The State of the Church

(Author's note: I struggled with this post more than any other I have written to date. I will not devote any space as to what inspired and motivated me to write this, but I trust that it was genuine. It certainly raised my concern for the church as a whole and I came to some inescapable conclusions. ~ JP) Church, frankly speaking, no longer plays the pivotal role in the lives of people that it once did. As time goes by both church and the worship experience get pushed further into the background as lives get busier and other things compete for our attention. Part of the problem is external. When...

The More Things Change...

As I am about to turn yet another year older I find myself reflecting on change. When I was a child television was black and white and there were only a few local channels. Telephones required lines. There were no computers, laptops, tablets or even calculators. Man had not yet set foot on the moon as the space program was still in its infancy. Now, half a century later the world is a much different place. Television is not only in color and high definition but there are literally hundreds of channels to choose from. With the advent of cell phones, land lines are decreasing in number. In...