Following up with last week's column concerning "why do churches die," I wanted to take a few weeks to talk about some broad characteristics that should define a healthy church. These characteristics are by no means exhaustive, but they are broad enough to define some core concepts without micromanaging the details or methodologies. In other words, I can't imagine how any...

The First United Methodist Church of Goshen sat vacant and for sale for years. It was falling apart, desperate for work, and had no prospective buyers on the horizon. That is until Will Keenan purchased the property to renovate it and turn it into a "church for all religions," a sort of Areopagus (Acts 17) for Cape May County where people can share everything from poetry t...

One reader wrote, "Why should I go to church? Can't I just worship in my own home alone?" I would like to engage with this question over the next two weeks, addressing each question on its own. I think both of them deserve some time to clear up any misconceptions. Defined, the global church is everyone who is a follower of Jesus. The local church, on the other hand, is th...