And while the view of the afterlife pitched in Charlie St. Cloud doesn’t square with what you learned in Sunday school, there are religious overtones Last winter, 16-year-old Abby Sunderland set out from California on a mission to be the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world solo. But by early June, Abby was in trouble... Continue Reading

Other than the complete lack of a sneering judge with an English accent, it seems that the first series of `Imam Idol’ has been a great success, at least if the BBC report is anything to go by. Scholar wins Malaysian TV’s Young Imam contest A 26-year-old religious scholar has been chosen as the winner... Continue Reading

“This book captures everything a church needs to make decisions on copyright law.” Noted author and church legal expert Richard Hammar, J.D., LL.M., CPA recently released the Essential Guide to Copyright Law for Churches. This book is an easy-to-use reference guide created specifically for church use. In this newly updated edition, Hammar offers tips to... Continue Reading

“Moving to Atlanta is a way to better embrace the black gospel community,” said Ed Leonard, Chairman of the Board of GMA The GMA Dove Awards, Christian and gospel music’s equivalent of the Grammy’s, is moving to Atlanta next year after 41 years as an annual Nashville event that attracts thousands of artists and a... Continue Reading

Book Review: Shannon O’Dell, Transforming Church in Rural America, (New Leaf Publishing Group, 2010). Churches in rural areas tend to have few people attending and little money. But your church’s small size doesn’t have to limit its potential to impact the world in big ways. If you simply settle for the status quo, your rural... Continue Reading

De Young is a young man who seems determined to minister in a relevant way, but who has made a conscious effort to appropriate the ancient Biblical and Reformed faith for a new day. I suspect that Kevin De Young would balk at being called a rising young star in the Reformed world, preferring to... Continue Reading

There was no shortage of debate about sexuality in the context of the Presbyterian Church (USA) during the 219th General Assembly… There was, however, a shortage of discussion about ministry in the contexts of those controversies. That reality is what inspired the Rev. William Campbell, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hendersonville, N.C., to... Continue Reading

Between “sexting,” cyber bullying, and bikinis with padded tops for 7-year-olds, James Dobson thinks mainstream culture doesn’t offer girls a pretty picture. Dobson’s Bringing Up Girls (Tyndale) is the sequel to Bringing Up Boys, which has sold more than two million copies to date. The founder of Focus on the Family says that one of... Continue Reading

Book Review: Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites… and Other Lies You’ve Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media — by Bradley R.E. Wright You’ve probably heard the many negative media reports about the evangelical church, such as: • Christian young people are leaving the Christian faith in record numbers • The... Continue Reading

In his new book, the Rev. Tullian Tchividjian connects the Book of Jonah with the religious right. And with recent events at his Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. “Instead of the gospel, we’ve communicated moralism,” the pastor of the Fort Lauderdale congregation says. “Somewhere along the way, Christians have communicated that Christianity is for good people,... Continue Reading