Subscribe free to "Leading Ideas" at churchleadership.com/leadingideas. Every Wednesday, "Leading Ideas" delivers information, resources, and strategies for forward-thinking church leaders.
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
This article is reprinted by permission from Leading Ideas, a free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary available at churchleadership.com.