Half will go to the local area, the other half will go to orphans in southwest Africa. The church:  Church of the Resurrection near Kansas City. In the local metro area, the money will go to help refurbish schools, build playgrounds and contribute to literacy programs. // Read more here… … ‘but we could have hired TEN staff members with that...

David Murrow, the director of Church from Men, has some ideas: 1.  The midsize congregation will disappear. 2.  An explosion of satellite campuses and microchurches 3.  A small number of cutting-edge megachurches led by amazingly talented communicators. 4.  No denominations. 5.  America will have about 200 well-known preachers by 2062. 6.  More money spent on mission. 7.  We’ll need a lot fewer preachers. 8.  We’ll need a lot more campus pastors. 9.  Small group ministry will be more important in 60 years than it is today. 10.  Microchurches and megachurches will cooperate for...

Want to know how you as a leader can help your church be much more generous during 2013?  Brian Dodd has some suggestions: Churches Should Tell The Compelling Stories Of Need Within Their Community Donors are now desiring to give directly to real people with real stories rather than anonymously through charities. Unite Your People Around One Cause At A Time Church leaders need to make the stories of need targeted and specific.  HopeMob.org only features one story at a time.  This prevents your generous community from being fragmented. Develop Systems Learn to leverage impulse generosity.  When...

Interesting story: An American church is promising gay men they will be cured of their homosexuality if they stroke horses. The Cowboy Church of Virginia, led by chief pastor Raymond Bell, believes homosexuality and other ‘addictions’ can be cured by Equine Assisted Psychotherapy. Horse therapy, in the right hands, can be used to help overcome fears, develop communication skills, and is generally beneficial to mental health. But Bell says the horses in his church, a cowboy ranch in the south, are part of teaching men to stop being gay and encourage them to be more masculine. ‘EAP can help any...

The town of Possum Trot, Texas, is so tiny there are no stoplights or street names. But despite tough times, its residents are showing how big their hearts are, with 25 families taking in 76 foster children to give them better lives. What a way to help change your...

This week on the Filter, my friend Matt Steen and I discuss all kinds of ministry-schtuff.  Things like weather and the end of the world, paying to speak at a conference, a revival reunion, Noah’s ark, live nativity displays, and how honest people think you are as a pastor. We end the conversation with a sincere look at fallen pastors, honesty, and how church leaders should handle struggling leaders. Here are the show notes: Survey: One in three Americans see extreme weather as a sign of biblical end times (0:30) Finally… a ‘pay to speak at’ conference… You in? (4:45) Churches uses...

Even though the official Church of England has been against gay marriage, lawmakers are looking at a workaround that will allow gay marriage in churches, but give a legal exemption to the Church of Englad and others. Here’s part of an article from Mail Online: Gay marriage will be legal in some British churches by 2014, despite furious Tory warnings that the issue could split the party and cost it the next election. In a surprise move, the Church of England will be guaranteed a blanket exemption from holding same-sex marriages. But this failed to quell a major Tory backlash. Amid stormy scenes in...

Sad.  A church in California is suing the pastor for financial impropriety. Another great example of why, as a pastor or church leader, you should be FAR FAR away from any money. And why financial transparency is of key importance.

The Times of London has release text from a leaked memo from within the Church of England. (Learning here:  Nothing you write on paper or [especially] in an email is confidential) The Secretary General of the General Synod said the public and political fallout from the recent vote to not allow women bishops is “severe”: “Parliament is impatient… Unless the Church of England can show very quickly that it’s capable of sorting itself out, we shall be into a major constitutional crisis in Church-State relations, the outcome of which cannot be predicted with confidence.” More on the...

Leadership is a big topic in the church these days. Heck… I work for “Leadership” Network. But some say our leadership culture has gone too far.  Lance Ford has written a new book called “UnLeaders”.  He’s a quote from Lance: The leadership culture in the Church has fed a lot of egos and crowded out the character of Jesus in the name of leadership. You can read this quote in full context of an interview here… As with anything, when we concentrate just on one thing, we will get derailed. I think leadership in the church is vitally important.  Without great...