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Inspired preachers
I knew my worst sermon was going to be terrible
before I preached it. I want to hold myself to a higher standard, and
James Howell's book offers the inspiration to get me there.
After months of wrangling, occupiers evicted from St. Paul's Cathedral
c. 2012 Religion News Service...
Horror and empathy: My response to a gory Passion play
Is exaggerated violence in Passion plays merely a product of our baser
natures? Or does the savagery actually have a proper place in the
crucifixion's meaning?
New Zealand Christian leaders decry income inequality
Wellington, New Zealand (ENInews)--Christian leaders in New Zealand are decrying the widening gap between the lowest and highest income earners, in a country that has one of the highest rates of in...
Franklin Graham apologizes for doubting Obama’s faith
Evangelist Franklin Graham has apologized to President Obama for
questioning his Christian faith and said religion has "nothing to do"...
Mosque study shows rapid U.S. growth in last decade
The number of mosques in America has jumped 74 percent since 2000,
and the majority of them—56 percent— espouse a less-than-literal...
Eventual grace: The long path to reconciliation
Like Jacob and Esau, my mother and my aunt met each other one day after 20 years of estrangement.
Tools for missionaries
Recently I had a conversation with one of the young parents in my
congregation. We were having a far-reaching discussion that
included Sunday School, next summer's Vacation Bible School Program, and
the changing nature of our culture and church attendance. When I
offered the idea that "going to church" is not as culturally normal now
as it was when I was growing up, she replied, "That's right! I think we
are the only ones who go to church among all of our friends." She
continued that she knew that her friends had a wide variety of opinions
and emotions regarding faith, from some who clearly were not interested,
to others who were more ambivalent.
I blurted out, "So, you're sort of like missionaries to your friends."
I immediately regretted the statement.
"People who don't have money don't understand the stress"
So Bloomberg talked to some rich Wall Street types
about dealing with the impact of reduced bonuses. All populist
eye-rolling aside, I think this quote from Michael Sonnenfeldt--founder
of Tiger 21, a "peer-to-peer learning group for high-net-worth investors"--actually makes some sense:
Sonnenfeldt said [Tiger 21] members, most with a net worth of at
least $10 million, have been forced to “re-examine lots of
assumptions about how grand their life would be.”
While they aren’t asking for sympathy, “at their level, in
a different way but in the same way, the rug got pulled out,”
said Sonnenfeldt, 56. “For many people of wealth, they’ve had a
crushing setback as well.”
Sure--you don't have to be destitute to experience the disappointment of unmet financial expectations.
Wednesday digest
New today from the Century: the long path to reconciliation, gory Passion plays, more.
In praise of snow
Snow can be tiresome, even deadly, but it can also be a sign of holiness and of hope.
Rights advocates hail decision on former Salvadoran official
(ENInews)--Human rights advocates are hailing the decision by a U.S....
Head of Islamic organization deplores killings in Afghanistan
Geneva (ENInews)--The head of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on 27 February condemned as "deplorable" a recent spate of violence and killings in Afghanistan, sparked in rea...
Sunday, March 11, 2012: 1 Corinthians 1:18–25
"You're a preacher, I can tell," the woman said to me. "But not yet."
Splinter groups turn into churches
There's a popular saying in church-planting circles: it's easier to make babies than to raise the dead....
Experts dispute claim that college erodes faith
Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum's claim that U.S.
colleges drive young Christians out of church is facing scrutiny from
Protestant and Catholic experts....
Brazilian deposed bishop and wife killed at home
Conservative Brazilian bishop Robinson Cavalcanti, who broke away
from the established Anglican church, and his wife Miriam were killed...
Celebrity challenge
Occasionally the Century editors sit down to talk with experts in magazine
marketing. They sometimes tells us that we need to do more with
celebrities--feature a celebrity on the cover of the magazine, for example.
No, they're not pressing us to feature Brad Pitt
or Lindsay Lohan. What they have in mind is featuring the celebrities of our world, that is, the celebrities of
the mainline Protestant world.
We usually respond: "But mainline Protestants
don't really have celebrities." When the experts look doubtful, the editors
look at one another. "Well, we might come up with a few living semi-celebrities--but that would take
care of only two months worth of covers."