Christianity is the world's largest religion. Nearly 1 in 3 people (31.5%) are Christian. In 2011 following extensive research, Pew released "Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population." They found: About half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic (50%), while more than a third are Protestant (37%). Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the world’s Christians. Other Christian groups, which make up the remaining 1%, include the Church Read More …
Christmas Story: Fact or Fable? (#1504)
Over the years I have encountered many passionate people who were not only certain they held the only proper perspective about the Christmas story, but were equally committed to converting others to share such a view. Interestingly, I have been involved in numerous one-on-one and group conversations with those who were certain the Christmas story is a fact as it is recorded in the Gospels and also with those who are certain the story is just a fable. Marcus Borg, a progressive Christian Read More …
Top 10 Books of 2014 (#1503)
Since 2010, I have published an annual list of my top ten books published that year (each list contains a link to a book review for each book mentioned): 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. My top ten books for 2014 (in alphabetical order by author’s last name) are Marcus Borg Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most Walter Brueggemann Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now Amy-Jill Levine Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Read More …
Religious Symbols on National Flags (#1502)
According to a new Pew Research analysis, a third of the world's countries have national flags that contain religious symbols. The 64 flags with religious imagery can be categorized by religion as follows: Christianity - 31 Islam - 21 Other Religions - 6 Hinduism/Buddhism - 3 Buddhism - 2 Judaism - 1. So What? According to data gathered a few years ago by Pew Research, more than half of the global population are adherents to one of the world's two largest religions: Read More …
My Visit to Family Church (#1501)
No church on Marco Island (FL) has been in the news as often as Family Church has in recent years. Unfortunately, the recent publicity has not been positive. Their last senior minister cast a grand vision that led to the construction of the a 500 seat technologically up to date and aesthetically welcoming sacred space where this community of faith now worships, and he also oversaw the fundraising effort associated with this sizable project. Currently the church is in Read More …
Attracting the Churchless (#1500)
Long ago I stopped counting how many times people have asked me what they need to do to help their congregation grow. Thankfully most who ask this of me are not primarily interested in transfer growth (sometimes called "sheep stealing" or more nicely redistribution) that comes when churched people choose to shift their allegiance from their current faith community to a new one. Most of my questioners are genuinely interested in helping their church welcome new people who are Read More …
Celebrating 1,500 Posts (#1499)
This is my 1,500th blog post here at So What Faith, which offers an appropriate reason to to reflect. As I do so, I want to thank my readers. While you come from all over the world, the vast majority reside in the United States. Most Visits Originate Florida California Texas New York Illinois After nearly 5 1/2 years of writing, I recognize just how unpredictable popularity can be. In fact only a few of the posts I would have guessed would be among my Read More …
The McMass Project (#1498)
Almost every day I encounter a religious story that is unusual or simply odd. About once a week I find a religious story that requires time to process. Roughly once a month I encounter a story for which I have no prior frame of reference. This last group tends to linger in my mind, and often leads me to start some interesting conversations. Introducing the Project The McMass project is among the most out there ideas I have encountered this year. When a colleague first Read More …
December Book Recommendations (#1497)
During the last month I managed to work through a good deal of what was left on my list of books I hoped to read by the end of the year. Ratings (on a scale of 1 to 5) follow. (5+) Churchless: Understanding Today's Unchurched and How to Connect with Them by Barna Group with George Barna and David Kinnaman as editors (2014) (5) Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World than Actually Changing the World by Eugene Cho (2014) (5) Autopsy of a Read More …
The Dones are Done (#1496)
Last week I wrote that the de-churched (those once involved in church who have stopped participating) not only account for 1 out of every 3 American adults, but are also the fastest growing group. Soon after posting those thoughts, I encountered a rather discouraging word to categorize a significant portion of the de-churched: "dones." Thom Shultz, founder of Group Publishing and Lifetree Cafe, recently reflected on sociologist Josh Packard's talk about the "dones" at Group's Future Read More …