Articles

Listed below are articles by Martin Thielen.

Worship and Preaching Columns from Net Results and MinistryMatters.com

• A Pattern for Planning Worship
  (An ancient five-fold historical pattern of worship that still works in the 21st century)
• Gratitude Stories
  (Stories you can use for a Thanksgiving sermon)
• I Get Tired When I Listen
  (Makes the case for shorter sermons)
• Hospitality Stories
  (Will help you preach on the important theme of becoming an inviting and welcoming congregation)
• The Mother's Day Dilemma
  (Practical helps for planning worship on Mother's Day)
• What's the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian?
  (A seven-week series about what Christians do and don't need to believe)
• Something Real
  (A sermon series from the Sermon on the Mount)
• Growing Your Church Through Worship
  (Engaging sermon series will help your church grow)
• A Perfect Life
  (A different kind of story-based stewardship sermon)
• God Lessons from the Great Recession
  (A four week sermon series on biblical finances)
• What's the Point?
  (Ideas for constructing a story sermon on the Great Commandment)
• Tell Us a Resurrection Story
  (Breath new life into your Easter service)
• Preparing for Palm/Passion Sunday
  (Practical ideas for focusing on both the praise and passion of Christ on Palm/Passion Sunday)
  

Worship and Preaching Articles

• A Pattern for Planning Worship
  (An ancient five-fold historical pattern of worship that still works in the 21st century)
• Gratitude Stories
  (Stories you can use for a Thanksgiving sermon)
• How Worship Brought Our Church Back from the Dead
  (How prioritizing worship reversed a forty-year decline in our congregation)
• Screens in the Sanctuary!
  (A pastoral newsletter article explaining why our church added projection capability to our sanctuary)
• Why We Practice Blended Worship
  (A pastoral newsletter article explaining our rationale for practicing blended worship)
• Sunday Morning at First Church — A Story about Blended Worship
  (A fictional story of "Pastor Stephen" and "First Church" as they participate in a blended worship service)

General Ministry Articles

• The Answer to Bad Religion Is Not No Religion but Good Religion
  (People are hungry for a viable alternative to arrogant, judgmental, closed-minded religion)
• Dealing With Difficult Staff Members
  (Seven strategies for dealing with difficult staff members)
• How a Two-Hundred-Year-Old, Declining, Mainline Church Got Its Groove Back
  (The revitalization story of Lebanon First United Methodist, Lebanon, Tennessee)
• You Need to Find a Niche
  (How discovering your community niche can help your church grow and be more effective)
• Baptizing Babies & Burying Old Folks
  (A celebration of vocational ministry)
• Recovering from a Vocational Near-Death Experience
  (How I recovered from clergy burnout)