Jonathan Merritt, senior columnist for Religion News Service, recently suggested that 2014 may be known as the "Year of the Bible" thanks to five films: “Son of God” | 20th Century Fox (February 2014) “Noah” | Regency Enterprises (November 2014) “Heaven is For Real” | Sony Pictures (April 2014) “Exodus” | 20th Century Fox (December 2014) “Mary, Mother of Christ” | Lionsgate Films (December 2014) So What? The good book will certainly be represented on the big screen through Read More …
New Year’s Blessings (#1288)
The Huffington Post recently featured a collection of 2014 New Year's Blessings from a variety of religious voices. As we near the end of the first week of the year, I decided I would share two that resonated with me. Bishop Gene Robinson: O God of our many understandings, bless us with a steady resolve to fight discrimination, hatred and prejudice. Bless us with compassion for those who suffer, thirst for justice and seek a relief from crushing poverty, at home and abroad. Bless us Read More …
Pew Sitter Requests (#1287)
In their recent book, Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore: And How 4 Acts of Love Will Make Your Church Irresistible (2013), Thom and Joani Schultz' shared "10 Wishes of a Pew Sitter." They suggest that people attending worship really want their pastors to end the "meet and greet" time during worship, avoid preaching a 3 point sermon, invest time in their congregants - especially away from the church campus, invite their input, ensure that musical leaders don't Read More …
No Longer Taboo (#1286)
Zack Perkins, a blogger who is "trying navigate Christianity as a Millennial through the Orthodox way," recently shared a list of five uncomfortable issues the church needs to talk more about: addiction, sexuality, sincere doubt, mental illness, and loneliness. So What? Perkins is right when he suggests that the items appearing on his list are "issues that individuals in the Church are dealing with—issues that the Church Body should be talking about." I am thankful that I Read More …
One Man’s Greener Grass (#1285)
Jason Savage's recent explanation of his decision to leave parish based ministry is an excellent example of the-grass-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence thinking. Savage is concerned by a decades long trend in the church toward what he calls "professionalism," a broad term that seems to include everything from leveraging the best marketing and management practices from the wider non-profit and for-profit world to accepting the evolving demands of leadership and roles of Read More …
Diana Butler Bass: The Romance of Faith (#1284)
I am pleased to announce that Diana Butler Bass is coming to Naples, FL for a Valentine's weekend that participants will always remember - The Romance of Faith: Exploring New Ways of Thinking about Love, Faith, Spirituality and Theology. The event is hosted by the Naples United Church of Christ, and is open to all. Please purchase your tickets soon to receive the early-bird pricing shown below. Friday, February 14 The God Who Woos: The Romance of Spirituality 8:00 p.m. – 9:30 Read More …
My 2014 Resolutions (#1283)
I rarely participate in the annual ritual of crafting resolutions for the coming year. I did commit to one in 2012. This time, for 2014, I have settled upon three: Participate in worship in at least 10 different communities of faith Write at least 200 blog posts and be more actively engaged on Twitter Read at least 100 books and write reviews for at least 50 So What? New years bring new possibilities. While I expect a fair degree of the unexpected in the months ahead, Read More …
Top Posts of 2013 (#1282)
According to the number of page visits during this calendar year, the most popular posts I wrote in 2013 are Top 10 Books of 2012 1,000 Posts Pastor of Innovation Social Media Shortcomings Review of When Spiritual but Not Religious is Not Enough So What? I truly appreciate the feedback readers provide. You vote by clicking, and your interest in posts and topics is confirmed by the time you linger on my site. While this data is helpful, it tells only part of the Read More …
Review of Doubting Jesus’ Resurrection (#1281)
Meet the Author Kris D. Komarnitsky works in the aviation industry and is a first-time author. He wrote Doubting Jesus' Resurrection in 2009. Note: My review is of the updated second edition, which will be published in early 2014. Book Basics What I found most intriguing about this book, and what I believe will draw others in, is the author's approach. While Komarnitsky lacks a scholarly background, he approaches the resurrection with the questions one would expect Read More …
Sermon: Look Again (#1280)
Sermon Text: Matthew 2:13-23 Sermon Excerpt Everyone loves Christmas, or do they? Just in time for Christmas this year the Pew Research Center released information about how we view the holiday. According to their latest survey, 92% of Americans celebrate Christmas, but there is considerable diversity when it comes to the basis of such celebrations: just over half (51%) celebrate it as more of a religious holiday, around a third (32%) celebrate it as more of a cultural Read More …