Teddy Ray is pastor and preacher for the Offerings Community and the Executive Pastor of 1st United Methodist Church in Lexington, KY. Recently, he wrote about the dramatic growth in multi-site churches and provided an explanation of how his church's approach differs from the traditional multi-site models. Multi-site congregations are a relatively new idea. Ray mentions the years multi-site congregations in the USA reached significant numeric milestones: Read More …
Discipleship
An Internet Challenge (#0942)
From 2003-2011 Paul Brandeis Raushenbush was the Associate Dean of Religious Life and the Chapel at Princeton University. Now he serves as the Senior Religion Editor for the Huffington Post. A few weeks ago he wrote an article focusing on the power and prevalence of the internet as a source of religious information. He concluded that piece with these insightful and challenging words: Instead of the bombs of negativity, distrust and conflict that can find Read More …
More Than Coffee (#0941)
When it comes to church, it seems coffee is everywhere. Because of its significant visibility, people often use it as a way (or sometimes the way) of enacting change for the good. Thankfully, as a result of conversations about what should be offered, many congregations have chosen to transition to fair trade coffee served in more environmentally friendly cups. Thomas Turner, program manager at International Justice Mission, recently blogged about the importance of Read More …
Sex Outside of Marriage by Religion (#0940)
A new study published in the American Sociological Review, found that Muslims and Hindus "are more likely than Christians and Jews to refrain from sex outside of marriage". More specifically, the data shows: Those who report having premarital sex: 94% of Jews 79% of Christians 65% of Buddhists 43% of Muslims 19% of Hindus Those who report having extramarital sex: 4% of Jews 3% of Christians Less than 1% of Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists So What? While this Read More …
Dumb Ways to Die/Live (#0934)
Last month, a rather unusual video sharing oh so many dumb ways to die went viral. The video was originally designed as part of a safety campaign for Metro Trains in Melbourne, although I suspect most viewers are unaware of such. So What? It is easy to smile at the catchy tune and recognize that all of the choices listed are truly dumb ways to die. As you listen to the song, think about life and ask yourself: how many dumb ways are there to live? Is your own life Read More …
Hurry Up & Be Generous (#0933)
Seth Godin is the author of twelve books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change, and work. He is also the master of saying a great deal using relatively few words on his blog. Recently he shared that while people are in a hurry to do many things, generosity isn't usually on that list. Godin then asked a powerful question: What happens when we adopt the posture of being in a hurry to be generous? So What? As we Read More …
Borg on the UCC (#0931)
Progressive Christian scholar Marcus Borg served as the Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007. He is the author of numerous books, including Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written (my review) Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power –And How They Can Be Restored (my review) Putting Away Childish Things: A Tale of Modern Read More …
Read & Reclaim the Bible (#0930)
Ronald Hendel, professor of Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies at the University of California - Berkeley, recently blogged about why people should still be reading the Bible. While many today opt for extreme positions - ignoring it or interpreting it in a very literal manner - he proposes an alternative: a respectful approach that emphasizes the impact of rather than the historicity of the stories contained within its pages. He writes: . . . it is a book that lies at the heart of Read More …
Proof of God’s Love (#0929)
Crave, the debut album of for King & Country features a song based on I Corinthians 13: "The Proof of Your Love." The lyrics of this song invite followers of Jesus to live authentic lives that display God's love: So let my life be the proof The proof of Your love Let my love look like You And what You're made of How you lived, how You died Love is sacrifice So let my life be the proof The proof of Your love So What? The core of Christianity is living life by the Jesus Read More …
Consumerism as Idol (#0923)
Tony Campolo is an ordained American Baptist pastor, professor emeritus at Eastern University, founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, author of 35 books, and popular speaker. Recently he wrote these challenging words: . . . the enemy of the Church is consumerism. We have made an idol out of the things that are being sold. We bow down and worship the commodities that are paraded before us on television. We are enslaved to a mindset Read More …