News
A darkened room. On the screen, a film about Scottish warriors. A movie theater? No. Try Sunday worship. This is the Grove Community Church in Peoria, Illinois, a self-described "men’s church." Mark Doebler, the bongo-playing pastor, says Christian men have been "neutered." Read more.
News Release(Madison, WI)—Alec Hill, president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, announced that InterVarsity and the University of Wisconsin (UW) have reached a stipulated agreement that at least temporarily restores official recognition to InterVarsity’s chapter at the UW-Superior. Read more.
CommentaryIt’s the kind of devil’s advocate question that Roman Catholic priests discuss when no one else is listening.How short do you have to make a Mass to appeal to parishioners who don’t want to get out of bed to go to Sunday Mass in the first place? Would more people attend if Mass was 40 minutes instead of 50?"There are priests who can do a weekday Mass in about 22 minutes and the people know that father has left his car running out back and his golf clubs are in the trunk," said Father John A. Valencheck of the Diocese…
MADISON — What happened at the papal conclave in April of 2005? Why did the cardinals elect Joseph Ratzinger to succeed Pope John Paul II? What has happened in the first 18 months of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy and what are the urgent challenges he faces?These are some of the questions George Weigel answered in his lecture as part of the St. Thérèse of Lisieux Lecture Series on Thursday, Nov. 9, at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center. Read more.Part two of this series.
Five years ago Ridley Usherwood’s global career track brought him to Madison, when he took a job with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to work on the Urbana Student Missions Convention. Now he’s settled even further into the community by taking a pastoral position at High Point Church. MC interviewed the Rev. Dr. Usherwood on his illustrious career and his goals in his newest assignment.
CommentaryThere’s been a lot of talk about the tantalizing announcement of Thomas Pynchon’s new novel, “Against the Day,” coming later this month. But let me draw attention to a throwaway line from the one-page excerpt in the publisher’s catalog that may have escaped your notice. “It’s O.K, we’re open-minded,” says the leader of a gang interrupted in the midst of a robbery; “couple boys in the outfit are evangelicals.” Read more.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–More than two-thirds of formerly churched adults are open to the idea of attending church regularly again, according to LifeWay Research. In the summer of 2006, the new research arm of LifeWay Christian Resources conducted a survey of 469 formerly churched adults to better understand why they stopped attending church and what it would take to bring them back. The “formerly churched” are defined as those who regularly attended a Protestant church as an adult in the past but no longer do so. Read more.
(AgapePress) – Christians in the United States are being encouraged to join in a corporate prayer effort for believers worldwide who face persecution.Sunday, November 12, is the annual International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Christians in America are asked to pray for more than 200 million believers who suffer for the faith in Christ. Pastors are being encouraged to incorporate sermons about the persecuted Church into their Sunday services. Read more.Pray for the Persecuted Church at Madison’s House of Prayer for All Nations.
MADISON — A Catholic group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison sued school officials on Thursday, claiming their policies discriminate against religious groups who want to qualify for student fees.The UW Roman Catholic Foundation filed suit in federal court in Madison against members of the UW System Board of Regents and four UW-Madison officials. Read more.
The passionate, sometimes rhythmic, language-like patter that pours forth from religious people who “speak in tongues” reflects a state of mental possession, many of them say. Now they have some neuroscience to back them up. Read more.