Theology of the Church Archives - Page 30 of 54

Don’t Trust Me

Wayne Jacobsen at Lifestream has some interesting articles on church life.

In one of these, he says that Jesus never calls us to trust people…not even other believers. He writes this:

Sara and I had spent almost a week among them. Invited to teach, we were also learning as we watched the simplicity of fellowship, worship and growth that this group of believers shared together. Finally, late one evening while sitting by the fire with some of their key people we got to ask our questions about the life they shared together.

“How do you teach believers to trust each other?” Sara asked. [Read more…]

What Could the Church do with $18.7 Billion?

By Jeremy Myers

6 Comments

If you ever need statistics and facts on churches, church attendance, megachurches, and numbers of people who attend church in the United States, I posted some demographic sites here. One of the sites was the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Here are some of the statistics I found:

-There are about 300,000 protestant churches in the US.
-The median church size is 75 people (the average is 186).
-50% of people who attend church attend the largest 10% of churches (350 people or more).
-There are 600,000 clergy members in the US.
-The average pastoral salary is $31,234. But if we only look at pastors in churches of more than 1000 people, the average salary is $81,923.

There are a lot of other statistics there as well.

Just for fun, do the math on these last two statistics. If the average salary for 600,000 clergy is $31,234, then this means that every year, $18.7 billion goes toward pastoral salaries in the United States.

I’m not necessarily saying this should happen, and I believe the worker is worthy of his wages…but I wonder what the church could do with $18.7 billion if we were not paying our pastors?

Is it Church or just a Bible Study?

By Jeremy Myers

Don't Build a Church Building

By Jeremy Myers

2 Comments

Want to know what kind of church facilities people prefer most? Back in 2008, Dave Ferguson posted the results of a study done by the Cornerstone Knowledge Network. Here is what he reported:

Note: The answers do not equal 100% because I only listed the top answers and the survey allowed the respondents to give multiple answers.

In what setting other than a home would you be most likely to interact with a friend?
- 47% – “Sit-down” restaurant
- 15% – Bar or night club
- 13% – Coffee shop
In what settings do you feel close to God?
- 41% – “no where”
- 40% – References to nature
- 14% – Anywhere, everywhere
- 10% – Church, cathedral, synagogue
If you were to design and build a church building, what adjectives would best describe it?
- 43% – Open
- 38% – Beautiful
- 36% – Bright
- 35% – Simple
- 24% – Reverent

I think that Dave Ferguson was trying to provide guidance on what kind of church buildings we should construct, but I think that if we begin with the question, “Should we construct a building?” rather than the question “What kind of building should we construct?” the survey results indicate that church buildings might only get in the way of people connecting with God and each other.

What do you think?

Is Envy a Problem in the Church?

By Jeremy Myers

Don’t Trust Me

What Could the Church do with $18.7 Billion?

Is it Church or just a Bible Study?

Don't Build a Church Building

Is Envy a Problem in the Church?

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