Author: Administrador

Kevin Dooley photo – Flickr By Aaron Earls The most pressure I ever felt in seminary to adopt a certain viewpoint had nothing to do with a theological issue. It was over Santa Claus. A professor argued that teaching children to believe in Santa could make them less likely to follow Christ as adults. Several classmates … Continue reading “Can Santa Be Saved? One Needed Change to St. Nick”

By Meredith Cook You’re probably wondering why I’m writing about New Year’s when we’ve yet to finish celebrating the joyous Christmas season. Don’t misunderstand; I’m a regular “Buddy the Elf” who loves Christmas and everything about it. But I’m also a planner. Around this time of year, I start looking ahead to the next year … Continue reading “Rethinking New Year’s Resolutions”

And Five Ways to Address it StockSnap photo – Pixabay By Thom S. Rainer Few people will argue that church attendance in many churches in America is declining. Our own research indicates that the majority of churches in our country are not growing. Most of us have our own ideas why attendance is declining. Many … Continue reading “The Number 1 Reason for the Decline in Church Attendance …”

Caroline Hernandez photo – Unsplash By Aaron Earls Virtually every language has a word for Christmas. Spanish-speakers celebrate Navidad. The Italians have Natale and the Dutch look forward to Kerstmis. But why do we English-speakers sing “The First Noel,” the French word for Christmas, and not say “The First Weihnachten,” the German word? When was … Continue reading “Why Do We Say “Noel” at Christmas?”

By Erik Reed I know they exist. They’re like unicorns or the famed Yeti people claim to have seen. What am I talking about? Churches that have plenty of money and don’t need to think about donor development. Most churches have more dreams than money. Our ideas for new ministries and initiatives are usually more … Continue reading “A Simple Way to Improve Giving Retention”

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash By Aaron Earls A real “War on Christmas” is taking place, but it has nothing to do with the greetings used in American retail stores. China is cracking down on Christianity and even Christmas displays. Last week, a prominent pastor was one of 100 Christians detained by authorities. Wang Yi, … Continue reading “China Ramps Up Christian Persecution as Christmas Approaches”

By Matt Henslee In addition to celebrating the birth of Christ, many of our readers likely enjoy a variety of Christmas traditions. Perhaps some of you are new to the whole parenting thing and are deciding what kind of traditions you’ll carry on or start for your family. Maybe you’re a little older now and … Continue reading “10 Favorite Christmas Traditions”

rawpixel photo – Unsplash By Ryan Sanders We’re all hardwired to receive love differently. That’s the lesson we learned in 1995 when Gary Chapman released the book that gave an “aha moment” to all of American Christendom. Seriously, if you’ve never read The 5 Love Languages, go buy a copy. It’s that important. Chapman explained … Continue reading “5 Effective Ways to Convince a Church Guest to Return”

Franklin Scott reflects on 29 years of multi-generational collegiate ministry at the University of Georgia. Joe Westbury photo – Christian Index By Joe Westbury As a young man, Franklin Scott sensed a strong call to ministry but clearly knew it wouldn’t be in the pastorate. “But back in those days being a pastor was about … Continue reading “Nearly 30 Years of Campus Ministry ‘Kept an Old Man Young’”

By A.B. Vines The act of making New Year’s resolutions isn’t really that new. Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year, saying they’d return borrowed objects and pay their debts. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus (which is where the word January comes from). … Continue reading “2 Things to Remember When Setting Resolutions”