Spencer, William and Aida and Tracy, Steve and Celestia. Marriage at the Crossroads: Couples in Conversation About Discipleship, Gender Roles, Decision Making, and Intimacy. InterVarsity Press Academic, 2009. Meet the Authors This book is co-authored by two couples. William and Aida Spencer are both ordained pastors in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and both serve on the faculty of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Bill is professor of theology and the arts Read More …
Prayers of the People (First Sunday of Advent) (#0054)
We have sung rather boldly: o come, o come, Emmanuel and now we seek to pray with that same audacity to you who are God with us: Emmanuel. Come God of creation, into a world filled by those who search for ultimate meaning and for deeper understanding. Teach us through increased scientific understanding whether gained through projects as massive as the Hadron Collider or as simple as grade school science fair projects. May our quest for perspective be transformed as we lift up Read More …
Review of Children, Youth, and Spirituality in a Troubling World (#0053)
Moore, Mary Elizabeth Mullino and Wright, Almeda M., eds. Children, Youth, and Spirituality in a Troubling World. Chalice Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-827205-13-0. Meet the Editors Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore is the Dean of the School of Theology and Professor of Theology and Education at Boston University. Previously she served as Assistant Director and Research Coordinator of the Theology and Ministry Program at Candler School of Theology at Emory Read More …
Review of Surprised by Hope (#0052)
Wright, N. T. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. Harper One, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-06-155182-6. Meet the Author N.T. (Nicholas Thomas) Wright is the one of the world's top Biblical scholars and has been called "the world's leading New Testament scholar" by Newsweek. He taught New Testament studies for twenty years at Cambridge, McGill, and Oxford Universities. Wright is currently the Bishop of Durham for Read More …
Online Churches Draw Believers, Critics (#0051)
Earlier this week, Anne Hammock wrote an article for CNN about online churches. Online Churches Draw Believers, Critics explores a topic that is drawing increased attention from both sacred and secular media as more and more people participate in online worship and discipleship experiences. She writes, "Internet pastors and parishioners cite their 24-hour access to interactive tools and social-networking platforms to show their online experiences are as meaningful as those that take Read More …
The Future Church – Congregational/Local is Primary (#0050)
Looking into the Future: The Top 10 Changes for the American Church 4. Congregational/Local is Primary Gone are the days when loyalty to denomination is common. The mentality of yesteryear was that a loyal parishioner of First United Methodist in one town would join another United Methodist congregation when that person relocated for a new job or retirement. Today when a faithful participant of one local body of believers moves to a new town, that individual Read More …
Review of This I Believe and This I Believe II (#0049)
Allison, Jay and Gediman, Dan, eds. This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable American Men and Women. Henry Holt and Company, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-8050-8658-4. Allison, Jay and Gediman, Dan, eds. This I Believe II: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable American Men and Women. Henry Holt and Company, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-8050-8768-0. Meet the Editors Jay Allison is the host and curator of This I Believe and the founder of the public radio stations that Read More …
Review of Boundless Faith (#0048)
Wuthnow, Robert. Boundless Faith: The Global Outreach of American Churches. University of California Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-520-25915-7. Meet the Author Robert Wuthnow is the Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Center for the Study of American Religion at Princeton University. Wuthnow is widely published in the areas of sociology of religion, culture and civil society. His recent books include Boundless Faith: The Read More …
The Future Church – Greater Variety of Worship Experiences (#0047)
Looking into the Future: The Top 10 Changes for the American Church 5. Greater Variety of Worship Experiences Gone are the days when church growth simply meant adding more worship services. For years, the model was simple. Churches held a single Sunday morning worship service. If attendance grew beyond the comfort level of the leaders, then a second service was added. The second service was a copy of the first. The same was true for a move from Read More …
The Future Church – Inclusive (#0046)
Looking into the Future: The Top 10 Changes for the American Church 6. Inclusive Church is often viewed by outsiders as exclusive. The idea that 11:00 a.m. on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week has been commonplace for decades. Bouncer (commercial shown above, permission granted to repost) is one of many effective television commercials created by the United Church of Christ that seek to counter the cultural expectation that few are truly welcome at Read More …