On The Rise: Measuring gallons of coffee drunk on Sundays + Fascinating quotes about the future from the past

Published about 8 hours ago • 3 min read

Welcome to the 200th edition of the On The Rise newsletter, where I feature fascinating, helpful, and sometimes curious content that caught my attention this week.

Today, Rich Birch weighs in on 7 other weekend metrics churches should track, New York Times Bestselling authors tell their stories about suffering and trusting God in the silence, and Kevin Kelly has fascinating insights from the 1990s about what the future will be like (some of them piercingly accurate).

7 Other Weekend Metrics Churches Should Measure

Rich Birch on why you should measure gallons of coffee drunk.

Sure, you’ve got the attendance and offering numbers, and of course, baptisms. But what else should you measure?

Rich Birch shares seven unlikely metrics you should watch that paint a story about your church, including gallons of coffee consumed.

Why coffee? It tells you how many people stop, linger, and perhaps are ready to venture into community.

Your Church is Made for This Moment

The AI Hub will help you lead like it.

Everything AI can't replicate (real community, real presence, unchanging truth and rich integrity), is exactly what the church is designed to offer. That doesn't happen by accident, but by leaders paying attention and preparing.

AI and the Future Church just released last month with a free The AI Hub companion packed with the tools, research, and practical frameworks to help you move from understanding what's coming to leading your church through it.

Because there’s a difference between understanding what AI means for the church and knowing what to do about it on Monday. The AI Hub gives you the second.

First, read the book with your team for the framework.

Then, use the AI Hub to see where your church stands, what to address first, and how to lead your team through it.

Haven't got a copy of the book yet?

Get it here

NYT Best-selling Authors Weigh in on the Unanswerable Question

Non-pat answers to where God is in the suffering.

The question of suffering has haunted humanity for years. In case you missed it, my wife Toni Nieuwhof released a new compilation book/devotional featuring many best-selling authors and some fresh voices on suffering and how to trust God when you don’t understand.

While the new book is designed as a devotional, it will come in handy the next time you preach a series on suffering and want to get some non-pat answers and responses. Plus, Tara-Leigh Cobble does the biblical exegesis throughout.

100% of the profits go to charity (Compassion and Convoy of Hope). All the authors are in on this noble cause have donated their work.

Big News for The Chosen

And how churches can leverage it.

Season 6 of The Chosen begins the powerful journey to the cross. Your church can host an Early Access screening of the first episode of the season for free now–November 14. Provide your people and your community with a meaningful and memorable experience.

Learn more at ComeAndSee.net/church.

Learn More

Weekly Recommendation

Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell

I resisted reading this book because I thought it was another entrepreneurial ‘formula for success’. Instead, it’s a very helpful framework on how to value your time, with an exact blue print on how to buy it back by building the right team. You’ll have to do some translation into church world, but it’s not hard to do, and you’ll never think of your time the same way again.

Check It Out

Fascinating Quotes on the Future (From the Past)

Kevin Kelly collects some fascinating predictions from the 1990s.

Kevin Kelly, the former editor of Wired magazine, combs through archive to curate a collection of fascinating quotes about the future from the past.

Here’s a sampling:

“As the world becomes more universal, it also becomes more tribal. Holding on to what distinguishes you from others becomes very important.” John Naisbitt

“Life is not going to be easy in the 21st century for people who insist on black-and-white descriptions of reality.” Joel Garreau

“The scary thing isn’t that computers will match our intelligence by 2008; the scary thing is that this exponential curve keeps on going, and going, and going.” Greg Blonder

“It is the arrogance of every age to believe that yesterday was calm.” Tom Peters

And, then, this perceptive observation:

“I believe human nature is vastly more conservative than human technologies.” Newt Gingrich