Living in the information age, people often assume easy access to data. When it comes to food one may consider eating, however, this is not always the case. Recent changes by many large companies makes it easier to know what is in menu items at certain restaurants. All such establishments may be required to follow certain labeling guidelines if proposed FDA changes take effect. Those who choose to purchase food from grocery stores also often lack the data they desire Read More …
Trends
Christian Mega-University (#1034)
Liberty University was founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell. While the school was well known and grew considerably under his direction, significant growth has occurred in the nearly six years since his death. Over that period of time, the school has doubled its enrollment not once but twice. Nick Anderson's recent Washington Post article explores this reality in-depth while also placing the school's current size in context. Notably: Current enrollment of 74,000 Read More …
Healthier Congregational Budgets (#1032)
A new study conducted by the Indiana University School of Philanthropy and Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at Indiana University School of Philanthropy, in partnership with the Alban Institute, the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA), Indianapolis Center for Congregations, and MAXIMUM Generosity finds that congregations are starting to recover financially after multiple consecutive challenging years. The research shows: Nearly two-thirds of churches Read More …
Ministry IQ (#1031)
MinistryBriefing.tv is a site overseen by Todd Rhoades and Matt Steen that seeks to connect church leaders with up to date information on what has happened "in ministry in the last month." One of the tools they have developed is a Ministry Current Events Quiz. You can complete the March 2013 version in just a few minutes. So What? As I took this month's quiz, I realized that this survey focuses on Evangelical stories, especially those featuring well known Read More …
Educational Debt – BS (#1030)
When I initially encountered Greg Henson and David Pohlmeier's new infographic on what incoming seminary students bring with them, I found myself gravitating toward the financial data. The data used to generate the graphic comes from surveys completed by 6,900 incoming students at 161 ATS schools during the 2011-2012 school year. Among the findings: 51% of all incoming students enter seminary with educational debt (the image at right shows the debt load of Read More …
Pastoral Stressors (#1028)
Bill Reichart, creator of Ministry Best Practices, recently shared an infographic about the pressures of pastoral ministry. The visual is based on data in Pastors at Greater Risk by H. B. London, Jr. and Neil B. Wiseman. So What? Pastoral ministry is a broad category of ordained ministers with varying responsibilities. Clergy, regardless of the amount or type of higher education they have received, must be mindful of and respond to the pressures associated with Read More …
From 5 Million to 4 Million (#1026)
From 2001 to 2011, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America lost just over 1 million members. More specifically: 2001 Membership: 5,099,877 2011 Membership: 4,059,785 Membership Loss: 1,040,092 or 20.39% So What? The decline of the mainline is a popular topic, yet few are familiar with the dramatic nature of the numeric decline in membership and denominational funding. While the numbers presented here reflect the change in the ELCA, similar decline is happening across Read More …
Religious Diversity in America (#1021)
Philip Cohen, a sociologist at the University of Maryland, recently blogged about religious diversity in the United States (US). He rebuts the claim made by a Harvard professor that the US is “the world’s most religiously diverse nation.” While religious diversity in the US has increased significantly in recent decades (from .53 in 1972 to .68 in 2010), the current level of diversity is less than that present in several other countries. The World Values Survey Read More …
Church E-Giving (#1018)
Earlier this month, Leadership Network published Warren Bird's latest research: "The Economic Outlook of Very Large Churches." This 18-page report considers the overall economic outlook alongside how the surveyed congregations collect, allocate and spend funds. Electronic giving (e-giving) is an increasingly important means by which churches receive donations. 100% of the churches with average weekly attendance of at least 2,000 receive some of their income via e-giving. The Read More …
New Direction for the Catholic Church (#1015)
A recent Pew Research Center poll finds that US Catholics are split on whether or not the next pope should "should maintain the traditional teachings of the church" (51% favor maintaining the traditional teachings while 46% hope the pope will move the church in new directions). Among those who hope the next pope will move the church in new directions, the top changes desired are 19% - become more modern, 15% - get tougher with abusers/end sex abuse, 14% - allow priests to Read More …