-Little support/encouragement
-Constant conflict
-Church politics
-An impossible schedule
-Rising demands of members (all demanding different things)
-The pain of leadership
...and on and on the list goes. However, what I was told about this one that left was a little more humorous. Here's the quote I was given:
"I'm a fisher of men and they wanted me to be the keeper of the aquarium."
Too funny! I can't say I've heard that one too often, but I sure know how he feels. In my first Church, it was all about "Let's just keep things as they are" despite the fact that they were going under. They didn't care about that and didn't want to change anything. So they didn't and now they no longer exist. I'm always amazed how many churches will cling to their traditions right to the grave.
Brian
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Fail fast and fail cheap
In an earlier blog, I talked about how much I LOVE this saying. I found it in an article we were reading and discussing at staff recently and since then, I have been unable to get it out of my mind. Now I think I know why.
Many of you know that I do monthly mentoring phone calls. I find churches that are healthier than HVCC and I write the Pastor and ask permission to interview them by phone. Some say yes and some say no. Last week, I struck gold. I had a 90 minute interview with a guy doing rural, multi-site. I learned so much I came out of that interview bouncing off the walls with excitement! He showed us how to "fail fast and fail cheap" in our multi-site experiment. It has led to MANY hours of discussion already among the staff and leaders as we process what we learned and make plans to implement it. It's highly possible we could have five sites in the next year. Of course, it's also possible we could only have the two we currently have.
I'll continue to give you more details as the plan unfolds, but it's pretty exciting right now. The possibility of reaching out to even more people far from God has me completely jazzed! What if we were able to reach 1000 people in SW WI with the good news of Jesus? Amazing.
On a side note, is there someone you need to call for your own mentoring interview? Someone who could help you learn a key piece that would improve your marriage, parenting relationships, business, ministry or life? Take the risk! Most of the time, people are flattered to be asked.
Many of you know that I do monthly mentoring phone calls. I find churches that are healthier than HVCC and I write the Pastor and ask permission to interview them by phone. Some say yes and some say no. Last week, I struck gold. I had a 90 minute interview with a guy doing rural, multi-site. I learned so much I came out of that interview bouncing off the walls with excitement! He showed us how to "fail fast and fail cheap" in our multi-site experiment. It has led to MANY hours of discussion already among the staff and leaders as we process what we learned and make plans to implement it. It's highly possible we could have five sites in the next year. Of course, it's also possible we could only have the two we currently have.
I'll continue to give you more details as the plan unfolds, but it's pretty exciting right now. The possibility of reaching out to even more people far from God has me completely jazzed! What if we were able to reach 1000 people in SW WI with the good news of Jesus? Amazing.
On a side note, is there someone you need to call for your own mentoring interview? Someone who could help you learn a key piece that would improve your marriage, parenting relationships, business, ministry or life? Take the risk! Most of the time, people are flattered to be asked.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday update
Another amazing day at Hidden Valley for so many reasons.
*We broke 700+ again in combined attendance.
*We're now averaging over 500 every week at Dodgeville.
*I spoke with a woman who's son was a satanist, but now is attending Hidden Valley and LIKES IT!
*The band knocked it out of the park with their version of Revelation Song.
*We made some new updates to the stage and camera to improve the quality of what we're sending to HVCC-RC.
*We had TONS of kids on stage during both services singing to the mom's and they stole the show.
Way to go everyone! Thanks for all the hard work you put in each week.
Brian
*We broke 700+ again in combined attendance.
*We're now averaging over 500 every week at Dodgeville.
*I spoke with a woman who's son was a satanist, but now is attending Hidden Valley and LIKES IT!
*The band knocked it out of the park with their version of Revelation Song.
*We made some new updates to the stage and camera to improve the quality of what we're sending to HVCC-RC.
*We had TONS of kids on stage during both services singing to the mom's and they stole the show.
Way to go everyone! Thanks for all the hard work you put in each week.
Brian
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Why men hate church part 2
I really enjoyed David Murrow's book "Why men hate going to church". The last post I wrote reminded me about some of the things I learned from that book:
*The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male. *This gender gap shows up in all age categories.
*This Sunday almost 25 percent of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.
*Midweek activities often draw 70 to 80 percent female participants.
Depressed yet? You can go to his website to read more: http://churchformen.com/ I REALLY encourage you to watch the two minute clip he put on there.
The target of the average church in the USA appears to be 50 year old women. As Murrow points out, in many churches, we talk often about how Jesus wants to have an intimate, passionate, love relationship with us. Those are awkward sentiments for a man to make toward another man. The book was very interesting.
*The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male. *This gender gap shows up in all age categories.
*This Sunday almost 25 percent of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.
*Midweek activities often draw 70 to 80 percent female participants.
Depressed yet? You can go to his website to read more: http://churchformen.com/ I REALLY encourage you to watch the two minute clip he put on there.
The target of the average church in the USA appears to be 50 year old women. As Murrow points out, in many churches, we talk often about how Jesus wants to have an intimate, passionate, love relationship with us. Those are awkward sentiments for a man to make toward another man. The book was very interesting.
Only 35% of men attend church...why?
The gap between men and women attending church continues to widen. A magazine I was reading had a story about a man going to church at his wife's request for the first time in a long time. Here's what he experienced...
"...he pulls into the church parking lot and reads the message title on the marquee: Matters of the heart. Brock feels a cool sweat forming near the back of his neck as he scans the bulletin in a back row seat. Meals ministry. Book club. Bible Study. Develop a servant's heart. He finishes, drums his fingers on the seat, and looks around. Mauve trim. Quilted banners. Paintings of Jesus the baby and shepherd and donkey rider. And then someone invites him to stand up and sing. Brock never sings except in the shower -- maybe classic Dylan blaring form the iPod -- so he mouths the words on the screen. Mostly love songs to God and ballads. The pastor, a man in a robe, begins his message by painting a story of a shepherd who sets out to find a lost lamb...
See the problem?
"...he pulls into the church parking lot and reads the message title on the marquee: Matters of the heart. Brock feels a cool sweat forming near the back of his neck as he scans the bulletin in a back row seat. Meals ministry. Book club. Bible Study. Develop a servant's heart. He finishes, drums his fingers on the seat, and looks around. Mauve trim. Quilted banners. Paintings of Jesus the baby and shepherd and donkey rider. And then someone invites him to stand up and sing. Brock never sings except in the shower -- maybe classic Dylan blaring form the iPod -- so he mouths the words on the screen. Mostly love songs to God and ballads. The pastor, a man in a robe, begins his message by painting a story of a shepherd who sets out to find a lost lamb...
See the problem?
Another great day at HVCC
Despite a perfect day outside, we nearly broke 500 again in Dodgeville. 491 here and another 211 in Richland Center.
We had some technical glitches at our Video Venue in RC. Whew. I'm always amazed when I hear how many churches are thinking about starting a VV. The amount of work and the amount of technical knowledge you need to gain is amazing. It's sure a lot more than just grabbing a camera and making a movie. However, I think we got everything fixed again on the camera.
I had a wonderful conversation with someone who was only here for the second time today. She had been considering coming for a very long time, but finally pulled the trigger when she went through a personal crisis. She loves it so far.
We had some technical glitches at our Video Venue in RC. Whew. I'm always amazed when I hear how many churches are thinking about starting a VV. The amount of work and the amount of technical knowledge you need to gain is amazing. It's sure a lot more than just grabbing a camera and making a movie. However, I think we got everything fixed again on the camera.
I had a wonderful conversation with someone who was only here for the second time today. She had been considering coming for a very long time, but finally pulled the trigger when she went through a personal crisis. She loves it so far.
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