The Shifting Sands of “Evangelicalism”

February 15, 2012

There is no more accomplished student of American Protestantism than Martin Marty. This week, he muses on how odd it is that evangelical leaders are teaming up with Catholic bishops to fight the Obama administration. Evangelicalism, he writes, has in the past few decades shifted from a type of private piety to a publicly political [...]

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Warming to Chicago

February 15, 2012

If you grew up in Minnesota (or Wisconsin, or the Dakotas), you were taught that Chicago is mainly a pain in the ass. Any trip East meant that Dad would complain about Chicago traffic, and the entire trip had to be scheduled to avoid the notoriously horrible Chicago traffic. If the Twin Cities were home, [...]

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Young Creatives Are Fleeing Evangelicalism

February 14, 2012

The Barna Group* has a new study out, and it shows that the future is bleak for the evangelical church in America. That’s because young, creative evangelicals are leaving the church in droves: The results of a five-year study of the Millennial Generation—people born between 1982 and 1993—are in. Thanks to the Barna Group, a 28-year-old, [...]

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Lauren Winner on Doubt, Prayer, and the Eucharist [VIDEO]

February 14, 2012

In part two of my interview with Lauren Winner about her book, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis,, we talk about faith, agnosticism, prayer, and why Lauren pursued became an Episcopal priest.

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Are You a Biblically Qualified Pastor?

February 13, 2012

If so, then you might want to consider applying for this job in Coal Township, Pennsylvania. Here are some of the money quotes from the online job posting: We are currently looking for a Pastor for our church in Coal Township, PA. Currently we hold services once a week at my home with our 6 [...]

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Lauren Winner on Writing and Regrets [VIDEO]

February 13, 2012

In part one of my interview with Lauren Winner about her book, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis, we talk about writing, regrets, divorce, and what a memoir really is. Part two coming tomorrow.

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Evangelical Masculinity: Some Historical Perspective

February 12, 2012

John D’Elia brings some much-needed perspective to the latest John Piper kerfuffle over masculinity: There’s a fair amount of manliness popping up in churches these days. This is nothing all that new in American evangelicalism. Dwight Moody said similar things back in the late 1800s, but for far more sensible reasons. The massive shift toward [...]

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Process Theology: Not (Quite) Convinced

February 10, 2012

Danielle Shroyer leads the Emergent Village council, and was present at the Emergent Village Theological Conversation last week. She went with an open mind toward process theology, and she left as a fan, if not a convert: On the plane ride home, I mentioned on Twitter that my conclusion for now is that I’m a [...]

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Lauren Winner’s Faith

February 10, 2012

All week, I’ll be posting about Lauren Winner’s new book, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis. I’m doing so because I think it’s an important book, and I hope that you all read it. Maybe you guessed this is how my series would end. That even through divorce, loneliness, depression, and the occasional bourbon, Lauren [...]

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Clergy Taxes Made Easier

February 9, 2012

Do you perform “sacerdotal functions”? If so, and if you’re “ordained” — yes, those are “scare quotes” — then you may qualify for a housing allowance, a funny part of the U.S. tax code that allows clergy and military to bypass federal taxes with a certain portion of income. It’s not easy to complete clergy [...]

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