[This is a repost, though slightly altered, of a post of similar name from a year ago. Since I don't seem to have won the argument, I figured I'd try again.] It’s a wonderful tradition in my house: putting on Christmas music, lugging the tote full of Christmas decorations up from the basement, making hot [...]
New Media Project: “The old rugged hymnal: New songs and old media”
It’s an honor to write a few posts for the New Media Project. If you don’t know their research and case studies on church life and new media, check it out today. Today’s post is entitled, “The old rugged hymnal: New songs and old media.” I’ve posted an excerpt below: The old rugged hymnal: New songs and [...]
On Apple Stores & Congregational Welcome
Apple is not God, but the company pretty darn good at creation (design), evangelism (marketing), and worship (sales). Author Carmine Gallo who devoted a year to researching the Apple store experience writes that, by design, all laptop screens in the stores are tilted to 70 degrees. Why? So customers have to adjust them. The angle [...]
Through the Church the Song Goes On: Thank you, John Ferguson
I still remember the first time I heard about St. Olaf College. I was in Montreat, North Carolina at a music and worship conference at which John Ferguson was serving on the faculty. At a dinner, John (who I now know fondly as “Ferg”) suggested I attend St. Olaf College, a small liberal arts college [...]
The glory of repurposing space
Much of the tension in the second season of Downtown Abbey has to do with the fact that the great house has been turned into a respite care center for army officers. This novel use of the space, coupled with so many new people about, provides a wonderfully entertaining storyline. In a weird way, it’s [...]
Smartphones, Smart Pastor, Smart Church
Next time you see a group of young adults dining together at a restaurant, take a closer look at the table. Nine times out of ten, you’ll be able to glimpse at least one cell phone resting on the tablecloth or, just as likely, in someone’s hand. In many cases, multiple phones will dot the table as if they were part of the place settings. One might deduce that young people today have a medical condition causing indigestion unless they eat with their phones near at hand. Come to think of it, that’s dangerously close to the truth.
The dining scene hints at the fact that many youth and young adults today have a relationship with technology and social media that is core to their formation….
Here’s a list of five common phenomena among young people, and how the church might incorporate them into its worship, preaching, and communal life:
Don’t take “Christ” out of Christmas, but get the tree out of the church
Christmas trees, in the current-day United States at least, do not have a clear connection to the Christian faith. So why put them in the sanctuary with the other symbols?
