Anne Rice, the best-selling American author whose books have sold more than 100 million copies, announced on Wednesday that she has quit being a Christian. According to the AP, Rice was "raised as a Catholic, she had rejected the church early in her life but renewed her faith in recent years and in 2008 released the memoir Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession." Other sources suggest that her progressive views have been at odds with the Roman Catholic Read More …
Discipleship
HIV/AIDS – A Justice Issue (#0120)
Currently, the 18th International Aids Conference is meeting in Vienna, Austria. This year's conference attendees number around 20,000 and represent 185 countries. Among the main topics is the promotion of widespread testing and access to treatment. According to the latest statistics from the United Nations there were 33.4 million people living with HIV at the end of 2008. So What? The day before the conference began, a multi-faith meeting was held to discuss the Read More …
Becoming an Economic Justice Church (#0118)
Economic Justice Churches The United Church of Christ passed a resolution at its most recent General Synod that encourages churches to engage in a discernment process of study, witness and action to decide whether to become an economic justice church. To help facilitate that consideration, the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries has created a task force to develop an Economic Justice Church Covenant Program. According to a UCC release dated July 15, the Task Force recently Read More …
2011 Theme Announced for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (#0117)
The theme has been announced for the 2011 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. According to the World Council of Churches: The theme - "One in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer" - was chosen by a group of Christian leaders from Jerusalem and is based on the book of Acts (2:42). It is a call for inspiration and renewal, a return to the essentials of the faith; it is a call to remember the time when the church was still one. So What? The Week of Prayer for Read More …
How Did Christians Get Here? (#0116)
How Did Christians Get Here? Have you ever stopped to wonder why most people are Christians? In many churches, especially those in evangelical denominations, there continues to be a great deal of discussion about things like evangelism, conversion, and church growth. The assumption of those conversations is that many people have and will continue to move from no faith or another faith to the Christian faith. In reality, most people are born into the faith. Bradley Wright, a Read More …
A Call to Move Beyond “Common Christianity” (#0115)
Two Competing Views Author, theologian and progressive Christian thinker Marcus Borg suggests that there is often a disconnect between what pastors learn in mainline seminaries and what many Christians believe. In a recent Washington Post article, he explains the two conflicting views. To summarize the beliefs of most Christians, Borg creates a term: "common Christianity," which he explains to mean: . . .what most Christians took-for-granted until a generation or two ago - Read More …
The Changing Faith Practices of American Teens (#0113)
The Barna Group just released the results of its annual YouthPoll, which considers the faith practices of American teenagers. The article characterizes the faith of teenagers as a "picture of contrasts": Teenagers are consistently among the most religiously active Americans, with nearly six out of every 10 teens engaged in some type of group spiritual activity in a typical week. Yet, the spirituality of teenagers is also remarkably diverse and fluid. According to David Read More …
Reading the Bible in Worship (#0109)
Most people take it for granted that Scripture reading is a part of any Christian worship service. Beyond that assumption, one must also struggle with the specific role of the reading or readings and how much reading is enough. Rev. Bosco Peters, a prolific contributor to online discussion about Christianity (follow him on twitter, like him on facebook, or read his blog) considered this topic in a post earlier today. He began with a challenging question designed to help Read More …
My Faith – Influenced by the United Church of Christ (#0101)
The United Church of Christ (UCC) has influenced my faith. Currently, I am a member of Naples United Church of Christ. According to the UCC website, "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. We believe in extravagant welcome." It is estimated that there are just over one million members in the UCC with the vast majority located in the United States. So What? The greatest contribution the United Church of Christ has made to my faith is Read More …
My Faith – Influenced by Lutherans (#0100)
Lutherans have influenced my faith. I served in children's ministry and then as Director of Education at King of Glory Lutheran Church (KoG) in Dallas, Texas. KoG is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which is the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. According to the KoG website, "Lutherans understand that God comes to us through the Means of Grace, the Word of God and the Sacraments of Baptism and Communion. Through them, God Read More …