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Bishop Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) has been elected president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) by the church body’s highest legislative body.The LWF’s 11th Assembly voted Saturday for the successor to Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who has been LWF president since the organization’s last assembly in Winnipeg, Canada, in 2003.
Financial advisers, researchers, and other observers weigh in on whether churches should increase their operating budgets next year.
WASHINGTON (RNS) When conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck warned churchgoers to “run as fast as you can’’ if their pastors preach about “social justice,’’ was he also encouraging them to run from the Bible? That’s what some progressive Christian leaders are arguing as battle lines are drawn for the 2010 mid-term elections. They say Beck and his Tea Party followers are, in a word, unbiblical.
ALBANY, Ga. — Praise the Lord and pass the popcorn. Moviemaking churches are venturing into the cineplex to attract souls who might never set foot in a megachurch. Like Hollywood films, they take on real-life issues in dramatic packages.
At a time when the prospects for immigration overhaul seem most dim, supporters have unleashed a secret weapon: a group of influential evangelical Christian leaders. Normally on the opposite side of political issues backed by the Obama White House, these leaders are aligning with the president to support an overhaul that would include some path to legalization for illegal immigrants already here. They are preaching from pulpits, conducting conference calls with pastors and testifying in Washington — as they did last Wednesday.
A recent Barna Group study shows that Christian teens from the U.S. are less and less enthusiastic about sharing their faith. Information on the study released last week provided evidence that "among born again Christian teenagers, the proportion who said they had explained their beliefs to someone else with different faith views in the last year had declined from nearly two-thirds of teenagers in 1997 (63%) to less than half of Christian teens in the December 2009 study (45%)." Not only does it appear that evangelism among teens is in danger, but the study also noted that Christian teenagers are…
The numbers are in and the results aren’t exactly shocking – people like free stuff.Saturday’s series of giveaways by Madison’s Asbury United Methodist Church brought out hundreds of people to three locations.The church handed out more than 1,300 free burgers and cheeseburgers in five hours at a Middleton Sonic drive-in restaurant, said the Rev. TyLacey Hines, associate pastor.
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (RNS) From his Old Testament beard down to his scuffed boots and battered Bible, Alan Farley looks the perfect picture of a Civil War chaplain. On a dusty field five miles from where the Battle of Gettysburg was fought 147 years ago, Farley acts the part as well, thundering sermons from his home-made pulpit, praying with bedraggled soldiers, and handing out tracts with titles like “Everlasting Punishment.” The thousands of soldiers and spectators at the Gettysburg Civil War Battle Re-enactment in early July could be forgiven for swallowing the chaplain’s performance—the tracts look aged, the religion old time. …
People listening to their pastor preach on Sunday morning may now ask a question that no one has ever asked before: Is this live or is this on tape delay?More pastors are using high-def videos, and even holograms, to beam their Sunday morning sermons to remote "satellite" churches that belong to their congregation.
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 his favorite letters came from a 14-year-old girl. “I hate you dr. dobson,” she wrote. “I had to watch the dumbest movie today about sex. You made the movie. HA! Like you’d know anything about it.” Parents are producing strong-willed children, Dobson says, and he…