Around the Web – May 11, 2012
This week, we found an interesting chart on why pastors and churches are heading toward conflict that often results in pastoral dismissal: “Pastor’s Fight and Flight”. Top two reasons: ‘recent church fights and shrinking congregations’… the next six:
- Short Sermons (seriously!)
- Almost no men in attendance
- Women pastors
- Young pastors
- Old congregants
- A slight majority of congregants are poor
Hard to know what to make of all that! Those of us who preach 45 minutes or more are safe, right?
A few more articles of note:
- Michael Youseff is another evangelical making fundamentalist sounds in Standing on Solid Rock, Not Sinking Sand. Anxiety over Christian ecclesiastical compromises continues to trouble conservative Christians.
- Pastors juggle ministry, motherhood (ABP) – unexpected dilemmas brought on by ignoring Scriptural mandates.
- Obama spiritual adviser Joel Hunter concerned about support of gay marriage – A Washington Post article seems to bear out some of the concerns linked to last week.
- Making sense of marriage news – Jim Daly of Focus on the Family offers some reaction to the news of the week concerning the defense of marriage and attacks on marriage.
As always, there will be more to come.