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CommentaryNov. 13, 2006 issue – During my time in the White House, the most intense and urgent evangelical activism I saw did not come on the expected values issues—though abortion and the traditional family weren’t ignored—but on genocide, global AIDS and human trafficking. The most common request I received was, "We need to meet with the president on Sudan"—not on gay marriage. This reflects a head-snapping generational change among evangelicals, from leaders like Falwell and Robertson to Rick Warren, focused on fighting poverty and AIDS in Africa, and Gary Haugen, confronting rape and sexual slavery in the developing world. Since…
QUITO, ECUADOR (ANS) It was a bright, sunny, cool day, typical of the Christmas mini-dry season in Quito. My Otavalan Indian friend Pablo and I were standing on the street just a few days before the holiday, discussing how we would celebrate the season. —
Commentary(BP)–America’s most congested travel season is now underway as millions of people are headed home to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. These days, the holiday signals the beginning of the extended Christmas season, and even though an official Thanksgiving observance has long been a familiar part of our American culture, the substance of the observance is very much in question. Read more.
AgapePress) – For one professional basketball star, the goal of winning an NBA championship fades in comparison to winning a teammate to Jesus Christ.Win or lose, Milwaukee Bucks All-Star guard Michael Redd and two other teammates gather at the center of the court after each game to give thanks to God. Redd says although there are no born-again believers on the team, he keeps "planting the seed" because he knows God will one day "give the increase." Read more.
For Alex Gee, a well-known pastor in Madison, and his wife Jackie, the searing moment happened not once, but twice.In 1992, their first daughter, born only 17 weeks into the pregnancy, died within a short time. "We called her Victoria and held her until she slipped out of our arms into eternity," Gee wrote in his new book, "When God Lets You Down."Read more.
(AgapePress) – Wacky guy Bruce Barry’s love for art started as a child when he sat on the knee of his father, an animation cartoonist for Walt Disney. Barry was eager to learn how to draw, cartoon and paint, and his father was willing to teach him."My dad always taught me, if you’re going to do something right, do it first-class or not at all," Barry said.Barry took his father’s words to heart. What began with cartooning at a nearby amusement park led Barry to create award-winning work for Disney, Universal Studios and the Rain Forest Café, among others. "But…
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.