The Barna Group recently published a list of changes in American religious behavior over the last twenty years based on data collected via their annual OmniPollSM survey conducted each January. Bible reading undertaken during the course of a typical week, other than passages read while attending church events, has declined by five percentage points (to 40%); Church volunteerism has dropped by eight percentage points (to 19% who do so during a typical week); Adult Sunday school Read More …
Discipleship
Review of A Public Faith (#0445)
Meet the Author Miroslav Volf is the Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture and Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School. He was born in Croatia, and studied at Evangelical-Theological, Osijek, Fuller Theological Seminary and received his doctoral degree from the University of Tübingen, where he studied under Jürgen Moltmann. As “a member of the Episcopal Church in the Read More …
Review of Veneer (#0442)
Meet the Authors Jason Locy is founder and Creative Director of FiveStone, a multidisciplinary design studio whose client list includes MTV, Chick-fil-A, Q, and Catalyst. Timothy Willard is a full-time writer who earned a Master of Arts in Christian Thought from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society (2011), which they co-authored, is each author's first book. Book Basics Jason invited Tim to join his men's Read More …
Review of I Knew Jesus Before He Was a Christian . . . (#0439)
Meet the Author Rubel Shelly is the President of Rochester College (Rochester, MI), a school affiliated with a student body of approximately 900. Previously, he served as the Senior Minister of Woodmont Hills (Nashville, TN) from 1978 to 2005. Shelly is the author or co-author of over 30 books including The Jesus Proposal: A Theological Framework for Maintaining the Unity of the Body of Christ (2006 with John O. York), What Would Jesus Do Today (2008 with Read More …
From Loving God to . . . (#0437)
John Jensen blogs about a number of topics and relates each of them to "what Jesus has to do with it all." Recently, he wrote a post titled "Ten Things I would say to the Church (if they listened to me)" featuring the following items: Love God, love one another, love your neighbor, everyone is your neighbor . . . What you do (orthopraxy) is as important, if not more important as what you believe (orthodoxy) . . . Stop trying to get the world to come into your church, and get your Read More …
Preferred Frequency for Communion / Lord’s Supper / Eucharist (#0436)
The Presbyterian Church USA recently shared the results of their research about the preferred frequency of the sacrament of Holy Communion, which suggests "most Presbyterians worship in congregations that celebrate the Lord’s Supper once a month, and most like that frequency." Additionally, the research shows: Three-quarters of members, elders, pastors and non-pastoral ministers are part of a congregation that celebrates the Lord’s Supper once a month. Seven in 10 Read More …
A Proposed Intergenerational Covenant (#0434)
The Reverend Dr. Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr is an Episcopal priest who serves as Director of Spiritual Formation and Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality at Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, TX. Recently he wrote about the need for better intergenerational relations. Toward that end, he offers a proposed intergenerational covenant, which includes these words: For Older Generations You are old enough to be "stuck Read More …
Review of Erasing Hell (#0428)
Meet the Authors Francis Chan is a pastor, international speaker, and best-selling author. He founded Cornerstone Church in 1994 and served as its lead pastor until stepping down to focus on his writing and speaking. Chan currently serves at Cornerstone as a non-staff elder. In 2004, he launched Eternity Bible College. Chan is the author of several books including Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God (2008); Forgotten God: Reversing Our Read More …
Restoring the Mainline’s Prophetic Voice (#0426)
After 23 years at the Cathedral of Hope (UCC) in Dallas, TX, Michael Piazza accepted a call to the Virginia-Highland Church (UCC) earlier this year. Piazza has been an important voice in the progressive Christian movement for many years and currently serves as Co-Executive Director of The Center for Progressive Renewal. In theSpring/Summer edition of the Center's bi-annual publication, New Times, Piazza offers these challenging words: The time is overdue for Read More …
Review of Not a Fan (#0425)
Meet the Author Kyle Idleman is the teaching pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, which is the fifth largest church in America. After attending Ozark Christian College, he did an internship at Southeast Christian, planted Real Life Church in Southern California, and then returned to Southeast Christian in 2002. Idleman is the author and presenter of the award winning video curriculum H2O: A Journey of Faith and The Easter Experience. His first book, Read More …