The numerical peak of the (evangelical) movement in the United States was in 1993, when about 3 in 10 adults were evangelical. --Ryan P. Burge (The Vanishing Church, 2026)
25 Years of Decline: Importance of Religious Faith in America -- sowhatfaith.com/2026/03/11/2... #faith
I would also argue that secularization explains another interesting and unfortunate trend in religious participation: the disappearance of progressive Christians. –Stephanie Spellers (Church Tomorrow, 2025)
We are not afraid. We are standing with one another. We are rooted in the bedrock of our faith, that every child of God has worth and deserves dignity and that we are called to love our neighbors. –Todd Lippert (Christian Century, March 2026)
To be spiritually alive involves placing our dependence on God, not just rolling in the ocean of self. –Peter W. Marty (Christian Century, March 2026)
There are no records of Jesus being consulted about how to pay the sanctuary light bill. –Dawn Martin Hyde (Christian Century, March 2026)
I am 100% convinced that ample opportunities for partnership and new life await if you’re willing to go forth and listen to the Nones and Dones in your life with curiosity, humility, mutuality, and love. –Stephanie Spellers (Church Tomorrow, 2025)
Living Water is for Every Body was my message this morning at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in downtown Fort Worth on the occasion of my first Sunday as their Interim Senior Minister - sowhatfaith.com/2026/03/08/l...
Miracles and revolutions begin with holy encounters. –John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okinczyc-Cruz (Jesus and Justice, 2026)
Rain or shine, Hope shows up. ☔ Today we provided nutritious food to 350 families. Grateful for the volunteers who made it happen!
Most of the New Testament is a collection of simple texts written for simple people. I love it for that. –Miroslav Volf (Glimmerings, 2026)
Humans will keep evolving, but we won’t outgrow our need for community. –Stephanie Spellers (Church Tomorrow, 2025)
Congrats @ryanburge.bsky.social! The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us is the first book in 2026 to receive 5+ stars from So What Faith! - sowhatfaith.com/2026/03/04/g...
Check out So What Faith's Recommended Reads for March, including volumes by Ryan Burge, Kevin Nye, Leah Marone, Jennifer Garcia Bashaw and Aaron Higashi - sowhatfaith.com/2026/03/04/g... #bookrecommendations
Seeking the common good through the local practice of neighbor love is messy and complicated work. –Amar D. Peterman (Christian Century, March 2026)
If there’s anything the dozens of Nones and Dones I met agree on, it’s this: Churches too often foster rigid attitudes toward belief, structure, labels, and/or practice, and they need to learn to change or prepare to die. –Stephanie Spellers (Church Tomorrow, 2025)
Trust begins to disappear within a free society when we substitute personal interest for the public good. –Peter W. Marty (Christian Century, March 2026)
Jesus modeled for us how we are to be collaborators with God and with one another in the building of God’s Reign on Earth. Each and every one of us. –John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okinczyc-Cruz (Jesus and Justice, 2026)
How many of these 11 churches do you recognize? 👀
Did we meet at one along the way?
(Note: These are churches I have served or am serving in Texas and Florida)
. . . we need a fierce, strategic emphasis on Jesus rather than a particular church. Most denominational distinctions mean little to people outside that group’s fold . . . –Stephanie Spellers (Church Tomorrow, 2025)
🚨 NEWSFLASH! 🚨
I’m excited to share that I have been chosen to serve as Interim Pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), located in the heart of downtown Fort Worth -the oldest continually operating church in the city. Note: I will continue to serve as CEO of White Rock Center of Hope
If we want to build a world that is more just, equitable, and compassionate, we must follow Jesus’ teachings and example. –John Dominic Crossan & Michael Okinczyc-Cruz (Jesus and Justice, 2026)
Date night in Oklahoma City
Easter can only be experienced, never defined. –Diana Butler Bass (A Beautiful Year, 2025)
Plenty of the church’s wounds are self-inflicted. –Stephanie Spellers (Church Tomorrow, 2025)
I believe the road to the future church winds through terrain best known by nonreligious younger Americans. –Stephanie Spellers (Church Tomorrow, 2025)
Today’s message?
It’s on the shirt.
Pentecost was far more than a supernatural event, a conversion sermon, and a mass baptism. It was a political dagger aimed at the Roman Empire . . . –Diana Butler Bass (A Beautiful Year, 2025)
Jesus is the incarnation of God’s limitless love. –Terri Hord Owens (Staying at the Table, 2026)
Churches all around are becoming less of what they once were, largely becoming pawns in the wars and seductions of raw secular, political powers, as well as emotional exploitation. –Jack Haberer (Swimming with the Sharks, 2025)
