What We Talk About When We Talk About Oldsmobiles
A summary of Rob Bell's new book trailer
The trailer makes the book sound like it will be a total redefinition of the Christian faith, and I suppose such a trailer will be quite a tease for some people. Nevertheless, it sounds like the same song, second verse. That’s why I doubt that this book will attract the same attention among evangelicals as... Continue Reading
Surrogate offered $10,000 to abort baby
Ultrasounds showed the baby she was carrying for another couple had severe medical problems
“They were both visibly upset. The mother was crying,” she remembers. “They said they didn’t want to bring a baby into the world only for that child to suffer. … They said I should try to be God-like and have mercy on the child and let her go. I told them that they had chosen... Continue Reading
The 10 Plagues of The Bible Mini-Series
Thoughts on The History Channel’s “The Bible” Miniseries
THE BIBLE is not The Bible: Let the reader understand. Of course THE BIBLE is claiming to tell the Biblical story from Genesis to Revelation. Christians who know and read their Bible and who attend Bible study and Divine Service regularly will see the movie for what it is: another attempt by Christians (even if... Continue Reading
They Don’t Deserve It!
The Idolatry of Wealth Inequality
Near the end of the video the narrator commits a fatal error, which ultimately reveals a possible motive behind the production, when he asks why CEOs should earn a salary “380 times” more than their average employee. The narrator then says, “we don’t have to go back to socialism to find something that is fair... Continue Reading
Rod Mays, National Coordinator for RUM, to Step Down Next Year
Mays to accept a call as Executive Minister of Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church, Greenville, S.C.
Dr. Rod Mays, National Coordinator for Reformed University Ministries (RUM), announced this week that he will be stepping down from his leadership position next year. Dr. Mays has been the Coordinator for RUM for the past 14 years. During this time, RUM, the campus ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America, has grown from 40... Continue Reading
Aging Pushes Churches to Fiscal Brink
Some aging congregations are merging with younger, multi-cultural congregations in order to stay alive
Estimates of annual church closures range from 3,500 to 7,000. That’s likely to increase as younger generations, including the rise of the “nones,” increasingly avoid organized religion. One of the biggest dangers facing those churches is the failure to see the financial trap that puts them in,” said Chris Gambill. “A lot of established, traditional congregations... Continue Reading
End of the Mainline
The declining National Council of Churches abandons New York City for shelter in D.C.
The mainstream, Mainline Protestantism began its decline into radicalism in the mid 1960s, mostly in reaction to the Vietnam War. No longer moored to a firm theology, groups like the NCC were easily susceptible to take-over by radical activists. And having tied themselves to American culture and modern secularism, they were ever anxious to stay... Continue Reading
The Landscape from Both Sides of the Pulpit
The landscape is very different from both sides of the pulpit
As one sitting in the pew, I did not have time to go to all the meetings of the church….I often thought to myself – I am not able to go to this meeting, I do not need to go to a meeting….Standing behind the pulpit, I believed there could never be enough meetings for... Continue Reading
Looking Forward To the Next Chapter
He was describing the vibrant connection to God he had in his high school days but it is now gone
When the student thinks back on his fervent spiritual life as a high schooler there is significance and value there, but not as a part of the story to be rehashed. Instead, it should remind him that such connection to God is real and possible. Rather than being jealous of his own past he should... Continue Reading
Calvin College Identifies Source of Debt Trouble
President Michael Le Roy: “We built more building than we raised funds for.”
Most schools with Calvin College’s financial profile and good credit carry debt service payments of between 5% and 7.3% of their operating budgets. Calvin College’s debt service payments are at about 6.1% now and will grow to 9.2% by 2017 if our revenue holds constant. The problem is that we have not built more than... Continue Reading