Ed Stetzer writes about Influencing Churches on his blog. In this, is lists different problems that surface in churches. Here is his abbreviated list; the full list is in his book Comeback Churches.

• Institutionalized church–this is the church that has lost its way within the forms and programs of ministry. This church is just going through the motions and has forgotten the real purpose for which it exists.
• Voluntary association church–this church functions more like a democracy rather than based on New Testament principles. Competing factions help maintain the “status quo” because of a desire to keep everyone happy.
• Unintentional church–this is the church that often has good intentions but have difficulty acting on those intentions. This church has a hard time embracing an intentional process for making disciples.
• “Us four and nor more” church–this is the church that practically believes that growth will destroy their “sweet fellowship.” The desire is to maintain a “family feel” which can make it hard for new people to break into the group.
• “We can’t compete” church–this is most often the smaller church that has concluded that there is no way they can compete with the program-rich larger churches, and so, they stop trying to be the church.

I’ve recently begun reading a vast quantity of blogs via Google Reader. I’ve noticed that many of them are a complete waste of time, especially the local news. It will give a snippet of some story about some random guy getting some sentence at a trial I never heard about for some very petty crime. Also a waste of time is any story related to some pop culture star. While I do want to be able to converse well with the culture and be relevant (hence the name of this blog), I struggle with the pettiness of some of it. Case in point: the TV show Extra. I feel like I lose one IQ point for every second I watch it. Anyone feel the same way about this?

Dan Kimball writes about the importance of words in our churches (like “worship” and “church”). Are the meanings of these words accurately known by those sitting on the pews or in the chairs? While I might cringe at some of his comments - like rethinking calling someone “pastor”, he makes strong points. Do non-”pastors” with the spiritual gift of pastor/shepherd feel under-qualified when someone with that gift in their title is getting paid to do it? Yes, I do believe in qualified leaders, but I believe qualification proceeds getting a job, and not everyone who’s qualified will be on staff. I’m not advocating changing things, but I do think we should think through things theologically before doing them - I think this is also Kimball’s main point in the article. Historically we have done things many different ways for both good and bad reasons. We should take that into account. Primarily, however, we should seek methods and such in Scripture - sola scriptura, if you will.

Mark Driscoll is quickly becoming one of my favorite preachers. Recently he’s done something really interesting by creating http://askanything.marshillchurch.org/ and giving anyone in the world the ability to get a whole sermon from Mark Driscoll to answer the question. The trick is, your question then had to be voted for and be in the top nine. There were 893 questions asked, 5,524 comments made, 343,203 votes cast in the end. And now Driscoll’s preaching on this. Sort of reminiscent of Paul’s letters when he addresses concerns that were raised to him. In case you were wondering, here are the final nine questions.

1. Do you believe that the Scripture not only regulates our theology but also our methodology? In other words, do you believe in the regulative principle? If so, to what degree? If not, why not? ( 310 comments and 25,181 votes)
2. What can traditional/established churches learn from “emerging” churches? (168 comments and 24,642 votes)
3. How does a Christian date righteously; and what are the physical, emotional, and mentally connecting boundaries a Christian must set while developing an intimate relationship prior to marriage? (222 comments and 21,373 votes)
4. If salvation is by faith alone (Romans 3:28), then why are there so many verses that say or imply the opposite, namely that salvation is by works (James 2:24, Matthew 6:15 & Matthew 7:21, Galatians 5:19-21) (105 comments and 21,337 votes)
5. How should Christian men and women go about breaking free from the bondage of sexual sin? (100 comments and 21,311 votes)
6. Of all the things you teach, what parts of Christianity do you still wrestle with? What’s hardest for you to believe? (38 comments and 21,285 votes)
7. Why does an all loving, all knowing, and all sovereign God will into creation people He foreknows will suffer eternal condemnation? Why does Romans 9:20 feel like a cop-out answer? (98 comments and 21,218 votes)
8. Why do you make jokes about mormon missionaries, homosexuals, trenchcoats wearers, single men, vegans, emo kids and then expect these groups to come to know God in the same sermon? (346 comments and 21,101 votes)
9. There’s no doubt the Bible says children are a blessing, but the Bible doesn’t seem to address the specific topic of birth control. Is this a black and white topic, or does it fall under liberties? (120 comments and 21,008 votes)

To listen or watch these messages online (or download podcasts), check out on Mars Hill Church’s website for the sermon series.