New Wineskins
If Jesus were alive today, would he join the Target boycott to protest its new transgender bathroom policy? Read more
If Jesus were alive today, would he join the Target boycott to protest its new transgender bathroom policy? Read more
Although many churches attempt it, blended worship doesn't work in today's world. Here are five reasons why. Read more
Ever wonder whether churches are creating Pharisees rather than disciples? Here are five simple ways to know whether your church is unintentionally creating Pharisees. Read more
Watch this video to see what happens when a church throws a Joy Prom for the special needs community. Read more
Too many churches have lost the guests in the parking lot before they even get a chance to impress them through the pulpit. Read more
Can you preach in a sports jersey and claim Scriptural support for it? Read more
Fifty years from now, will people walk past today's churches with their steeples and spires, organs and pews, robes and liturgy with the same sense of bewilderment that we have when we pass by a horse and buggy in Amish country? Read more
Yesterday at my church we started a new sermon series titled #struggles: following Jesus in a selfie-centered world (this series comes from the good people at life.church). Some might argue that using something as modern as a hashtag is pandering or even selling out to contemporary culture. Jesus would have never done that if he were preaching today, would he? At the end of the day, we’ll never know. There can be convincing arguments on either side by folks with long... Read more
Change is hard. Change is uncomfortable. Change is absolutely necessary. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Baptist by upbringing, so I know a thing or two about resisting change. I come from a heritage of church traditions perfectly poised to reach America if our culture ever reverts back to the 1950s. I’m changing my blog title and emphasis on Patheos to New Wineskins for one simple reason: to advocate, defend and proclaim the necessity of the church to adapt and modernize to reach... Read more
Fresh off of Easter Sunday, billions of people on this planet celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus, the central tenet and claim of Christianity. On the surface, the claim seems preposterous: almost two thousand years ago, there was a homeless Jewish rabbi who lived in a backwater Roman province and died a common criminal’s death by crucifixion. He was God and proved it by rising from the dead. It sounds much more plausible as a religious fairytale, a backstory to... Read more
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