Are We Circling the Wagons?
by Craig Cable I once took a call from a church elder who was inquiring about a documentary that Group produced called When God Left the Building. It’s wasn’t uncommon…
Tag: Josh Packard
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…
How Christian Is Your Community?
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…
Want to Kill an Idea? Form a Committee
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;…
What the “Pet Rock” Can Teach Your Church
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…
Is a “Club Culture” Killing Your Church?
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…
Monologue or Dialogue?
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:…
What will you say to Stephanie?
by Mikal Keefer Spoiler alert: Stephanie goes to church weekly—but only because she’s paid to be there. She works at a health care facility. Because one of the residents likes…
Not Alone
by Josh Packard It’s been an amazing year to be thinking and writing about Dones. I’ve had the great privilege to hear a lot of incredible stories. Many of them…
Reformation
by Josh Packard My Lutheran friends will remember that the last Sunday in October was Reformation Sunday, commemorating Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses to the door of the church…
