"People are still hungry for spirituality and a connection to something greater than themselves. We can look at many thriving communities that have sprouted up around the country and take solace in the fact that while synagogue membership is down, people still thirst for meaning that we can provide. To do this though, we must reorient ourselves around something else..."
"Participation in religious services is associated with numerous aspects of human flourishing, including happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships." Our takeaway: religion works tremendously well for existing customers. What about everyone else?
"Explorers Lewis and Clark had to adapt. While they had prepared to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, instead they found themselves in the Rocky Mountains. [...] If you're going to scale the mountains of ministry, you need to leave behind canoes and find new navigational tools."