Just in time for Christmas, the Pew Research Center released information about how Americans view the holiday. While 92% of Americans celebrate Christmas, there is considerable diversity when it comes to the basis of such celebrations: 51% - more of a religious holiday, 32% - more of a cultural holiday, and 9% - both/other (which includes those who celebrate but did not comment on whether they felt it was more religious or cultural). So What? Notably there is a generational divide. Read More …
Religion in America: A Map (#1275)
This map, based on the 2010 census data, shows the largest religious groups in each county of the U.S. So What? While the Catholic Church is the largest religious tradition in more counties than any other group, the Southern Baptists are a close second and are a majority in the vast majority of counties in the s0-called Bible belt. Take a moment to review Read More …
Review of Spiritual Awakening (#1274)
Meet the Author Tim van der Vliet is a former trader on the financial markets turned spiritual seeker. Adopting an irreverent eclectic approach to spirituality, he is now a full-time writer. Book Basics Spiritual Awakening (the easy way) is the sort of book one could read easily in half an hour or might opt to spend the better part of day pondering. van der Vliet proposes his own irreverent simplistic approach to spirituality in five easy steps: break free of our Read More …
Sermon: That Changes Everything (#1273)
Sermon Text: Matthew 1:18-25 Sermon Excerpt . . . Immediately, Joseph flip-flops. He goes from being certain he must divorce Mary to knowing he must marry her. God has shown him a better way. Rather than seeking to live by the letter of the law, he chooses to be guided by the greatest commandment: love. Guided by the strength of this love, he recommits himself to his relationship with Mary. He continues with the engagement. Joseph marries Mary. He abstains from Read More …
InstaChristmas (#1272)
Tis the season for preparing. As a part of your Advent journey, I encourage you to take the less than 90 seconds needed to watch the InstaChristmas video created by Discovery Church (Melbourne, Australia) using 600 Instagram images. So What? The use of many diverse images to weave together a familiar story allows viewers to enter the story in new ways. Which images within the presentation do you still "see" in your mind's eye? What is your main takeaway from the video? Read More …
Jesus Didn’t Say This (#1271)
Just over a week ago, Brian McLaren made the following Facebook post: Jesus did not say, "Blessed are the deserving poor," or "Blessed are the legally documented poor." The power of these brief phrases spread quickly, and led him to reflect on the response. So What? Rarely do we see the poor with the eyes of Jesus. Typically, we bring a good deal of baggage and many invalid or incomplete assumptions to the task of really Read More …
Doing Things a New Way (#1270)
Brian Dodd works for the Rocket Company, an organization committed to helping churches increase weekly giving and pastors preach better sermons. Recently, he listed 15 reasons why people don't need to do things the way they have always been done (based on a video featuring Kevin Kelley of the Pulaski Academy). Included on the list are I've done my research, I am continually learning, the current situation calls for something different, I think Read More …
Keeping Christ in Christmas (#1269)
Christmas is now just a week away. This Advent I have heard the phrase "keeping Christ in Christmas" more often than most. It is a phrase with nearly endless possible meanings. A few weeks ago Ron Patterson, Senior Minister of Naples United Church of Christ (Naples, FL), wrote a helpful piece on the topic in the Naples Daily News. Consider these excerpts: Taken literally "keeping Christ in Christmas" might mean imprisoning the power of God in a single day or single season. Read More …
The Decade of Christian Decline (#1268)
2000-2010 can best be labeled as a decade of decline for American Christianity. David Roozen's recent piece in the Christian Century provides an important look at just how rapid the decline was for conservative/evangelical Protestants, mainline/oldline Protestants, and Roman Catholics. As a percentage, the declines were oldline/mainline: 13% Catholic: 5% conservative/evangelical: 1% So What? After decades of progressive Christianity, it should not be surprising to see Read More …
Personally Helping the Poor (#1267)
December is a time for gift giving. In addition to choosing just the right gift for friends and family, many people also extend their generosity to charitable organizations. As I was thinking about my own end of year giving, I happened to read Stephen Mattson's recent blog post featuring five reasons why we should consider going beyond funding charities to getting personally involved in helping the poor. So What? Mattson wasn't suggesting that giving money to organizations that Read More …