When the amped sound of the praise band overwhelms congregational voices, we can’t hear ourselves sing–so we lose that communal aspect of the congregation and are encouraged to effectively become “private,” passive worshipers.

Many evangelical colleges started out as Bible colleges, with pastors at the helm, their leadership later changed over to academic administrators. Evangelical colleges that continue to choose pastors as leaders…don’t face the demographic pressures that forced Catholic colleges to move away from priests and nuns as presidents as the ranks of vowed religious dwindled.  ... Continue Reading

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins confirmed the security officer was shot and said in a statement, “The police are investigating this incident. Our first concern is with our colleague who was shot today. Our concern is for him and his family.”     Two people, including a security guard, were reportedly shot this morning... Continue Reading

The children see models of the Christian life other than their parents in all walks of life with varying pasts that educate them for the future. Kathy Keller's article on raising children in the city speaks of how others in the community can share their experiences to testify to the goodness of God in avoiding the temptations our children will face.

Regardless the comment, if it was meant to encourage you, thank them for their encouraging words. Be grateful that however small, simple, or even shallow the comment, someone took the time to share their thoughts with you

You may be a very godly and theological person, even very experienced in ministry, but if the parents in the congregation feel weird about you, your ministry to young people will never get off the ground. Don’t expect trust to just happen because of your qualifications, and don’t resent parents when they don’t give it. Just get to work earning it.

It’s important to offer a ministry of presence to those in need. But when the gospel is reduced to identifying with others, the uniqueness of Christ’s incarnation becomes an afterthought.     In recent decades, scores of books, manuals, and websites advocating “incarnational ministry” have encouraged Christians to move beyond ministry at a distance and... Continue Reading

Jamal-Dominique Hopkins, an evangelical Christian, filed an EEOC discrimination complaint on July 5, claiming that officials at the school "harassed me for some time by disagreeing with my conservative religious ideals, intimidating me, slandering my character, giving me poor evaluations and changing student grades from failing to passing with no merit."

It doesn’t take too many weeks to see that loving wisely and caring for dozens of students at the same time is not as easy as it appears and that it is only sustained long-term by the grace of God. Nor does it take too many encounters with students to realize that some will be apathetic, some very hard to connect with, and some will actively turn away from God, despite the amount of love or care you pour into their lives.

Forrester also will have a bit of added clout as university chaplain. Vanderbilt did away with that title in 2008, when it reorganized the office of religious life. Reinstating the title is a positive sign that Vanderbilt recognizes that religion on campus matters, Sims-Baker said. “That word ‘chaplain’ is really important,” he said.