Pope Benedict XVI. Joseph Ratzinger in Communio, Volume 1: The Unity of the Church. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2010. Meet the Author Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Alois Ratzinger, is the 265th and reigning pope of the Roman Catholic Church. After being ordained in 1951 and earning his doctoral degree in 1953, he spent many years in academia. During that time, together with Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac and other important theologians, he initiated the Read More …
Why I Am Not Quitting Facebook (#0088)
Facebook Privacy Concerns Facebook continues to evolve and some of the most recent changes surrounding the privacy of information are a bit unsettling. More specifically, over time, users have had less and less control over what information is public and what can remain private. Matt McKeon, a developer with the Visual Communication Lab at IBM, recently posted a series of images that clearly depict the radical change in privacy over time. The first and last images (click Read More …
Forming/Reforming Educational Ministry (#0087)
Educational Ministry is Changing In recent years, educational ministries in the local church have changed in significant ways. These changes impact not only what is taught, but also when and how. Additionally, there are now a number of ways churches refer to this ministry, including Christian education, discipleship, enrichment, growth, religious education, and spiritual formation. Meet Bruce Stewart Bruce Stewart is a Church of Christ minister who currently serves as Preaching Read More …
Tweeting in Worship (#0086)
Tweeting in Worship For years, church growth teams/committees (also known as evangelism, marketing/public relations, and outreach) have struggled with how to invest limited dollars to market the church to the larger community. Interestingly, research continues to show that word of mouth produces far greater results than direct mail, television/radio/newspaper ads, or other traditional marketing. Of course, this means motivating those already active in the community to share their experiences Read More …
Review of ReJesus (#0085)
Frost, Michael and Hirsch, Alan. ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church. Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. 9781598562286. Meet the Authors Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch have collaborated on numerous projects and are leading voices in the missional church movement. Together, they have co-authored two books: The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church and ReJesus: AWild Messiah for a Missional Church. Michael Frost (pictured at Read More …
Review of Deep Church (#0084)
Belcher, Jim. Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional. InterVarsity Press, 2009. ISBN: 978083083716. Meet the Author Jim Belcher is a Presbyterian (PCA) pastor who serves as the church planter and lead pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California. He is co-founder of the Restoring Community Conference: Integration Social Interaction, Sacred Space and Beauty in the 21st Century, an annual conference for city officials, Read More …
Review of The Real Mary (#0083)
McKnight, Scot. The Real Mary: Why Evangelicals Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus. Paraclete Press, 2007. ISBN: 9781557255235. Meet the Author Scot McKnight is an Anabaptist theologian and a professor of religious studies at Northpark University. The author of over 20 books, he specializes in Jesus studies and the New Testament. As an authority in Jesus studies, McKnight has been frequently consulted by Fox News, WGN, US News & World Report, Newsweek, and Read More …
Review of I Told Me So (#0082)
Ten Elshof, Gregg A. I Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009. ISBN: 9780802864115. Meet the Author Gregg A. Ten Elshof is Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Biola University. Elshof has written two books: Introspection Vindicated: An Essay In Defense Of The Perceptual Model Of Self Knowledge and I Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life. For additional information, view his curriculum Read More …
Review of Rowan’s Rule (#0081)
Shortt, Rupert. Rowan's Rule: The Biography of the Archbishop of Cantebury. US edition: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009. ISBN: 9780802864611. Meet the Author Rupert Shortt is the religion editor of the London Times Literary Supplement. He is the author of four books: Rowan's Rule: The Biography of the Archbishop of Canterbury; God's Advocates: Christian Thinkers in Conversation; Rowan Williams: An Introduction; and Benedict XVI: Commander of the Faith. Book Read More …
Religion with Relevance / The Language of God (#0080)
On Friday, April 16 the United Church of Christ launched a new marketing effort within the framework of their popular Still Speaking campaign. An undated letter published several weeks prior to the launch explains this new commercial, The Language of God, will be different in "how it will be carried / launched / delivered by you. For the first time, we will be relying on a grassroots, viral campaign to 'spiral' our message across the internet via web-based ads, Facebook, YouTube, Read More …