7 Trends Impacting Church Leadership for 2025
As the landscape of ministry continues to shift, the Lewis Center sees congregations adapting in creative new ways. Jessica Anschutz, Ann Michel, and Doug Powe…
Browsing: Nones
Articles
7 Trends Impacting Church Leadership for 2024
Ann Michel, Doug Powe, and Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff identify seven trends church leaders should keep in mind as they develop creative…
“Who are The Nones?” featuring Ryan Burge
Podcast Episode 125 The rapid growth in the percentage of Americans claiming no religious affiliation is drastically reshaping the country’s religious and cultural landscape. We…
How Can the Church Respond to the Rise of the Nones?
What is the church to do in the face of increasing rates of religious disaffiliation and the rise of the Nones? Researcher and pastor Ryan…
Who are The Nones?: An In-Depth Interview with Ryan Burge
The rapid growth in the percentage of Americans claiming no religious affiliation is drastically reshaping the country’s religious and cultural landscape. Ann Michel of the…
Helping People Connect with God through Nature
The natural world is our first way of knowing God, says Beth Norcross, an expert in spirituality and nature. Finding God in nature can reconnect…
Lessons from the Fresh Expressions Movement: In-depth Interview with Luke Edwards
What can we learn from the Fresh Expression movement’s novel approach to forming new faith communities? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff interviews Luke…
“Lessons from the Fresh Expressions Movement” featuring Luke Edwards
What can we learn from the Fresh Expression movement’s novel approach to reaching people unlikely to attend church on Sunday mornings? Luke Edwards discusses a process of listen, building relationships, and forming community that can lead to deepening discipleship and the formation of new, nontraditional worshipping communities.
Youth Ministry by Any Other Name
Kenda Creasy Dean writes that today ministry with young people often means finding young people where they live and work and embedding the church beside…
Church Comes Home
The pandemic taught us that church happens in powerful and meaningful ways outside our buildings. Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff interviews Dave Barnhart,…
“Church Comes Home” featuring Dave Barnhart
The pandemic taught us that church happens in powerful and meaningful ways outside our buildings. Dave Barnhart describes how small, home-centered worshiping communities can connect with people who may never cross the threshold of your church.
Understanding the Nones
What accounts for the rapid increase in the percentage of Americans who claim no religious preference? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff shares key…
Episode 73: “Discovering God in Nature” featuring Beth Norcross
Why do we feel comforted, healed, and enlivened in nature? Beth Norcross explains it is because God is so present there. In this episode we discuss how nature is our first way of knowing God and how individuals and churches can connect with this deep wellspring of spiritual meaning.
6 Silver Linings in the Clouds of Doom and Gloom
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff points to six positive factors that may offer clues to churches seeking a way forward in an environment…
3 Keys to Congregational Success: Meaning, Belonging, and Values
Dave Brubaker says making meaning of life, providing a network of relationships, and transmitting essential values are three essential ways congregations respond to core human…
The Problem with Being Spiritual but Not Religious
Tom Bandy explains that the rise in the number of people who claim to be spiritual but not religious is a manifestation of a larger…
Worship Game Changers
Why worship? I mean really, why worship? This is the deeper question that is asked by the rapidly growing population of spiritually yearning, institutionally alienated…
Spiritual but Not Religious. Really?
A common phrase used in recent years to describe some people is “spiritual but not religious.” It sounds good and believable given our modern individualistic…
The “Nones” and the Spirituality of Everyday Living
One of the most important challenges confronting the church today is the rise of the so-called “Nones,” that is, the religiously unaffiliated, those who check…
Taking Prayer to the Community
Several recent research efforts addressing the spiritual practices of those not connected to religious communities have found that prayer is a practice that those inside…
Taking Church to the Community
How can everyday places in your neighborhood become sanctuaries where people receive blessing? Increasingly, churches find they can extend their spiritual presence beyond their own…
Doing Church “as Usual” Is Not Working
The Pew Research Center’s recent report on changes in religious affiliation in the United States received major attention among both secular and religious media. Some…