One of the reasons the “attractional church model” is being questioned today is the realization that it often produces consumers more than it makes disciples.
Big Questions
Our panel of contributors replies to questions from readers on topics like these: ethics, relationships, missional living, faith formation, vocation/calling, digital life, church/Bible/doctrine, and stewardship. Got a question you’d like answered?
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Reasons for busyness vary from family to family, but one reason is we don’t want to miss out on anything.
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You cannot resolve the conflicts within your parents’ marriage that are highlighted by these political differences.
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Experts can usually tell when something has been manipulated, but what about the rest of us?
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Many of my students ask whether you can have a calling if you do not believe in God.
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There’s a certain spirituality that adorned our council rooms in the past, and that’s what might be oozing away.
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Is it smart to give money outright like this to young people with no directions?
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A church denomination intent on family unity has a chance of finding a way to remain united.
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The Bible says God hates “lying lips,” but there are also stories, such as Rahab helping the Israelite spies, where lying seems to be a good thing. So is lying sometimes okay?
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When broken people come to churches, they are looking for people who have walked in their shoes. They are seeking a community that becomes a safe place.
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Faith questions are and should be asked as teens start to make faith their own.
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My kid threw a fit when she saw the photos I had posted of her online. I think she’s overreacting, but what do you think?
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One of the quickest and easiest ways to fill a void in our lives is to buy something, and our mind convinces us for a moment that this will cure our ills.
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Everything Christians do for the Lord has significance not only for this life, but for the life to come.
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The author of Genesis had no intention of giving us a 21st-century, scientifically precise account of how God created all things.
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Each individual has a unique genetic makeup, social history, and personality, and each teen will navigate this identity crisis in his or her own way.
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It takes a delicate balance to identify what helps children to worship and what disrupts worship.
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“Righteousness” is another word for “justice,” which can be understood to mean something like “treating each person, thing, or situation rightly or correctly.”
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As a Reformed Christian, I believe God cares deeply about how we steward the Earth as faithful people of God.
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The deacons say that most people are paying electronically. I’ve even heard of churches that allow people to swipe a credit card in the service. Isn’t this undermining the worshipful nature of the offering?
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During retirement we are called to discern the varied ways our new status can become an opportunity to be of service to others—our children, grandchildren, siblings, parents, churches, and wider communities.
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Why didn’t the early Reformers more seriously seek reunion with Eastern Orthodoxy after rejecting the excesses and innovations of Western Catholicism?
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Helpful input convinced me that online dating is a viable option for anyone seeking a mate.
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I suggest asking your congregation some hard questions about how closed or open it is to reaching out to new immigrants.