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Posts from the ‘Spirituality’ Category

Dec 12

4 Comments

“Moving from Polity to Purpose”

I had the privilege of witnessing a profound conversation with my colleagues in the Pacific Western Region.  They were talking about what it would take to really shift our culture away from holding on to “this is mine” to “we are called to serve a larger vision.”  They named it powerfully as “moving from polity to purpose.”

What excites me most about our move toward regionalization is not so much that we can create new and interesting structures, but that this transition helps us uncover a deeper charge of culture change that asks us to claim a larger purpose of serving the larger world, not just “ourselves.” Read more

Sep 23

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The Decline of American congregations or the Rebirth of American Religiosity?

Hartford Seminary recently released a report on the changing nature of congregational life in America.  The FACT (Faith Communities Today) report outlines the findings of a ten-year study (2000 – 2010) that includes data collected from over 11,000 congregations in 120 denominations (Christian, Jewish and Muslim).

The tone of the report is decidedly gloomy: fewer people are attending congregations across denominations, despite efforts to revivify worship with contemporary music and social media connectivity.  With the exception of the tiny slice of mega-churches, congregations are becoming smaller and smaller, and more report that they seem outmoded and irrelevant to modern life. Read more

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