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De-sizing The Church: The Rise of Meritocracy
When you have an open market, not
just in finance, but in religion, the size of the crowd brings an air of credibility.
Want to Be Like Jesus? Show Up in Person
We debate what Jesus would say or do if he was walking the earth today. But no honest reader of the Bible can doubt he would be with people.
De-Sizing the Church (pt 2): Why Christian Celebrity Culture Guarantees Moral Failure, with Katelyn Beaty (Ep 070)
Celebrity is dangerous. But it’s also very appealing. This is the toxic combination that Katelyn Beaty addresses so well.
De-sizing The Church: Resisting Celebrity
“Humans were not fashioned by God for celebrity. We can’t take it, I’m telling you. It’s too much.” (Beth Moore)
De-Sizing the Church (pt 1): How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What’s Next, with Karl Vaters (Ep 069)
Why are we obsessed with bigness in the church? This is the first episode of our De-sizing the Church series, addressing that question.
De-sizing The Church: When Numbers Define Us
The idea of a church constantly getting bigger began as an outlier. Then it became a goal. Now it is the standard.
When Church Growth Is The Drug Of Choice
Christian ministry, as a vocation, is inherently susceptible to the subtle but powerful forces of consumerism, celebrityism, and narcissism.
What’s So Good About Good Friday—And How It Makes Jesus’ Victory So Different
Jesus took on death willingly, to defeat it permanently.
How a Small Church Can Be a Sending Church
We don’t need to grow numerically to be a better sending church. We need to grow in our love for Christ and the nations.
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Author
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Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.