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Evangelical Protestants – born-again, Bible-believing and ever-ready to spread the Word – make up the country’s biggest religious group, with 26 percent of all U.S. adults. Marching under that banner are some of America’s most prominent figures of faith, from Rick Warren to Franklin Graham.And who is most closely identified with mega-churches, contemporary Christian music, mass-rally evangelism and best-selling, purpose-driven Christian books? That’s right: Evangelicals. Sounds like a golden age for the evangelical church, right?Wrong, says Warren Cole Smith, an evangelical journalist and longtime editor of The Charlotte World.Read more of this story. More stories:Americans tired of typical churchRepent of…
Promise Keepers is broadening the focus of its stadium event this year to reach out to women, the poor and Jewish believers. For the first time in the history of the 19-year-old men’s ministry, women will be invited to a Promise Keepers meeting. The day-and-a-half long event, named A Time to Honor, will take place on July 31 and Aug. 1 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. It will be the only Promise Keepers event this year.Read more of this story.
Christians have been transnational since Pentecost. But world events create new possibilities. Spanish missionaries followed closely on the heels of Columbus, and Danish and British missionaries capitalized on trade relations with India. Today, globalized economic and communications networks create new possibilities for American congregations, says Princeton University’s Robert Wuthnow in his most recent book, Boundless Faith: The Global Outreach of American Churches.Since 2000, for instance, 12 percent of active churchgoers reported having gone overseas on a short-term mission while in their teen years.Read more of this story.
The council created to advise President Obama on faith-based issues held its first official meetings via a conference call last week. Over the course of an hour, the 25-member advisory council outlined its broad mission–to find ways faith groups and government can work together on issues ranging from climate change to fatherless families to abortion rates–and a timeline to make recommendations for Obama to address those problems.Read more of this story.
Sometimes it seems that an atheistic tsunami has hit. Anti-Christian books land high on bestseller lists. Polls purportedly show a decline in belief. Newsweek this spring had one of its traditional Easter cover stories on "The Decline and Fall of Christian America." Whenever the conventional wisdom points in a particular direction it’s good practice to ask: What if the opposite is true? What if nominal Christian affiliation is declining but serious biblical belief is actually on the rise? What if Christianity in America is not dying, but instead getting its second wind—or maybe its sixth wind? Read more of this…
Craig Sorley is a self-proclaimed environmental missionary. He represents the Baptist General Conference on the "conservative side of the evangelical movement" in the US. For many (perhaps most) of his church colleagues back home, the environment barely registers on the scale of challenges facing the world today. Climate change is still widely regarded as a myth, while creationism trumps evolution.But for Sorley, 41, who discovered his calling after being diagnosed with a potentially fatal brain tumour two decades ago, global warming, environmental degradation and food and water shortages are some of the greatest threats to mankind today, particularly in the…
Another week, another failed magazine. But while the collapse of print media is hardly news, this demise is different.Today’s Christian Woman was founded in 1978 to reach evangelical Christian women who wanted a publication that reflected their values. They didn’t want the crass sex talk of Cosmopolitan. They didn’t want the mainstream relationship advice of Redbook. They wanted inspirational stories of faith and Bible-based help in managing their children, friendships and marriages. Anita Bryant graced the first issue’s cover.Read more of this story.
(UNDATED) Pity the poor exorcist, caught between evil spirits eager to inhabit human bodies and a skeptical society loath to believe demons exist outside of movie theaters. Even church leaders and clergy look askance at exorcists as peddlers of a practice best left in the Middle Ages. Most American exorcists, particularly those appointed by the Catholic Church, keep a low-profile, hesitating to open themselves—and their church– to ridicule and quacks. But not the Rev. Gary Thomas. Read more of this story.
Consider the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Now, think of the Christian music industry as the camel. As the economy continues to falter, might the straw be upon us even now?An extraordinary number of things have worked against the Christian music in recent years, even before the recession—starting with illegal downloads. (Yes, even Christians steal music.) There was some relief when Christian music found its way into stores like Target and Wal-Mart, but sales didn’t increase much, and Christian bookstores were hurt. Radio found a formula and a target audience, but record labels, feeling the pinch and afraid…
Dallas Willard was teaching Philosophy classes and working on his PhD when he became actively involved with InterVarsity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He described finding an organization on campus committed to seriously seeking God as a “tremendous relief.”Read more of this story. An Interview with Dallas WillardDallas WIllard’s latest book reviewed