Every person I have ever met who is seeking to follow the way of Jesus has a unique faith story -- an account of her or his life to date and how it has been impacted by one or more religious traditions. Some of these stories begin with or feature a moment of conversion (often an event on a specific day), but many more explain the transition to becoming a Christian as a long term process. Reflection on one's own journey to date is an important aspect of knowing one's own Read More …
Review of The King Jesus Gospel (#0520)
Meet the Author Scot McKnight is professor of religious studies at North Park University. He is a leading authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight has written over 20 books including The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others (read how this book has influenced me), Fasting (read my review), The Real Mary: Why Evangelicals Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus (read my review), and One.Life: Read More …
Reflecting on 365 Days of Daily Blogging (#0519)
I launched this blog in June of 2009, and started posting on a daily basis a year ago. Over the last 365 days I have learned a great deal, including: writing blog content is different from all other writing creating and using a standard template for each type of post (e.g., book reviews) provides helpful structure timely topics attract readers, especially those in the current news cycle posts with the greatest hit counts are, almost exclusively, those shared by others via social Read More …
Reconnecting (#0518)
It used to be very unusual for me to hear from someone I had not communicated with in years. Now, it occurs on a somewhat regular basis. More often than not, these contacts occur because of (and often through) social media. It is easier than ever to reconnect with someone you lost touch with some time ago and for whom you no longer have accurate contact information. The ease of finding and contacting someone means that some will leverage this opportunity for something Read More …
I’ll Pray for You (#0517)
What do you think the speaker intends when speaking these four simple words to you: “I'll pray for you"? Intends to be supportive, and will follow through by praying on my behalf Intends to be supportive, but has no genuine intent to follow through and actually pray Intends to be dismissive, but knows that this "church speak" is a nicer way to transition or end the conversation So What? I am not among the most faithful or frequent pray-ers, and readily acknowledge this Read More …
A New Day in the PCUSA (#0516)
The Presbyterian Church (USA) or PCUSA has been in the news more this past week than any time this year. The denomination officially amended its constitution earlier this year to allow gays and lesbians to serve as ministers and lay leaders. Last Saturday, the Rev. Scott Anderson was ordained as the denomination's first openly gay pastor. He told CNN: "It's an exciting time for me personally to be the first openly gay person ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and Read More …
Twitter – Religious Leaders & Religious Content (#0515)
Claire Diaz Ortiz - leader of social innovation, philanthropy, and causes for Twitter - attended Catalyst's recent Be Present conference to network with the speakers and many of the 13,000 attendees. This appeal is a part of a larger effort by Twitter to reach out to religious leaders. So What? In her article on this story, Sarah Pulliam Bailey quoted Diaz Ortiz: It's about relationships and social media is about relationships. A lot of companies don't understand that. They Read More …
Evangelicals Don’t Have a Pope (#0514)
Roger Olson is an evangelical scholar who serves as Professor of Theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University. Recently he blogged about a troubling trend: news reports that don't put their stories in context. Olson focuses on a prominent evangelical pastor in Texas who stated that Evangelicals must not vote for Presidential candidates who are Mormon, because Mormonism is a cult. Many of the reports failed to include details about how Read More …
More & More Multi-Generational Households (#0513)
The Pew Research Center recently released "Fighting Poverty in a Tougher Economy, Americans Move in with Their Relatives." The report considers how the Great Recession has influenced household composition. Over the last few years, more and more people have opted to live in multi-generational households as a means of handling economic pressures. A longer term look at household composition shows that the percentage of those living in multi-generational households declined Read More …
From Social Media to Silence (#0512)
Each year a theme is selected for the Catholic Church’s World Social Communications Day: 2011: “Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age" 2012: “Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization” So What? While many found the pope's message this year to be progressive and thoughtful, next year's topic is the sort that could have been selected for any of the prior years in the day's forty-five year history. However, according to a Catholic News Agency Read More …