Listen to the Dones
by Josh Packard Why would someone devote his whole life to church and then one day decide to walk out the door and not come back? This was the central…
by Josh Packard Why would someone devote his whole life to church and then one day decide to walk out the door and not come back? This was the central…
By Rick Chromey I enjoy conversations about church attendance. I like to chat with people about why they go, what they prefer, and what they would change. The answers rarely…
By Thom Schultz A friend stopped by and mentioned he had left his church. I learned he wasn’t alone. It seems a large chunk of the congregation has fled, along…
Is it getting harder to enlist people for ministry at your church? Are volunteers stepping down from their engagement and connection? With the busy holiday season approaching and the on-going…
by Rick Edwards Longtime Christians are leaving the church and not planning to return. Sociologist Josh Packard dubbed such people the “Dones.” As Packard reports in the book Church Refugees…
by Craig Cable We’ve all experienced the negative effects of bureaucratic red tape. It doesn’t matter whether it’s been in your church life, your professional life or your personal life;…
by Bob D’Ambrosio Last week after my small-group meeting, Dale and Jodi stuck around to tell me how much they appreciate being in the group. “We were looking for community…
by Jon Vaughan You might remember this little phenomenon back in the 70’s called “The Pet Rock.” More than 1.5 million people bought a rock as a pet. You might…
by Craig Cable Let’s face it. We like hanging out with people who remind us of ourselves. We gravitate toward people who look like us, think as we do, and…
by Rick Edwards Is it possible to be preached out of church? According to social science research, it is. Sociologists Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope in their book, Church Refugees:…