"Theology and the Church After Google: How This New Age Will Change Christianity" is both an article about how theology is shifting and must continue to change as well as an example of such change. It is written by an academic (Philip Clayton, Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Claremont Graduate University and Ingraham Professor at Claremont School of Theology) and was published in an academic journal (The Princeton Theological Review), however, it now appears online in its Read More …
Research Suggests that Evangelical Christians are UnChristian (#0298)
"Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus" is the title of a recent Huffington Post article, which seeks to explain the findings of research conducted by the Pew Research Center. The post was written by two professors: Phil Zuckerman (associate professor of sociology at Pitzer College) and Dan Cady (assistant professor of history at California State - Fresno). They suggest the research confirms: what social scientists have known for a long time: White Evangelical Christians are the Read More …
One Year Later (#0297)
My life has changed a great deal over the last year: Ash Wednesday 2010 marked the final day of serving my last church. I spent most of the morning packing up my office and saying goodbye to other members of the staff. Ash Wednesday 2011 marked two and a half months working for a university. I spent most of the morning leading a workshop for faculty. As I started my Lenten journey last year I did so having just resigned from a position without having first accepted another Read More …
Giving is Both/And not Either/Or (#0296)
Adelle Banks recently wrote a piece for Religion News Service about research conducted by Grey Matter Research & Consulting on behalf of the nonprofit fundraising firm the Russ Reid Co. The research suggests: Houses of worship and other charities often aren't in competition for dollars but instead tend to reap donations from similar donors . . . the more Americans give to a house of worship, the more they donate to other groups. So What? In the article, Banks quoted Ron Read More …
The Underrepresented Writers (#0295)
VIDA, a relatively new association for women in literary arts, recently published a somewhat shocking report showing a significant gender gap on the bylines in major magazines and publications in 2010. Steve Thorngate, assistant editor of The Christian Century, summarized those findings thusly: At the Atlantic, men outnumbered women by a three-to-one ratio. The New Yorker was only slightly better, and Harper's and the New Republic were worse. Worst of all? The New York Read More …
Should Christians Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer? (#0294)
Katie Glaeser's recent post on the CNN Belief Blog about this topic captured my attention. Until I read it, I had never pondered the possibility of adopting a terrorist for prayer. It is simply one of those things that I suspect many people would never consider unless they were prompted to do so. In the article, Glaeser tells the story of Adopt a Terrorist For Prayer (ATFP), which was founded in 2008. According to Bruce Thomas, ATFP's founder and a former military Read More …
I Will Follow You Anywhere If . . . (#0293)
Scott Williams is the Campus Pastor of the Northwest Oklahoma City Campus of LifeChurch.tv, which launched three years ago and already has an average weekly worship attendance of over 3,500. To connect with Williams, read his blog, watch him on YouTube, follow him on Twitter, or friend him on Facebook. Earlier this week he shared his list of "10 Reasons People Will Follow A Leader Anywhere" 1. They have a mind of their own, not a “Yes Man or Read More …
A Shift in Theological Education (#0292)
In the last two weeks two United Church of Christ (UCC) related seminaries have announced plans to launch or expand hybrid or online educational offerings. Andover Newton Theological Seminary will partner with The Alban Institute to offer "courses in church leadership and vitality . . . using Andover Newton’s online learning system and Alban’s authors as instructors." These four week offerings are designed primarily as continuing education for clergy. Eden Theological Seminary will Read More …
World Day of Prayer – Will You Pray? (#0291)
The first Friday of March is the World Day of Prayer. According to a suggested press release available from the World Day of Prayer USA Committee's website: World Day of Prayer (WDP) is a worldwide ecumenical movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year on the first Friday in March. Services begin at sunrise in the Pacific and follow the sun across the globe on the day of celebration. Each year a different country serves Read More …
Multiethnic Calling (#0290)
Mark DeYmaz is the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas and the co-founder and current Executive Director of the Mosaic Global Network, which is a relational network of local church pastors/planters, researchers, educators and ministry leaders, that exists to catalyze the growing movement toward multiethnic economically diverse churches. His article in the March/April edition of "Outreach" featured brief excerpts from key speakers at the Multi-ethnic Church Conference, Read More …