According to Michael Bird, author of ‘Religious Freedom in a Secular Age’, it depends on which type of secularism you mean.
Churches should be mindful of what’s involved in providing morning tea, and ensure expectations do not cripple those eager to serve.
Ah, the old effort, excellence, exclusion dilemma: your level of excellence didn’t meet the standard and you are excluded from participating.
As we enter an era characterized by rising interest rates, there is an unexpected casualty emerging: churches.
I don’t know if you have ever left a church service thinking, “Wow – that was really beautiful.” Here are two Sundays where I did…
Why are our children walking away from church and faith and how can we prevent it? Author Melanie Saward has some suggestions.
“This church thing, it’s just not working for me,” said my friend. It wasn’t the first time I had heard this.
‘Do you want this coffee?’, my mum asked. Little did she know that in that one sentence and gesture, she was affirming my faith.
“If there’s stigma and shame around mental health, they’re not going to talk to the church… they’ll think we’re going to judge them.”
Approximately 35 per cent of pastors had “seriously considered” quitting, according to research from clinical psychologist Valerie Ling.
