The Presidents' Pledge Against Global Poverty (PPAGP) invites current and former college presidents to pledge to donate 5 percent or more of personal income to fight global poverty by giving to organizations of their choice. Since PPAGP was founded in 2010 by Ann Svennungsen, past president of Texas Lutheran University and The Fund for Theological Education, 28 presidents have joined. So What? According to the nonprofit's FAQ sheet Presidents’ Pledge participants believe that personal Read More …
America’s Slow Internet (#0718)
According to Akamai's latest research, American cities don't fare well when it comes to internet speed. More specifically, no US city is among the top fifty best connected cities (based on average connection speed during the fourth quarter of 2011). The only countries represented in this top tier are Japan (41 cities) South Korea (6 cities) Sweden (2 cities) Hong Kong (1 city) So What? Speed matters. While most web surfers don't need blazing fast speeds, few Read More …
Age & Belief in God (#0717)
A few days ago a Huffington Post article reported on a recent study "based on data collected as part of the General Social Survey by researchers at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago" that found older people are more religious. The pattern of higher rates of belief in God among older respondents was consistent throughout the world (in the 30 countries considered by this research). So What? While some commonly held views about religion are Read More …
Review of The Jesus We Missed (#0716)
Meet the Author Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor of All Saints' Orthodox Church (Chicago, IL) and a senior editor of Touchstone magazine. Father Reardon was educated at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), St. Anselm's College (Rome), The Pontifical Biblical Institute (Rome), and St. Tikhon's Orthodox Seminary (South Canaan, PA). He is a prolific writer who has published over a thousand articles, editorials, and reviews. Additionally he has Read More …
Plate or Plate Free? (#0715)
Shane Raynor recently wrote a blog post encouraging congregations to adopt a plate free practice. More specifically, Raynor proposes that congregations that still pass offering plates or baskets consider moving away from this practice for several reasons: Many people don’t use cash and checks anymore. Some people believe the negative stereotypes about churches and money. Passing the plate puts people on the spot. Someone could get the idea that church has a cover Read More …
Is Your Church’s Website Visitor Friendly? (#0714)
Most people visit your church's website before visiting your congregation's physical campus. How welcoming is your site for prospective visitors? Tyler Walworth recently suggested assessing your site in light of questions visitors will likely ask including: Where is the church located? Who is the pastor? What should I expect? Will I be singled out as a visitor or pressured in any way? How do I join? Do I have to join? Should I know anything before I arrive? So What? A Read More …
Review of Beyond Religion (#0713)
Meet the Author His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (short for Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso), "is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet." For decades he has been among the most recognizable advocates of peace, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his continued non-violent efforts aimed at the liberation of Tibet. Additionally, His Holiness has received nearly a hundred formal awards or honors for his Read More …
New Perspectives (#0712)
Matthew Paul Turner's recent blog post entitled "25 Christian Blogs You Should Be Reading" highlights a list of blogs he finds insightful that don't typically receive significant attention or traffic. After reading his list and clicking through to a few of the blogs, I started to fashion my own list. After listing just a few I realized how easy it would be to add several dozen Christian blogs I have found of interest that would not appear on any lists of top Christian blogs. As Read More …
Measurement Matters (#0711)
Mike Bonem, a former executive pastor who now serves as an organizational consultant, wrote an article entitled "Measuring What Matters" in the Spring 2012 edition of Leadership Journal. He names several barriers to generating helpful metrics including two that are especially problematic in a church setting: Not clearly defining what should be measured A perspective that measurement is an unspiritual discipline (p.72) So What? In my experiences very few congregations effectively Read More …
Just Going Through the Motions (#0710)
Thom Rainer, President & CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, recently shared several statistics from Brad Waggoner's The Shape of the Faith to Come (2008), including "47 percent of Protestant churchgoers admitted to just 'going through the motions' often during the singing and prayer portions of worship services." So What? How might your congregational leadership begin a conversation about this matter? What is an appropriate response to the statistic that roughly half of those Read More …