A few days ago The Telegraph ran a story about a church in Essex "who have been without a vicar for 16 months have taken to YouTube to advertise for a replacement." Their creative effort is worth 3 minutes of your time. So What? Searching for a new pastor / priest / vicar / spiritual leader is a challenging undertaking for any congregation / parish. While denominational churches must follow basic denominational protocols, all congregations can include creative expressions as a part Read More …
Faith & Voting (#0888)
Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, recently wrote about how being a disciple of Jesus leads him to vote and shapes how he votes. For me voting is love in action. It is about loving God, neighbor and about self. Therefore, I vote for candidates who are likely to enact policies that honor God and are in the best interest of my neighbors. Of course, I also vote in my own self-interest and that too is an act of love. However, I Read More …
Adult Enrichment in 2013 (#0887)
I have the privilege of developing adult educational opportunities at Naples United Church of Christ. These holistic growth opportunities, along with our musical enrichment offerings, are open to our congregation and to the community. The following brochure is a second annual brochure covering many of the events that will occur between Advent 2012 and Pentecost 2013 (for more, read about and view the 2012 edition). I welcome your feedback. Read More …
Restoring Hope (#0886)
Diana Butler Bass, author of Christianity After Religion (my review), recently wrote a piece about hope in the fall 2012 edition of Reflections, a magazine of theological and ethical inquiry produced by Yale Divinity School. She writes: I wonder if hope and courage will join hands to forge a new sense of the common good. But hope comes not through political campaigns. Rather, lasting hope will spring from a rebirth of courage in faith communities, when God’s people prophetically act Read More …
Celebrating 2 Years of Daily Blogging (#0885)
Today I celebrate two years of daily blogging. Amazingly, I have now written at least one post every day for the last two years. A year ago I reflected on my first 365 days. This year, I opt for an approach that is more celebrative than reflective. I celebrate Friendships - those that have emerged or developed as a result of my writing Learning - the ongoing opportunity to be a lifelong learner (and to relate what I am learning in community -- see friendships above) Read More …
Student Loans in Younger Households (#0884)
The Pew Research Center recently featured an article highlighting the overall trends over time in the percentage of households with outstanding student debt. By reporting on the percentages by the age of the head of household over time, the graph provides a picture that illustrates how the experience of possessing student debt has become increasingly normative in younger households. More specifically, from 1989-2010 the percentage of households in the youngest two age cohorts Read More …
Review Of Jesus: A Theography (#0883)
Meet the Authors Leonard Sweet, E. Stanley Jones professor of evangelism at Drew University and visiting distinguished professor of Evangelism at George Fox University, was voted one of the 50 Most Influential Christians in America, and continues to write and speak prophetically about the church. An ordained United Methodist pastor, Sweet has authored over 20 books (read my reviews: Viral: How Social Networking is Poised to Ignite Revival - 2012, I Am a Follower: The Way, Read More …
Cultivating Community (#0882)
I spent the past week in Orlando, FL learning about online education. As a part of that experience, I attended (along with 1500+ in Orlando and 1200+ virtual attendees) the 18th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning. The Sloan conference offered hundreds of formal learning opportunities alongside several scheduled networking events. While I was in the minority as a first time attendee, I had no trouble finding my way into any and all of Read More …
Religious Athletes (#0881)
According to recent research by Grey Matter Research & Consulting "relatively few Americans react negatively to the frequent intersection between professional sports and religion." The study considered seven different types of religious expression: Athletes from opposing teams gathering together on the field or court after a game for prayer, Athletes speaking up about their faith in interviews after the game, Athletes speaking up about their faith in interviews after the Read More …
Misusing Statistics (#0880)
Ed Stetzer, President of LifeWay Research, recently blogged about findings of research his organization conducted on how pastors use statistics in their ministries. The findings are based on a phone survey of over 1,000 pastors in late 2009. When these clergy were asked if Christians frequently misuse statistics to fit their own agenda, the vast majority (66%) responded affirmatively. Stop and think about this statistic about the use of statistics. According to Read More …