Why a Change Message is so Popular Among the Poor

“It’s really stunning to see such a large increase in suicide rates affecting virtually every age group,” said Katherine Hempstead, senior adviser for health care at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, who has identified a link between suicides in middle age and rising rates of distress about jobs and personal finances.

The data analysis provided fresh evidence of suffering among white Americans. Recent research has highlighted the plight of less educated whites, showing surges in deaths from drug overdoses, suicides, liver disease and alcohol poisoning, particularly among those with a high school education or less. 

The new report did not break down suicide rates by education, but researchers who reviewed the analysis said the patterns in age and race were consistent with that recent research and painted a picture of desperation for many in American society. 

White middle-aged women had an increase of 80 percent.

“This is part of the larger emerging pattern of evidence of the links between poverty, hopelessness and health,” said Robert D. Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard and the author of “Our Kids,” an investigation of new class divisions in America.

By SABRINA TAVERNISE APRIL 22, 2016

Our ministry trains mentors, ministers, lay leaders, families and friends to help people in distress. Christians have many good support systems. 

You need to support our work by getting trained and by reading my books. Get PDF eBooks for a couple of bucks.

Upset with Churches? Suggestions for Change!

              Donna Thomas' tremendous book on Missions

A lot of people read my post about being upset with their churches. In fact, it was the most popular post I ever had.
Many people have ideas about how to improve their churches.

When I was a College Hill Pres we had a dynamic and very successful program of selecting and training Evangelism Teams. It was developed by Ron Rand.

One time we were asked to train a church that was losing members fast and said they needed help. George Bass went over to meet with them and discuss how to proceed. He asked them a simple question.

"Who is your target for outreach?"

They said, "People over 60 years of age with a German heritage." 

Some Pastors, Elders, Deacons and people do not want to change. They want the world and culture and sinners to change. I am not interested in working with those churches. They are stuck and will very likely die.

Let us know the ways you would like to help a church become more effective. What would you do?

I have consulted with and taught hundreds of churches and thousands of church leaders how to effectively bring people to their organizations. I have my ideas but I want to hear yours.


If you want to see my ideas plunk down a small fee for an eBook on a downloadable PDF. You will love any of them. I guarantee it. (If you read them!!!!)

Does God Still Speak to Us?

I just read a friend's post that said his dad passed away. He had dementia but was coherent several times about saying God was calling him home before long.

Do you believe God speaks today?

Can He get through to people with Alzheimer's?

Can God break into our chaos and confusion?

My Paternal Grandmother hear the Lord say she was going to pass that night and get ready.

She had a disabled son so she called some neighbors and asked them to cover over and care for him.

Then she walked a half mile and died at a neighbor's house next door to us. Mrs. Story called us and said, "Mrs. Hayes just came to my house and said the Lord had called her home. Shes at down in my rocker and went to sleep."

We walked next door and saw Grandma Hayes sitting in the rocker with her eyes closed. It was a remarkable moment of God's grace to her, my parents, my Uncle and us kids.

I can still remember it clearly after 65 years! When God's Spirit arrives we tend to perk up. Come Holy Spirit!

If you believe in the Holy Spirit, click here to support us because we do too.

Barriers to Church Growth

In preparation for writing this post I read several books, monographs and articles on outreach or evangelism or church growth.  Why Nobody Wants to be Around Christians Anymore, Thom and Joani Schultz, The Rise of Nones, James Emery White,

In Church Refugees, Ashleigh Hope and Josh Packard, Group Publishing, say that numerous seasoned believers are leaving churches in droves.  

“What Works Today,” by Rob Toal, in The State of Church Ministry in America, 2017. Ctpastors.com, October, 2016: 

I have also interviewed several leaders, young people and retired persons about their perceptions of the situation.

The recent monograph from www.ctpastors.com summarizes the biggest barriers to outreach this way. “Today’s church faces profound challenges within the broader culture: political correctness, postmodern relativism, religious pluralism. We live in a society full of unchurched people who don’t know the basic tenets of Christianity or thee redemptive story the scriptures tell. The church at large has a poor reputation among non-Christians. Many hold distorted views of Jesus, the gospel, and traditional Christian faith, so they are biased against us before we had a chance to start a conversation.

