Deputation - Baptist Bible Tribune

DigressionsDigressions incontestibly are the sunshine; they are the life, the soul of reading.-Laurence SterneMusic ministry is a high stress jobOf the 15 most overworked and underpaid professionsout there, church music ministry ratesnumber five, according to PayScale.comYou may not think of people who plan, direct,and conduct performances for religious services asbeing under a particularly high amount of stress.But they also choose the appropriate psalm orhymn for every wedding and funeral — only someof the most important events in a family's life. Andthose stressful situations can create some demandingclients."Every now and then you'll get a strangerequest," said Dan Fenn, Music Ministry Directorat St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minnesota."A couple of years ago I got a request toplay the Beer Barrel Polka at a funeral. You haveto ask yourself, is this appropriate for a worshipservice?"How Payscale.com defined high stress and lowpay jobs: Starting from a database of over 2000jobs, Payscale used data from over 36,000 respondentswho ranked their jobs for quality of life factors,and chose those requiring a bachelor's degreeor higher where the national median pay is lessthan $65,000. The survey was conducted betweenAugust 10, 2009 and October 1, 2009.Source: CNNMoney.com and PayScale.comMegachurch-goers younger, give lessThe average age of megachurch-goersis 40, compared with nearly 53 at atypical Protestant church. Nearly twothirdsof megachurch attendees areyounger than 45, double the numbers inProtestant congregations of all sizes. Thevast majority are 18 to 44.• Nearly a third of megachurch attendeesare single, compared with 10percent in a typical Protestant church.They also tend to be wealthier and bettereducated.• Sixty-two percent of megachurchattendees said they had experiencedGolfing pastors thenew eco-terrorists?Now that researchers at theDanish Golf Union have discoveredthat golf balls may takefrom 100 to 1,000 years to decomposenaturally, concern hasbeen expressed regarding thepotential hazards to the environment.Overtime, chemicalsandmetals fromthe ballsleach intowater andsoil and canhave harmfuleffectson plant andanimal life.In response, several golf ballmanufacturers have introducedbiodegradable balls so golferscan enjoy environment-friendlyhooks, slices, and shanks.Source: CNN.com (Submitted byreader Bill Kolb, O'Fallon, MO)much spiritual growth in the past year.But nearly 45 percent never volunteer atthe church and 32 percent give little orno money to the congregation. The studydid not include comparable data on volunteerrates at churches of all sizes."The ethos of the megachurch is tosay 'You can't just sit there and spectate,that's not enough, you've got to do thisor do that,'" said study co-director ScottThumma, a sociologist at the Hartfordinstitute. "But a lot of people said, 'I'mperfectly happy coming here and doingthat.'"Social media trends:Reaching people faster38 yearsAmount of time it took forradio to reach 50 millionlisteners13 yearsAmount of time it took forterrestrial TV to reach 50million viewers.4 yearsAmount of time it took forthe Internet to reach 50million users.9 monthsAmount of time it took forFacebook to add 100 millionusers. If Facebook were acountry, it currently would bethe fourth most populatedplace in the world. Thismeans it easily beats thelikes of Brazil, Russia, andJapan in terms of size.Source: Econsultancy.comDivided loyalties also might play arole: Just three-quarters described themegachurch they were attending as their"home" church, and many said they wereattending more than one church.Thumma said the findings don't necessarilymean that megachurches don'tfoster involvement. The study found thatsignificant numbers of even the leastinvolvedparticipants still give generously,have invited others to church, and attendservices weekly.Source: Hartford Institute for Religion Research atHartford Seminary and Leadership Network6 | Baptist Bible Tribune | January 2010