Pew Research Center continues to be a leader in providing research and commentary on matters of faith that matter. During 2014 they published 150+ reports and 600+ blog posts considering what is happening in the USA and the world. At the close of the year they reviewed this massive body of work and created a list of 14 facts they "found particularly striking, as they illustrate some major shifts in our politics, society, habits or families." Read More …
End of Year Book Recommendations (#1508)
While I already posted my December book recommendations and my Top 10 Books of 2014, neither list includes a few books that I read in the waning days of 2014. The best from that group follow (rated on a scale of 1-5). (5) Pray: Prayers for People Who Say They Can't by Donna Schaper (2014) (4.5) All Whom God Has Joined: Resources for Clergy & Same-Gender Loving Couples by Leanne McCall Tigert and Maren Tirabassi (2010) (4) Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Read More …
Church Construction at All Time Low (#1507)
This year will go down as having the lowest level of construction of religious buildings in the United States since private records started in 1967. More specifically, Ben Leubsdorf notes the following statistics in his recent piece in the Wall Street Journal: space: 10.3 million square feet of religious construction is projected this year, down 6% from 2013 and 80% since construction peaked in 2002 ( Dodge Data & Analytics) dollars: spending on construction totaled $3.15 billion Read More …
Top Posts of 2014 (#1506)
According to the number of page visits during this calendar year, the most popular posts I wrote in 2014 are Sensory Maundy Thursday Which Disciple Are You? Pastoral Prayer: Love How Worship is Evolving Sermon: More Than Showing Up So What? As the year winds down I always enjoy reading a variety of top ten lists and other lists sharing top moments, experiences, and posts of the year. Share a link to the most interesting Top 10 or top list of 2014 you have read so far. Which of Read More …
Am I a Christian? (#1505)
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 …