Posts Tagged: tlc

TLC: Think like a Christian

Small words make a big difference! A much needed conversation about evangelism By Jeffrey Schooley Each month’s columns are a labor of love and there is no greater “I love you too” than when readers send their thoughts, opinions, and even disagreements. I try my best to respond to each e-mail sent to me at thinklikechristians@gmail.com… Read more »

TLC: Think like a Christian

Churches never die Transforming grump into gratitude  Jeffrey A. Schooley “Depressing” was the only observation from one of my elders after a recent session meeting. We had just reviewed demographic and sociological information from the remarkably helpful data aggregation web company, MissionInsite. The data revealed that much of our immediate community is “irreligious.” In fact, even… Read more »

TLC: Think like a Christian

Desired Distractions? How attention to national “issues” might just be an excuse to avoid local realities by Jeffrey Schooley A congregant recently talked to me – at length – about the bathroom bill in North Carolina. A friend was told by the clerk of his presbytery that he should be prepared for five to six… Read more »

TLC: Think like a Christian

The Orlando Mass Shooting Why prayer is our best option – right now By Jeffrey A Schooley Like most pastors (I suspect), I did not have the time or the skill to rework my sermon yesterday to incorporate the tragic events that happened at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. And so all I could do was… Read more »

TLC: Think Like a Christian

by Jeffrey A. Schooley Size Matters But not for the reasons you think I might be a pastor of a small church. I say “might be,” because I honestly have no idea what constitutes a small, mid-sized, and mega church. I’ve heard it said that a mega-church is any church with 1,000 or more members…. Read more »

TLC: Think Like a Christian

Seeking transformation through the renewal of our minds When to leave a churchSpiritual health, church decisions, and asking the right questions by Jeffrey A. Schooley I love Chipotle. I love everything about it. When the CDC cleared it of any E. Coli outbreaks recently, I was overjoyed—excessively overjoyed. I mean, it almost made my pastoral… Read more »

TLC: Think Like a Christian

Seeking transformation through the renewal of our minds ‘We’ve always done it that way’An ode to ruling elders and what’s really going on when a church member resists change by Jeffrey A. Schooley As a relatively new pastor, I’ve heard the phrase “We’ve always done it that way” enough times to drown in it. No… Read more »

TLC: Think Like a Christian

Seeking transformation through the renewal of our minds   Churches, stop counting your members!A scary story about the Fear-monster in your church’s basement by Jeffrey A. Schooley Since it is Halloween time, I want to tell you a scary story about “Fear-monster.” Fear-monster lives in the basement of your church. He lurks there, consuming the… Read more »

TLC: Think Like a Christian

Seeking transformation through the renewal of our minds   When tolerant Christians can’t tolerate the intolerance of tolerant non-ChristiansWhy Christians need to give up on tolerance in favor of grace by Jeffrey A. Schooley To whatever degree titles are useful (and I suspect they aren’t all that useful), my life story goes something like this:… Read more »

TLC: Think Like a Christian

Seeking transformation through the renewal of our minds   Living a centered life Responding to Brandon Gaide’s “big tent” question about church boundaries by Jeffrey A. Schooley A couple months ago Brandon Gaide posed on this blog a really challenging question about the boundaries we set as a church. “Exactly how big is the tent?”… Read more »