Jena Lee Nardella offered the benediction on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention. Nardella is the co-founder and Executive Director for Blood:Water Mission, a nonprofit focused on overcoming the HIV/AIDS and water crises in Africa. While the full text of her prayer is worth reading, the middle portion focused on the opportunity available to all Americans over the next nine weeks is especially powerful: I pray for our country in the next nine weeks leading up Read More …
Facebook, Retirees, and Church (#0845)
Robert Saler, Research Fellow and administrator with the Center for Pastoral Excellence at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, recently blogged about how his experience as a pastor of a congregation comprised primarily of retirees challenged his assumptions about their use of social media. As a younger pastor, he entered the parish assuming that leveraging Facebook as a part of the congregation's ministry would require heavy lifting by young adults. In his Read More …
The Gospel in 7 Words (#0844)
The September 5, 2012, edition of the Christian Century includes an article entitled "The Gospel in Seven Words." A few of the many submissions follow: We are the church of infinite chances -- Mary Karr God through Jesus Christ, welcomes you anyhow -- Martin E. Marty We are who God says we are -- Nadia Bolz-Weber (p. 20-25) So What? Articulating one's faith or significant components of such briefly is challenging, but important work. The contributor's to the article Read More …
Flat Earth & Creationism (#0843)
On CNN, William Sanford Nye (better known as Bill Nye the Science Guy) recently compared teaching creationism to teaching that the earth is flat. He suggested that tax dollars should not be used to forward either claim under the guise of science education. More specifically, when asked about the harm of children learning the biblical creation story, he answered: "Learning the story is fine. That's great. It's not science. Tax dollars used for science Read More …
More Teens Are Sexting (#0842)
A recent study led by Jeff Temple from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, shows how common sexting has become among teens: 28% have sent a naked photo of themselves via text or email 31% have asked someone for a sext 57% have been asked to send a sext So What? In recent years, churches have gotten more involved in educating youth and their parents about technology. Sexting is too significant and has become too widespread an issue to ignore. How is Read More …
Review of The Post-Black & Post-White Church (#0841)
Meet the Author Efrem Smith is an evangelical minister who serves as superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church, and as an itinerant speaker for Kingdom Builder Ministries. Previously, he served as founding pastor of Sanctuary Community Church in Minneapolis, MN. Smith is the author of three books, including Jump: Into a Life of Further and Higher (2010). Book Basics The Post-Black & Post-White Church explores what it means Read More …
The Bottom Line & Nonprofits (#0840)
Leadership expert John Maxwell has written over fifty books, including three that have sold more than a million copies: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within You, and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Recently he blogged about the value of bottom line thinking in nonprofit organizations. For these organizations, including churches, the bottom line isn't financial. Instead, Maxwell suggests the bottom line is "the end, the Read More …
Reaching Young Adults (#0839)
Bruce Reyes-Chow is a consultant who previously served as founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church, and was the former moderator of the General Assembly of the 2.3 million member PCUSA. On the conservative Red Letter Christians blog he recently shared three common faulty assumptions church leaders make when seeking to begin or expand young adult ministries: We (older adults) can build ministry from them (younger adults) Young adults are all alike Read More …
Megachurches Offer a “Religious High” (#0838)
According to a new University of Washington study, there may be a scientific reason why people return again and again to megachurches: a religious high. Put differently, the hi-tech high energy megachurch worship service experience is thought to "trigger feelings of transcendence and changes in brain chemistry – a spiritual “high” that keeps congregants coming back for more." So What? While megachurches comprise a very small percentage of churches in America, they are home to Read More …
Who Are Americans? (#0837)
In the Sunday paper, I encountered a half-page AP article written by Calvin Woodward and Christopher S. Rugaber that offers incredible insight into our changing nation. Consider these facts: Closer Together: Cities and closely surrounding suburbs are growing faster than farther-off suburbs for the first time in over 20 years Less Mobile: Mobility (defined by the percentage of population that moved in the last year) is at lowest it has been since the Census Bureau started Read More …