economics
Last Sunday I preached from Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 NIV. Amazingly, the circumstances in Isaiah's day in 742 BC were similar to those in 21st century America. Politicians disagreed on how best to provide security for the nation of Judah. Strategic alliances to combat national enemies such as
Congregation
The Tennessean, the daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee, featured an article today on small churches and when they should close. In the article, Short on Cash, People, Small Churches Consider Closing, reporter Bob Smietana profiles three Nashville area churches that had to face their own mortality. Bob was kind enough
Culture
While total estimated charitable giving edged up by 3.8% compared to 2009, gifts to churches and religious organizations actually declined when adjusted for inflation. Philanthropy toward other human services groups, like those which sought funds for the Haiti earthquake disaster, fell even more, registering a 1.5% decline when
Culture
It is obvious that gas prices are rising quickly again. In 2007-8, I wrote several posts on the prospects of gasoline hitting $4-$5 per gallon - you can read those posts here, here, and here. We were well on the way to those numbers in the United States, and
Culture
Churches are an important resource in caring for America's poor, but the job is too big for churches alone. With all the talk about healthcare and the nation's deficit, I've seen more than one blog suggest that churches take over the responsibility for caring
Culture
The end of the year brings out the list-maker in all of us. Not to disappoint you, here are the 10 trends that I'm going to be watching in 2010: 1. Mobile everything. As the mobile phone morphs into the mobile communications device, 2010 will be a break-through
Culture
I thought we had heard it all when the chairman of Goldman-Sachs testified that they were "doing God's work." Apparently, that altruistic assertion went so well that Verizon has picked up the refrain. In a response to the FTC's request for justification for their
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
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
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,
Acts
I am presenting this message tonight at a meeting of pastors and lay leaders who are concerned about the economy. I'd be interested in your comments. Toward A Theology of Economics Acts 5:1-11 1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece
church as abbey
In the gift economy, information wants to be free. So, here are the latest freebies I've run across that are both free and excellent. The new Neue Quarterly will be out soon, and my article "Remembering Why You Said Yes" is in this issue. You can