According to the American Bible Society and the Barna Group, America's top Bible minded cities (based on "highest combined levels of regular Bible reading and belief in the Bible’s accuracy.") are Knoxville, TN Shreveport, LA Chattanooga, TN Birmingham, AL Jackson, MS Springfield, MO Charlotte, NC Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA Huntsville, AL Charleston, WV So What? Bible minded isn't a phrase I have ever used nor one with which I claim any prior familiarity. Read More …
Trends
A Spiritual-But-Not-Religious First (#0985)
Diana Butler Bass, popular speaker and the author of several books including Christianity After Religion: The End of the Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, labeled President Obama's second inaugural speech "the first spiritual-but-not-religious inaugural sermon," while recognizing such is "a twenty-first century expression of American civil spirituality, embedded in but not dependent upon the ancient vision of American Protestant theology of and for God’s Read More …
The Rise of Online Higher Ed (#0984)
In the 1970s, 80s, and 90s higher education was largely assumed as an on campus experience. As technology improved, distance education began evolving from the exchange of documents and media primarily via postal mail to online exchanges. During the 2000s and now in the 10s, the number of students in higher education taking at least one online course grew on an annual basis. It is reasonable to project that in the not too distant future a majority of students will complete at least Read More …
Executive Pastor Trends (#0983)
Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, recently wrote about the role of executive pastor. The position itself is a relatively new construct, arriving in the latter half of the twentieth century. Initially attractive primarily to megachurches, the value of this position is now seen by congregations significantly smaller in size. This observation is one of five trends Rainer highlights: More executive pastors in smaller churches More executive Read More …
Beyond Pro-Choice / Pro-Life (#0979)
"Not in Her Shoes" is a new brief video (under 2 minutes) designed to encourage conversation about abortion by suggesting people move beyond the labels "pro-choice" and "pro-life" that "actually don't reflect how people feel about abortion." So What? Watch the video and ponder the argument advanced by Planned Parenthood. Do you believe that moving beyond the polarizing labels (pro-choice and pro-life) will help people have more in-depth and meaningful conversations about abortion? Why or Read More …
Church Renewal – Join the Conversation (#0978)
A week ago today Chaplain Mike, one of the principal bloggers on the popular Evangelical/post-Evangelical Internet Monk site, shared his summary of my thoughts on the future of the church as expressed in a series of blog posts written last year. In addition to framing my series as a "perspective on the future of the American church from a younger leader in the mainline Protestant world," Chaplain Mike shared his take on how my thoughts relate to what others are saying now and Read More …
The Saddest Graph (#0977)
A week or so ago I read Dylan Matthews' Washington Post piece, "The Saddest Graph You'll See Today." The article focuses on an infographic illustrating the small percentage of rapes that are reported and an even smaller numbers of rapists who are jailed. Recognizing the complexity of collecting data about and unreported rape, I hesitated to share this specific explanation without some form of methodological disclaimer. Interestingly when I returned to the article, Read More …
Remaining Relevant (#0969)
Justin Lathrop, executive search consultant at the Vanderbloemen Search Group, recently suggested five ways churches can remain relevant: Leverage the strengths of church networks Engage social media Expand online offerings, including worship services Consider the possibilities of strategic church mergers Welcome the diverse population of the community So What? Many of the items on Lathrop's list focus on structural matters: the possibility of belonging to multiple Read More …
2012 in 4 Minutes (#0965)
2012 was quite a year. The following video reviews the year's big news stories in 4 minutes. So What? As we near the end of the first week of 2013, I encourage you to remember many of the significant events of 2012 especially those that impacted you. Share a few of the stories featured in the video recap that impacted you the most. Share a few of the most memorable moments from your own life experiences in 2012. What word or phrase best describes your experience of 2012? Read More …
Shifts in Young Adult Protestantism (#0964)
The graph at right illustrates the shifts in young adult (ages 23-35) Protestant affiliation between 1972 and 2010 as compiled by Lifeway Research using data from the General Social Survey. Overall, during the "last 30 years, mainline protestantism is dying, black protestantism is steady, and evangelicalism is growing." More specifically, among young adults: Mainline Protestantism declined dramatically: identification dropped from 24% to 6% while worship attendance was cut in half Read More …