A third theologically conservative diocese has broken away from the liberal Episcopal Church in a long-running dispute over the Bible, gay relationships and other issues. The Diocese of Quincy, Ill., took the vote on November 8, 2008 at its annual meeting. Two other dioceses – San Joaquin, based in Fresno, Calif., and Pittsburgh – have... Continue Reading

God delivers his people, but in different ways, at different times, in different circumstances. As I look at the history of God’s Old Testament people (Israel/Judah) I find that there are three ways the LORD has his people act in various troubling circumstances. I think these are instructive for the Church, for us as God’s... Continue Reading

The North America Church Planting and Church Renewal Training Conference will be January 27-30, 2009, in Orlando, Fla.Planting and growing healthy churches is the focus of this twice yearly training event. Regardless of the age or stage of your church or church plant, there are several seminars and workshops offered that will train you to... Continue Reading

Earlier this year, in “The Next Great Depression,”  [Editors note: the original URL (link) referenced in this article is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.] I noted several parallels between the political economy of the early 1930s and today. Another intriguing parallel between then and now is the striking similarities between Barack... Continue Reading

Someone, who is no alarmist, told me the other day that he had heard a commentator on a television program say that the world is facing the most unsettling time since the American Revolution. I had not heard that before, but I had heard, no doubt as you have, that the economic situation is the... Continue Reading

  Treadmills are machines you walk on without ever getting anywhere. It doesn’t matter how long or how far you walk, you still get nowhere. You never reach a destination.   There are spiritual treadmills that Christians can get on that have negative impacts on both Christian comfort and Christian living. One treadmill is the... Continue Reading

  By now, almost everybody knows “Joe the plumber.” Mentioned about 15 times in the October 15, 2008 presidential debate, Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber from Toledo, questioned Barack Obama at an Ohio campaign stop earlier in the week. Joe wanted to know if Obama’s tax plan would raise his taxes. Senator Obama replied, “It’s not... Continue Reading

  Global stock markets have been plummeting. Where the bottom is, nobody knows. There will be gut-wrenching zigs and hopeful zags along the way; they will be of larger magnitude and—in our digital age of instant response—will occur with greater rapidity than ever before. Perhaps we are near the bottom. Remember, “the darkest hour precedes... Continue Reading

America may soon make a massive turn to the Left. In my comments on the culture I have studiously avoided partisan politics, but sometimes politics and essential issues of cultural, moral and religious identity become inextricably intertwined. This is one of those times. Behind the daily headlines, a worldview conflict is taking place. Two iconic... Continue Reading

  Politics in America is a contact sport. Passions flare and the rhetoric can get heated and nasty. Political parties stoke these fires, playing on people’s fears as a key fund-raising tactic.   Conservative authors have produced books with insulting titles like “If Democrats Had Any Brains, They Would Be Republicans” and “Liberalism is a... Continue Reading