The growth of the mega-church movement walked down the aisle hand-in-hand with the growth of the attractional church model. The two were wed together as a framework for understanding and applying church growth and expansion. Although many obvious flaws could be stated outright, it is worth noting that there was a pragmatic surface-level effectiveness found... Continue Reading →
On Theological Triage: Division, Unity, and Pride in the Church
If there is one thing Protestants are great at, it’s dividing. I mean, we were literally born from division and we only exist as long as division within Christendom remains an unfortunate reality, we should all long for the day when there is nothing left to protest. Clearly, as I remain a committed Protestant, I... Continue Reading →
Finding Christ and Assurance at The Lord’s Table
What do you think about when it’s time to take communion? Do you have an internal conflict about whether you should go for the wine and not the juice this time? Or, maybe a silent hope that the cracker will be larger than last time? It is getting close to lunch. Life can be distracting... Continue Reading →
Don’t Let Them Sit Alone
On a cold Sunday morning, I took a Lyft to a church I’d never attended in a city I’d never been to. The driver was listening to some pretty raunchy rap and wasn’t interested in small talk. She dropped me off in what I thought was the parking lot and, despite my initial desires, I... Continue Reading →
The Legalism Behind the Attractional Church Model
Often, the terms seeker-sensitive or attractional are used to describe a certain church model approach. Jared Wilson defines an attractional church as a “church ministry whose primary purpose is to make Christianity appealing.”1 This does not mean that it is or isn’t contemporary, or even that it is or isn’t a megachurch. Rather, it describes a... Continue Reading →