Established in 1999, the Spirituality Book Club is "an on-line global community of kindred spirits who explore spirituality through books, music, discussion, and ways to get involved in doing good things globally." Yesterday, I was featured on their Real People, Real Lives, Real Spirituality blog. A copy of my interview follows: Name: Greg Smith Where you live: Naples, FL What you do as a vocation or avocation? Research, speak and write about education, especially relating to Read More …
Where Have All the Catholics Gone? (#0346)
Established in 1964, the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) is the largest independent print and web Catholic news source in the United States. Recently, the NCR published an article by Fr. Thomas Reese, former editor in chief of America, exploring the massive numbers of people who have left the Catholic church in recent years. He frames the issue thusly: The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life has put hard numbers on the Read More …
Most Catholic Women Now Use Birth Control (#0345)
Catholic Answers, a lay-run site focusing on "Catholic apologetics and evangelization," summarizes the Catholic Church's teaching on birth control: In 1968, Pope Paul VI issued his landmark encyclical letter Humanae Vitae (Latin, "Human Life"), which reemphasized the Church’s constant teaching that it is always intrinsically wrong to use contraception to prevent new human beings from coming into existence. Contraception is "any action which, either in anticipation of the conjugal act Read More …
Theology on Tap / Theology Pub Discussion Starters (#0344)
Adam Walker Cleaveland is Minister for Youth and Young Adults at Asbury United Methodist Church in Livermore, CA. At 31, he is among the younger voices of note in the emerging church movement and a co-founder of Presbymergent. Adam is a candidate in the Presbyterian Church (USA) ordination process as well as a prolific and thoughtful blogger, writing primarily on his sites: PomoMusings and DazedDad. To connect with him, view his flickr stream, follow him on Read More …
The End of Mary (#0343)
Philip N. Cohen, professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, recently wrote two posts (A and B) on his blog about the declining popularity of the name Mary. To put the trend in perspective he offers these remarks: For the first time in the history of the United States of America, the name Mary is not in the top 100 given to newborn girls. Mary was the #1 name every year in the Social Security name database from 1880 — it’s first year — to 1961 (except Read More …
Truly Welcoming Visitors on Easter (#0342)
In almost every congregation, Easter is the most attended Sunday morning of the year. Many congregations feature additional services to provide these religious consumers with the greatest number of options possible and to ensure that there is room (especially parking and seating) for everyone. Most parishes seek to do what they can to ensure visitors have a positive experience and are likely to visit again. Toward that end, I suggest: Providing an extravagant welcome is not Read More …
A Few Thoughts on Who Jesus Is (#0341)
Yesterday the United Church of Christ's Stillspeaking Writers' Group shared fourteen thoughts about who Jesus is. Three of their thoughts spoke to me: Jesus is the one who makes God real for me Jesus is the one who calls me out to the other on behalf of myself In Jesus, God shared in the kind of life you and I live So What? As you continue on your holy week journey what are some of your thoughts about who Jesus is? Has some aspect of who Jesus is become more clear for you in Read More …
Thursday + Friday = Maximum Facebook Engagement (#0340)
Buddy Media released "Strategies For Effective Facebook Wall Posts: A Statistical Review" earlier this month, which amounts to a comprehensive analysis of more than 200 of their clients' Facebook pages over a two week period. The full report (available as a free download after registering) features fifteen pages of information including a detailed breakdown by industry of the best days to post. Overall, for all industries considered, the best days for engagement are Thursday and Read More …
Should Clergy-Scholars Lead the Church? (#0339)
Donald Miller is the author of several books including A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing my Life (2009) and Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality (2003). To connect with him, read his blog, like him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter. Earlier this month he posted, "Should the Church be Led by Teachers and Scholars?" In the article he questions the centuries old norm of the church being led by Read More …
Church and Academy: Healthy Interdependence? (#0338)
J. R. Daniel Kirk, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, recently wrote multiple blog posts about the divide between the church and the academy. In "Church and Academy Need Each Other" he writes: . . . the church and the academy need each other–and we sometimes reflect this interdependence in ways that we are unaware of. . . . let me say why the academy needs the church. The church always remembers what the academy too often forgets: the Read More …