Recently, I was thinking about the fact that many family-owned businesses do not survive the third generation of ownership. I wondered if the same held for churches. So I went looking to find out if it was common for Baptist and evangelical churches to turn inward and begin to die after a generation or two.

As it turns out, a lot of them do. It’s a pattern people who study churches have noticed for a long time.

Most churches start with real outward focus. They’re trying to r

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One of the clearest themes in the opening chapters of 1st Corinthians is the sin of division. Paul confronts people who have turned the church into competing personal territories: “I am of Paul,” “I am of Apollos,” “I am of Cephas.” Underneath the slogans is a single claim that this community exists, at least in part, to reflect my preferences, my relationships, and my sense of ownership.

That impulse is still common. It rarely announces itself as rebellion. It usually feel

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We are so excited to present our newly designed website. As you can see, it has a fresh new look and easy navigation to help you get the information you need quickly and efficiently. Many thanks to the ChurchSpring team for helping us launch such a beautiful new church website. To God be the glory!

Shining Light Baptist Church's mission is to meet people at the crossroads of life with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to help one another along the journey of spiritual growth

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