ethics
One of the big ideas we deal with as pastors and church leaders is forgiveness. Obviously, God in Christ has forgiven those of us who have come to Him in faith and repentance. Jesus taught forgiveness and demonstrated it by forgiving the woman caught in adultery, and the thief of
Journey
This article was first published in Neue Quarterly, Vol. 4, Summer 2009. Remembering Why You Said Yes by Chuck Warnock The phone rang at 3 A. M. one Saturday morning. "Pauline is dying," her niece said, "Can you come?" I dressed quickly, told my wife I
lifestyle
We celebrated my Dad's 90th birthday today, and I'm posting this from his new computer. Dad had worn his old PC out, so nothing like a new screaming fast machine. Did I mention that my Dad also continues to teach flying? Plus, tonight the Sunday School
Culture
According to a new survey, over 84% of mothers online -- some 27-million women -- can be grouped into 5 "digital mom" categories. However, these tech-savvy mothers use the internet, social media, gaming, texting, and other online content in different ways and for different purposes. Churches can benefit
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
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
Congregation
Russell Rathbun, pastor of House of Mercy, has authored a new book, nuChristian: Finding Faith in a New Generation. Rathbun's title riffs off Kinnaman and Lyons' book, unChristian, both visually and topically. Rathbun knows what he's talking about because he is one of the founding
church as abbey
People don't need to go to church. At least that's how the majority of people in America act. Less than 18% of the population attends church on any given Sunday. In the U.S. we are chasing downhill Europe's church attendance rate of 7%