Meet the Author Kris D. Komarnitsky works in the aviation industry and is a first-time author. He wrote Doubting Jesus' Resurrection in 2009. Note: My review is of the updated second edition, which will be published in early 2014. Book Basics What I found most intriguing about this book, and what I believe will draw others in, is the author's approach. While Komarnitsky lacks a scholarly background, he approaches the resurrection with the questions one would expect Read More …
Sermon: Look Again (#1280)
Sermon Text: Matthew 2:13-23 Sermon Excerpt Everyone loves Christmas, or do they? Just in time for Christmas this year the Pew Research Center released information about how we view the holiday. According to their latest survey, 92% of Americans celebrate Christmas, but there is considerable diversity when it comes to the basis of such celebrations: just over half (51%) celebrate it as more of a religious holiday, around a third (32%) celebrate it as more of a cultural Read More …
Leadership Archetypes (#1279)
Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Distinguished Professor of Leadership Development and Organizational Change at INSEAD, recently shared his eight leadership archetypes on the Harvard Business Review blog. The strategist: leadership as a game of chess. The change-catalyst: leadership as a turnaround activity. The transactor: leadership as deal making. The builder: leadership as an entrepreneurial activity. The innovator: leadership as creative idea generation. The processor: leadership as Read More …
Top 10 Books of 2013 (#1278)
Each year (see 2010, 2011, 2012) I share a list of my top ten books published that year. Creating this year's list was both a challenge and a joy. Rob Bell What We Talk About When We Talk About God Wendy Cadge Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine Lillian Daniel When Spiritual but Not Religious is Not Enough: Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church Meredith Gould The Social Media Gospel: Sharing the Good News in New Ways Galen Guengerich God Revised: How Read More …
US Megachurches (#1277)
Warren Bird, research director at Leadership Network, recently shared some incredible statistics about megachurches (those congregations with an average weekly worship attendance of at least 2,000) in the United States. 5 million - the number of people who worship at a megachurch during a typical week. 1,650 - the current number of megachurches in the United States. 0.5% - While almost 10% of Protestant churchgoers attend a megachurch, these churches represent only about Read More …
Christmas: Cultural or Religious? (#1276)
Just in time for Christmas, the Pew Research Center released information about how Americans view the holiday. While 92% of Americans celebrate Christmas, there is considerable diversity when it comes to the basis of such celebrations: 51% - more of a religious holiday, 32% - more of a cultural holiday, and 9% - both/other (which includes those who celebrate but did not comment on whether they felt it was more religious or cultural). So What? Notably there is a generational divide. Read More …
Religion in America: A Map (#1275)
This map, based on the 2010 census data, shows the largest religious groups in each county of the U.S. So What? While the Catholic Church is the largest religious tradition in more counties than any other group, the Southern Baptists are a close second and are a majority in the vast majority of counties in the s0-called Bible belt. Take a moment to review Read More …
Review of Spiritual Awakening (#1274)
Meet the Author Tim van der Vliet is a former trader on the financial markets turned spiritual seeker. Adopting an irreverent eclectic approach to spirituality, he is now a full-time writer. Book Basics Spiritual Awakening (the easy way) is the sort of book one could read easily in half an hour or might opt to spend the better part of day pondering. van der Vliet proposes his own irreverent simplistic approach to spirituality in five easy steps: break free of our Read More …
Sermon: That Changes Everything (#1273)
Sermon Text: Matthew 1:18-25 Sermon Excerpt . . . Immediately, Joseph flip-flops. He goes from being certain he must divorce Mary to knowing he must marry her. God has shown him a better way. Rather than seeking to live by the letter of the law, he chooses to be guided by the greatest commandment: love. Guided by the strength of this love, he recommits himself to his relationship with Mary. He continues with the engagement. Joseph marries Mary. He abstains from Read More …
InstaChristmas (#1272)
Tis the season for preparing. As a part of your Advent journey, I encourage you to take the less than 90 seconds needed to watch the InstaChristmas video created by Discovery Church (Melbourne, Australia) using 600 Instagram images. So What? The use of many diverse images to weave together a familiar story allows viewers to enter the story in new ways. Which images within the presentation do you still "see" in your mind's eye? What is your main takeaway from the video? Read More …