Creativity
E-books are popping up everywhere suddenly. As I write this, mediabistro.com's e-book summit is livestreaming on my office PC. The hot nearly-new gift for Christmas this year is an e-reader -- a Kindle, a Nook, a Sony Reader, or one of the others coming soon. The entire
Culture
A new study reveals a specific link between luxury goods and selfishness. Two experiments showed that "exposure to luxury led people to think more about themselves than others," according to a Harvard Business School paper. Professor Roy Y. J. Chua and Xi Zou conducted two experiments in which
Culture
What do the mothers of America think of the fathers of their children? The National Fatherhood Initiative released a survey this week that asked 1,533 mothers with at least one child under 18, "How are fathers doing?" Their responses might surprise you. Here are 10 of the
Culture
"We have become so accustomed to thinking of repentance as an unpleasant, though necessary and obligatory rejection of the sin we 'enjoy,' that we have tended to lose sight of repentance as a fundamentally joyous, restorative return to life in its fullness." -- from Soul Mending:
Community
Churches can care for their communities by providing resources to encourage and strengthen marriage. The Brookings Institute's Ron Haskins writes -- "Higher marriage rates among the poor would benefit poor adults themselves, their children, and the nation." Haskins believes that churches and other non-profits should encourage
Culture
Zondervan Publishing announced yesterday that it is pulling all the copies and support material for its controversial Deadly Viper Character Assassins book. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah and others in the Asian-American Christian community pointed out the culturally offensive title and content of the book to the authors and to Zondervan Publishing.
Culture
Is it just me, or has anybody else noticed how silly Christian book titles have become? Zondervan is in a dust-up with Soong-Chan Rah and other Asian-American church leaders over the book Deadly Viper Character Assassins: A Kung Fu Survival Guide for Life and Leadership. Dr. Rah's beef,
bless the world
More world citizens and more Americans go hungry each day than ever before in the history of the world. One billion people out of the 6-billion who inhabit the earth, do not have enough to eat. Almost 17% of the world's population -- 1-in-6 people in other words
Culture
About 3 years ago, Debbie and I unplugged the cable TV and stashed our 27" big black box behind an upstairs couch. And we went cable-less for almost 18-months. Then the presidential election came along, and we turned it back on last fall. Yesterday I turned in the cable
Culture
A new people group has emerged in the wake of the world financial crisis. In the Middle East -- the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and other oil-rich nations -- immigrant construction workers have been stranded by the cancellation of commercial construction projects. These workers have been deprived of their passports,
Culture
The church of the future resides in an urban setting, consists of multiple minorities, and espouses progressive social values, according to two recently-released reports. While most church futurists have focused on church models (i.e., house churches vs. megachurches) in their predictions of the shape of church in the next
church as abbey
In its heyday University Baptist Church in Baltimore overflowed its expansive neoclassical sanctuary. Designed by the same architect as the Jefferson Memorial, the church's impressive dome now shelters fewer worshippers each Sunday. But changing times haven't discouraged the members of University Baptist Church. Instead the congregation