Attending Mass (Visiting Church #5) When I tell people we’re visiting Christian churches, they often assume Protestant and are surprised our plan includes Catholic gatherings. That’s where we head today, to our first Mass. The most noticeable...
The Right Mix of Music (Visiting Church #4) The church is a traditional looking building, constructed of brick and stately in appearance. In checking out the sanctuary, I anticipate the service will be just as Facebook promised. It said “a...
What True Church Should Be (Visiting Church #3) “This won’t be a typical service” cautions a friend who greets us when we arrive. The church suffered a tragedy, just three days before and not all the members yet know. The service will communicate...
Growing Deeper (Visiting Church #2) This Sunday we visit a nondenominational church. It’s three years old and I know a bit about it and its pastor, who I perceive as a mostly postmodern guy possessing a modern theology. I suspect the church will...
A Friendly Church with a Homey Feel (Visiting Church #1) The first of fifty-two churches is a small Baptist-affiliated assembly. With forty or so normally in attendance, this Sunday has only seventeen. The service is not unlike churches my wife...
What’s Next for 52 Churches? Our experience of visiting fifty-two churches in a year is over. I’ve shared the journey, as well as my recap and reflections on our pilgrimage. It was a great experience. What’s next? Quite a bit, actually. 52...
8 Tips to Find a New Church When It Comes Time to Change Churches, Attitude Is Everything Last week we talked about when not to change churches, instead of looking to find a new church. Too often people treat their church as a commodity and...
When Not to Change Churches When We Go Church Shopping We Behave as Consumers and Don’t Honor God In today’s practice of retail religion, we pursue faith has a consumer and miss the purpose of church. We’re quick to change churches over the...
Do We Need to Listen to a Lecture Each Sunday at Church? Can you have a church service without hearing a preacher speak? Will you try? My wife and I recently visited a church. Though we didn’t know it before we walked in, their service would be...
Are Visitors Welcome at Your Church? For the past several months, a roadside sign at a church proclaims “Visitors Welcome.” This amuses me. Isn’t that assumed? Doesn’t every church want to grow? I’ve never been to a church that had a “no...
