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The young minister’s alarm goes off at 6 a.m., time for his own devotional and the one he will send to the president of the United States.This particular morning, Joshua DuBois meditates on the disciple Peter’s first letter to the early church. The text he prays over and e-mails to Barack Obama half an hour later is about something else.It’s a private start to the day for the president and the pastor, a spiritual BlackBerry session they guard carefully.
COMMENTARYThe question is no longer, "Do you believe in global warming?" but, "What do you believe about the Gulf oil spill?" The BP spill has brought creation care closer to home. Whether global warming is a dire threat or not, human-made or not, we are all now more aware of our relationship to other parts of God’s creation.It goes without saying that one of our main callings is to care for the Earth. The Bible uses a variety of phrases to talk about this, such as "to work and keep" the garden (Gen. 2:15, ESV), to "have dominion" over all…
For 10 years, the Rev. Richard Cizik was the chief lobbyist for the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents roughly 30 million constituents across the United States. But he was forced out of that position in December 2008, after remarks he made on Fresh Air about his support of gay civil unions, among other things. On Wednesday, Cizik returned to Fresh Air to discuss how his life has changed since he left the association and why he started a new group called the Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good.
If you told your friends you were going to a Hillsong Live concert, worship leader Ben Fielding would have a good-natured correction for you. “We’d probably err to call it a performance,” he said during the band’s second U.S. concert stop in Johns Creek, Georgia.
COMMENTARYLOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)–A man who is like a spiritual father to me began what he called a "family altar" with his wife before they were married, and has faithfully continued the practice through the arrival of children and grandchildren for more than 50 years. Sadly, it seems that few men among even the best evangelical churches today could speak of daily family worship in their home.
Imagine children as young as 4 and 5 years old being forced to work 14- to 16-hour days making bricks, cigarettes, rope and textiles, then being forced to beg strangers for food in order to eat. This is the picture of slavery in many Asian and Middle Eastern countries. “It’s a pretty harsh and brutal environment,” says evangelist Bruce Ladebu, founder of the Children’s Rescue Initiative (CRI), which has been purchasing the freedom of these victims. “The children never have any time off. They worked from sun up to sun down.”
Everyone in pop culture seems to come through San Diego’s Comic-Con these days. The annual event has grown from a gathering of dedicated comic book fans to an essential stop on the marketing hajj for any major nerd-related media. A fleet of news outlets now invade the convention annually to see exclusive previews and panel discussions covering a broad spectrum of films, television shows, video games—and, yes, comic books.Last weekend, at least one evangelical pastor joined the press corps at Comic-Con 2010.
MADISON, Wis. — Opposing sides of the debate over gay marriage gathered at the state Capitol Tuesday for two separate rallies.More than 300 people showed up in support of gay marriage rights, demonstrating against the group National Organization for Marriage.The National Organization for Marriage is hosting rallies around the country ahead of stops in Washington, D.C., next month.
A prominent traditional marriage group is about half way through its 23-city tour to call on Americans to defend the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.The National Organization for Marriage, founded in 2007 amid state battles on the definition of marriage, has so far visited ten cities on its bus tour called the “Summer for Marriage Tour 2010: One Man One Woman.” By the end of this week, NOM will have completed another five cities, including Madison today.
CommentaryThe entertainment industry is in the full throes of the changing of the generations; films and television are beginning to reflect the visions of Generation Xers like Jason Reitman, (Up in the Air), Judd Apatow, (Knocked Up), Brad Byrd (Up, The Incredibles), and other young artists who dare to buck the tired irony-cool cynicism that has shaped and stifled too much of the culture. Suddenly, after decades of being shut out, minimized, or mocked, film characters have room in their lives for optimism, and even something almost like faith. The Church, if it seeks to be relevant in the future,…