Diana Butler Bass, popular speaker and the author of several books including Christianity After Religion: The End of the Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, labeled President Obama's second inaugural speech "the first spiritual-but-not-religious inaugural sermon," while recognizing such is "a twenty-first century expression of American civil spirituality, embedded in but not dependent upon the ancient vision of American Protestant theology of and for God’s Read More …
The Rise of Online Higher Ed (#0984)
In the 1970s, 80s, and 90s higher education was largely assumed as an on campus experience. As technology improved, distance education began evolving from the exchange of documents and media primarily via postal mail to online exchanges. During the 2000s and now in the 10s, the number of students in higher education taking at least one online course grew on an annual basis. It is reasonable to project that in the not too distant future a majority of students will complete at least Read More …
Executive Pastor Trends (#0983)
Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, recently wrote about the role of executive pastor. The position itself is a relatively new construct, arriving in the latter half of the twentieth century. Initially attractive primarily to megachurches, the value of this position is now seen by congregations significantly smaller in size. This observation is one of five trends Rainer highlights: More executive pastors in smaller churches More executive Read More …
Review of The God Problem (#0982)
Meet the Author Robert Wuthnow is the Gerhard Andlinger Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Center for the Study of American Religion at Princeton University. Wuthnow is widely published in the areas of sociology of religion, culture and civil society. His recent books include After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty-and Thirty-Somethings Are Shaping the Future of American Religion (my review) and Boundless Faith: The Global Influence Read More …
Our Generation’s Task (#0981)
President Barack Obama spoke the following words yesterday as a part of his second inaugural address: We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths –- that all of us are created equal –- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that Read More …
Proposed Inauguration Benedictions (#0980)
The inauguration benediction offered later today has received considerable attention. More specifically, the spotlight has been on the one who will voice those words - including why Louie Giglio stepped aside and Luis Leon was chosen as a replacement. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, senior religion editor for the Huffington Post, recently shifted the focus to what words could be spoken with a blog post featuring his own proposed benediction alongside two dozen additional Read More …
Beyond Pro-Choice / Pro-Life (#0979)
"Not in Her Shoes" is a new brief video (under 2 minutes) designed to encourage conversation about abortion by suggesting people move beyond the labels "pro-choice" and "pro-life" that "actually don't reflect how people feel about abortion." So What? Watch the video and ponder the argument advanced by Planned Parenthood. Do you believe that moving beyond the polarizing labels (pro-choice and pro-life) will help people have more in-depth and meaningful conversations about abortion? Why or Read More …
Church Renewal – Join the Conversation (#0978)
A week ago today Chaplain Mike, one of the principal bloggers on the popular Evangelical/post-Evangelical Internet Monk site, shared his summary of my thoughts on the future of the church as expressed in a series of blog posts written last year. In addition to framing my series as a "perspective on the future of the American church from a younger leader in the mainline Protestant world," Chaplain Mike shared his take on how my thoughts relate to what others are saying now and Read More …
The Saddest Graph (#0977)
A week or so ago I read Dylan Matthews' Washington Post piece, "The Saddest Graph You'll See Today." The article focuses on an infographic illustrating the small percentage of rapes that are reported and an even smaller numbers of rapists who are jailed. Recognizing the complexity of collecting data about and unreported rape, I hesitated to share this specific explanation without some form of methodological disclaimer. Interestingly when I returned to the article, Read More …
Religion is Morally Neutral (#0976)
An account of a conversation between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu includes Tutu's words below, which explain how he understands religion as morally neutral: And you have to remember that religion is of itself neither good nor bad . . . Religion is a morally neutral thing. It is what you do with it. It is like a knife, a knife is good when you use it for cutting up bread for sandwiches. A knife is bad when you stick it in somebody’s gut. Religion is good when it produces a Dalai Read More …