I attended a recent conference on The Future of the Church and the above issues were mentioned prominently. They reported that some 4000 churches are closing in America annually. Some because of demographic shifts and some because they ran out of steam. 

As you read the items above, do you agree that the primary cause of church decline comes from a lack of interest and spiritual knowledge of the unchurched? 

Do you think other issues are most important?

Let us know your ideas. And, consider supporting us here. 

What Mentors, Coaches, Helpers Need to Be a Success

I can remember one time I met with my mentor and discovered how awful I was at building relationships with my family. I was struggling at home with a wife and young baby and failing at my relationship with both. So I asked Bob to help me make figure out why my wife was so unhappy.

I had a BS in Education and an MS in Counseling so I had a lot of information about building good relationships.  I had made good grades in school by acing the tests on the topics relating to building rapport with students. My insights about theories were solid. However, it was the practice of the theories that eluded me.

Bob helped me by pointing out that I was actually worse than I suspected. That hurt badly but then he applied mercy and grace to the pain and showed me how to improve. I went with him to visit people in the hospital and watched how he gently opened the door for them to share. He spoke very little but listened and applied tender prayers for their health.

You can read a similar story of a young Episcopal Priest who was assigned to be a Hospital Chaplain and discovered he was terrible at it. What he learned and how it impacted him is worthy of a thorough study by anyone that wants to improve her or his interpersonal relationships.

You can improve your relationship with us by donating here.

Is Our Freedom to Worship Threatened?

Are we moving away from a Constitutional DEmocracy to a secular autocracy that judges people negatively if they follow their faith?

A recent article in The Pulse newsletter said as much in a recent article. Check it out.

Support our efforts to preserve freedom of speech and freedom of worship. Click here!

Churches are in Crisis

Dr. Thom Rainer has written on the topic of people leaving church in his blog.  I have copied his eight reasons folks are leaving from Bible Belt Churches but I think it is all churches.

What a big difference a region makes. Or use to make. I served as pastor of four churches, and three of them were in the Bible Belt. One was not. It was my favorite.

The Bible Belt refers to that region of the southeastern and south-central United States where church attendance has been higher historically, and where biblical values are more closely aligned with cultural values.

But the buckle of the Bible Belt is coming off. That means the entire belt will soon fall off. And it is happening rapidly.

There are thousands of churches in the Bible Belt. Sadly, too many of them are not adjusting to the changing realities of the area. They still act like it’s 1975. Here’s why:

1. They don’t recognize the decline in cultural Christianity. They refuse to admit the world has changed around them. And they are often angered when someone suggests they make methodological and stylistic changes.
2. They have many “church rules.” The church rules could be related to attire worn on Sunday, or times of worship, or inconsequential polity issues. The point is they do things like they did 40 years ago, and wonder why those on the outside are not interested in their churches.
3. They have leaders who have never led in a highly unchurched mission field. Of course, the problem is that the mission field around them is growing increasingly unchurched. Birmingham and Nashville, in that regard, are looking more like Spokane and Boston.
4. They confuse traditions with truth. That is a dangerous reality. When our church members equate biblical teachings with some of the bylaws and processes of the church, the congregation is in big trouble.
5. They do outreach the way they’ve always done it. So if Tuesday night visitation was effective in 1975, it should be effective in 2016.
6. They have significant conflict due to frustration. A number of the leaders and members of these churches can’t understand why and how things have changed so much. They want their old church back, but it’s not coming back. Their frustration can lead to conflict that exacerbates their other problems.
7. They are very slow to respond. Their internal culture moves at a much slower pace than the community around them. If they do respond to an opportunity, they might be five years late. Or ten. Or twenty.
8. They have significant facility challenges. Many of these churches were built for one big crowd one day a week one hour a week. They might have old and dated education and recreation facilities as well. Some of them are in worship centers with a capacity multiple times their actual attendance. They can have significant unused space and deferred maintenance. A lot of their funds go to keep the lights on.

Respond to me or to Dr. Rainer on his excellent blog. I am doing everything I can to help churches thrive but change is slow and painful. Support me at this link and in prayer.