It is a widely held assumption that higher levels of education are associated with higher paying jobs. This data has long been used to argue for the vale of higher education. A new study by the Economic Policy Institute finds that low-wage workers (those in the bottom 20% of income) have far more education now than they once did. More specifically, the percent of low-wage workers with varying levels of educational attainment has shifted a great deal from 1968 to 2012, Read More …
Drop the Churchy Talk (#1310)
Addie Zierman, author of When We Were on Fire: A Memoir of Consuming Faith, Tangled Love and Starting Over, recently wrote about churchy phrases that scare off millennials (those born from 1981 to 2000) or keep them from more seriously considering participation in the church. Zierman, herself a millennial, writes about the topic as one who has recently returned to church while raising two young boys. She returned not because the church was so wonderful, but because she Read More …
God’s Role in the Super Bowl (#1309)
According to a new survey, more than half of all Americans believe God has a role to play in this year's Super Bowl. This number includes: Americans who pray for God to help their team (26 percent), think their team has been cursed (25 percent) or more generally believe God is involved in determining who wins on the court or in the field (19 percent). So What? During my adult life, I have watched at least part of every Super Bowl. My reasons for watching have varied: some years I Read More …
Sermon: Growing Together (#1308)
Sermon Text: Acts 2:42 Sermon Excerpt I grew up in the church. More specifically, I was raised in the Presbyterian Church. As a child, I knew that there was one big hurdle between where I was and the world my parents and other adults inhabited: confirmation. In order to become a member, I had to complete a lengthy educational experience led by a rather intimidating woman: The Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Johnson Pense. It didn’t seem fair to me that she taught religion to Read More …
The Rise of e-reading (#1307)
The Pew Research Center's new report on e-reading offers insight on just how rapid the rise has been in both ownership of e-reading devices and the popularity of e-reading. More specifically: half of all adults (50%) now own an e-reader or tablet, and more than a fourth (28%) read an e-book last year. So What? In 2010 almost no one owned a tablet or e-reader; today more than half of American adults own at least one such device. Given the newness of the technology it isn't Read More …
The Problem with Facebook (#1306)
Derek Muller of Veritasium, an educational science channel on YouTube, recently posted a 7-minute video exploring the current problems with Facebook. If you and/or your organization spend any time on Facebook, then I encourage you to listen to Muller's video in its entirety. So What? Muller comments, "The beauty of social media is that it's the user who gets to control the content, who they interact with and how." As Facebook increasingly limits what content users see and Read More …
Moving Sunday School Online (#1305)
For as long as I have been in ministry there has been discussion about how best to reform the Sunday School experience for children. I spent many months doing research on this topic nearly a decade ago as a part of my doctoral work. I continue to be intrigued by and appreciative of those who are on the front lines of innovating this important ministry of faith formation. Day Smith Pritchartt's recent blog post is one great example of how a congregation might choose to replace the Read More …
Scribalishess (#1304)
I enjoy discovering new blogs. When I encounter people's listings of their favorite blogs or compilations of the best Christian blogs I tend to click through and browse each site. Most of my discovery consists of becoming familiar with well established blogs. While I hope to continue that exploration, I also want to connect with new bloggers and to encourage you to do the same. Susan Pigott is Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Hardin-Simmons University. I had the Read More …
American Morality: 1987 & 2014 (#1303)
CNN recently conducted a poll of American morality similar to the one conducted by Time Magazine in 1987. When the statistics are placed side-by-side, one can see significant signs of change over the past 27 years. Overall: In 1987, 7 out of the 8 actions surveyed were considered by the majority of Americans to be morally wrong. Now, only 3 of the behaviors are thought to be morally wrong by a majority (being married and having sex with someone else, cheating on taxes, and Read More …
The 1 Minute Worship Service (#1302)
Gold Hill Lutheran Church is an ELCA congregation in Butte, MT that averages just over 130 people in worship each Sunday morning. Their pastor's one minute worship service (January 12, 2014) has gone viral. It took less than a week for the video to reach 1 million views. So What? Timothy Christensen's announcement was initially misunderstood by many as having been the full worship experience. In the days since, numerous corrections or updates to blog Read More …