Egyptian Christians weather ‘climate of impunity,’ says U.S. State Dept.

May 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Entryway of St. Mark's Coptic Cathedral

Christians in Egypt suffer amid a "climate of impunity," according to the U.S. State Department's newly released International Religious Freedom Report. Despite word of positive developments -- including prosecution for the murder of a Coptic man and occasionally increased police security for threatened Copts -- the meager gains hardly diminish the unimaginable threats regularly faced by believers in one of the world's oldest bodies of Christians. "While recognized and unrecognized … [Read more...]

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Six books for every pastor’s library

May 17, 2013 By 4 Comments
6 Books for Every Pastor

Pastors buy a ton of books, according to a new survey by the Barna Group. On average pastors purchase about forty-five titles a year, considerably more than the general population. How many books are we talking about? Protestant congregations number about 315,000 in this country, Catholic and Orthodox another 25,000. That means pastors buy about 15 million books a year, more or less. As a publishing professional, let me just pause and say thank you to all the pastors out there. My family … [Read more...]

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Disillusioned by the church

April 30, 2013 By 5 Comments
Broken Stained Glass

I recently had an exchange in which someone mentioned leaving the church. Who hasn't? He quit participating some time back, and he's not alone. There are any number of reasons people walk out and don't return. There are those who wake up one day and decide the whole enterprise is false. But most seem to leave because the church has failed to measure up in some way. They leave because they are disillusioned. You know the triggers: Community life is lacking. A fellow parishioner said … [Read more...]

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Playing politics with the sacraments?

April 25, 2013 By 48 Comments
Eucharist

Gene Robinson, retired Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, says the Catholic church is playing politics with the Eucharist. The comments stem from recent pronouncements that Catholics who oppose the church's moral teaching should refrain from taking the Eucharist. Neither should they be surprised if denied the sacrament. “For a Catholic to receive holy Communion and still deny the revelation Christ entrusted to the church is to try to say two contradictory things at once: ‘I believe the … [Read more...]

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Should the church help you find your life calling?

April 11, 2013 By 15 Comments
The Catalyst Leader

I’m excited today to feature a guest post by my friend and fellow Patheos blogger Bill Blankschaen. Bill looks at a question provoked by Brad Lomenick's new book, The Catalyst Leader: 8 Essentials for Becoming a Change Maker. Brad's book releases April 14 from Thomas Nelson. We all know the church should help you grow in your understanding of the Holy Scriptures. We all know that the church should be known as a house of prayer. We all agree as Christians that the Church should be a … [Read more...]

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Through the joy and sorrow of Christian death

March 11, 2013 By 4 Comments
when you lose someone you love

A friend of mine lost her mother over the weekend. When I hear of the passing of someone close my mind wanders to a handful of passages I find comforting and reassuring. Though any effort is bound to be feeble and unworthy in the face of such a loss, I've gathered some of those passages here for whatever balm they offer. When someone dies in the Orthodox tradition, the body rests in the nave of the church before the funeral. During the wake, parishioners volunteer to read Psalms over the … [Read more...]

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How not to read the Bible

February 23, 2013 By 5 Comments
How Not to Read the Bible

"All scripture is . . . profitable for teaching," according to Paul's second letter to Timothy. The apostle tells the young bishop that the scripture is useful for correction and preparation in righteousness and good works (3.15-17). But how? When we look to the story of Jacob, for instance, are we to walk away with the belief that cheating one's family, sorcery, and polygamy are acceptable behaviors? Just because something occurs in the scripture does not make it scriptural -- not in the … [Read more...]

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Egyptian Christians seek unity amid strife

February 18, 2013 By 2 Comments
Pope Tawadros II

While Egyptian Christians face ongoing strife in their Muslim-majority nation, there are signs of encouragement as leaders of five different Christian groups begin meeting for the first time to forge a way forward together. Evangelical, Anglican, Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic Orthodox leaders met Monday in Cairo for the first gathering of the United Council of Egyptian Churches. Coptic Pope Tawadros II led the group, which was the dream of his predecessor, the late Pope Shenouda III, … [Read more...]

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America’s declining faith in pastors and churches

January 9, 2013 By 2 Comments
Who Trusts the Pastor?

When the Gallup organization asked people to "rate the honesty and ethical standards" of various professionals, respondents placed clergy down at number 8. They fared better than chiropractors and lawyers, but nurses, pharmacists, medical doctors, engineers, dentists, police officers, even college teachers were all considered more trustworthy and ethical than pastors and priests. Barely half, just 52 percent, of respondents said clergy's honesty and ethical standards were high or very … [Read more...]

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Despite dangers, Middle East Christians express hope

December 29, 2012 By 2 Comments
Pres. Morsi

The position of Christians in the Middle East appears today more tenuous than ever. "[T]here is now a serious risk that Christianity will disappear from its biblical heartlands," said Rupert Shortt in a recent report for the British think tank Civitas, citing estimates that "between a half and two-thirds of Christians in the region have left or been killed over the past century." Shortt's report, entitled Christianophobia (PDF here), does not hold Christians blameless for some of the grief … [Read more...]

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