Meet the Author After posting nearly 200 book reviews on sowhatfaith using the same basic format, I find myself writing the first introduction to an author that lacks biographical data. The anonymous author of the book chose not to reveal her/his identity because he/she felt it was inconsistent with the book's basic message. While never sharing that identifying information, the author did weave personal stories into most chapters. Book Basics Many today define success in terms of Read More …
Choosing Larger Congregations (#0868)
More and more Christians are choosing to worship in larger congregations. Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, recently shared seven trends relating to American megachurches. His list (for another trend originating from the same data Rainer relies upon, consider reading my recent post) begins with a trend that has an impact that reaches far beyond megachurches (typically defined as congregations that average 2,000+ in weekend worship attendance): Further Read More …
Top 200 Church Blogs (#0867)
Kent Schaffer founded Church Relevance to "help ministries become more effective and efficient." Earlier this month, Church Relevance published its annual list of the top 200 church blogs, including an explanation of how it determined the rankings. So What? While certainly not a comprehensive this list, it provides a wealth of possibility for the would be reader. I plan to visit each of the blogs listed at least once over the next few weeks, and look forward to being introduced Read More …
The Adolescent Brain (#0866)
The video below is a must watch TED Talk for anyone who cares about, works/serves with, and/or is raising adolescents. TED offers the following introduction: Why do teenagers seem so much more impulsive, so much less self-aware than grown-ups? Cognitive neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore compares the prefrontal cortex in adolescents to that of adults, to show us how typically "teenage" behavior is caused by the growing and developing brain. So What? Blakemore provides many Read More …
Measuring the Web’s Impact (#0865)
Earlier this week I happened upon Megan Garber's piece for the Atlantic offering a high level summary of the first ever Web Index provided by the World Wide Web Foundation. The foundation was founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who "invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working as a software engineer at CERN." The Index itself draws on an incredible wealth of data covering 61 countries worldwide and utilizing 85 underlying indicators across seven components and three Read More …
Not Revolutionary Enough (#0864)
Evan Woodson, a senior at Oklahoma State University, recently wrote an editorial for his university's student newspaper about how his college experiences have helped him come to recognize that the common suburban understanding of Christianity isn't as revolutionary as it should be. While his whole story is well worth the read, Woodson's questions are ones that must be answered by each person who seeks to follow the way of Jesus: How did we get to a point where everyone we sit by at Read More …
Opinions on Educational Technology (#0863)
The Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission, a non-governmental organization exploring the opportunity to use technology to improve education in the United States, recently released the results of a poll on the opinions of teachers and parents about educational technology in K-12 education. Findings include: 96% of teachers and 92% of parents believe that schools’ integration of technology in teaching and learning is important to the education of American students Read More …
Review of Evolution of the Word (#0862)
Meet the Author Marcus Borg is Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. He is also professor emeritus in the philosophy department at Oregon State University, where he was the Hundere Chair in Religion until his retirement in 2007. Borg is among the most widely known and influential voices in progressive Christianity. He is best known for his work as a fellow in the Jesus Seminar, his biblical scholarship, and as the author of Read More …
Smartphone Habits (#0861)
The Pew Research Center's Pew Internet & American Life Project has been tracking cell phone ownership and use for the past eight years. Earlier this month they released a new infographic on our smartphone habits: So What? More people today are buying smartphones than traditional cell phones. Smartphone ownership has been increasing for some time, and all indicators suggest that continued growth is likely. In addition to more people having smartphones, more Read More …
Weekend Activities (#0860)
Lam Thuy Vo's recent piece explores just how Americans actually spend their weekends. The data contained in Vo's infographic comes from the American Time Use Survey, which is conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So What? The average American spends a little over half an hour every weekend volunteering and/or participating in religious activities. Is this number higher or lower than you would have guessed? What are the implications of this statistic for your Read More …