Today, Monday, April 18, 2011, is tax day. We all got an extra three days to file our federal returns this year thanks to Emancipation Day, an obscure Washington, D.C., holiday that celebrates the freeing of slaves in the district (the holiday fell on Saturday but was observed on Friday). By the end of the day, however, it is our responsibility to have filed a return or an extension. Shane Claiborne is a founder of The Simple Way, an advocate of non-violence, and a popular Read More …
American Sex Ed is Atypical and Ineffective (#0335)
The documentary Let's Talk About Sex is generating considerable discussion. It aired on TLC last weekend and the DVD was released a few days later. Directed by James Houston, an Australian fashion photographer currently based in New York, the 62 minute offering shows how very different sexuality is when comparing American teens to teens from other nations. While American teens and European teens become sexually active at about the same age the results are very Read More …
The Nature of the Church in the 21st Century (#0334)
Cynthia Holder Rich is currently the Interim Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Muskegon, MI and serves on the Special Committee on the Nature of the Church in the 21st Century of the Presbyterian Church (USA). In the latter role she posted five questions, which were developed by the committee: What is your vision for the church in the 21st century? What characteristics will draw the great diversity (racial ethnic, age, gender, etc.) of our country into our community of Read More …
Returning to Parish Ministry (#0333)
After my first time away from parish ministry since the early days of seminary, I will be returning to that role effective May 1 when I assume the role of Director of Adult Education at Naples United Church of Christ. Some of my regular readers may be familiar with that name as I have written several times about my volunteer leadership experiences in this community of faith, especially in leading worship (i.e. sermon manuscript or other recent materials: 1, 2, 3, 4). Read More …
The Most Popular “Church Blogs” or Are They? (#0332)
Kent Shaffer is the founder of ChurchRelevance.com, an online resource created to inspire and train ministers to be more relevant and effective, and a volunteer strategist for lifechurch.tv. He recently published his updated list of the "Top 200 "church blogs." His list intrigues me for several reasons, beginning with his methodology, which he describes as follows: Several hundred blogs are reviewed in a preliminary screening to determine if their statistics are competitive enough to be Read More …
No Generation Left Behind: Social Media in Ministry (#0331)
Earlier this year I wrote about generational differences in online activity based on data from a Pew Research Center study that showed how many people in each generation participate in various online activities. The percentage of people who participate in a given category tends to decline from generation to generation, but even the oldest generations still engage in a significant amount of online activity. Increasingly the digital divide or gap between those who Read More …
Is Tithing Required? (#0330)
Cnn.com religion editor Dan Gilgoff shared the findings of a recent informal survey of the National Association of Evangelicals in a blog post. He writes: The survey, conducted by the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) among its 100-member board of directors, found that 42% of evangelical leaders believe the Bible requires tithing, while 58% do not . . . The National Association of Evangelicals, the nation’s biggest evangelical umbrella organization, would not say how many of its Read More …
Review of The Pastor by Eugene Peterson (#0329)
Meet the Author Eugene Peterson (b.1932) is the author of the best-selling The Message, which is his translation of the Bible into contemporary American language. He is an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor who served as the founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland for twenty-nine years before retiring in 1991. Peterson has since assumed the title of Pastor Emeritus in that congregation. Following his retirement from parish ministry, Read More …
What the Church Is and What it Should Be (#0328)
Jason Fairbanks, pastor of First Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) in Lake Worth, Florida, recently wrote a series of posts on his blog about what the church is and what it should be. In making his case for what the church should be he offered the wisdom given him by his father: A church is a hospital for those that find themselves hurting and on our doorstep. It is these that we have the opportunity to receive and to love. A church is a greenhouse for those interested in Read More …
Review of Existential Reasons for Belief in God (#0327)
Meet the Author Clifford Williams is professor of philosophy at Trinity International University's Trinity College and serves as chair of the philosophy department. His areas of expertise within the field of philosophy include free will and determinism, religious dividedness, philosophy of time, and philosophy of love and friendship. Williams' recent books include Existential Reasons for Belief in God: A Defense of Desires & Emotions for Faith (2011), The Divided Soul: Read More …