At lunch Wednesday with two new and very enjoyable friends one observed my fountain pen, which he recognized as a Pelikan (which is immediate friendship for me), we had a few moments to share the feel of three nice pens. I could go on.. but won’t. I once heard that Biro has now accounted for 100 billion Bic pens — disposable, now clogging up pipes, glutting our dump yards, and defying the world’s nature decomposition. So, let me urge you... Read more

Patricia Miller, with RD: What McClendon overlooks is that the years that women’s church attendance began to decline are the very years when religious leaders in the Catholic Church and the evangelical movement fused religion with the culture wars, with overall attendance for women taking it’s first steep drop in the 1980s. This drop in church attendance for women coincided with the period when the Catholic bishops began making abortion a litmus test for Catholic politicians, as in the 1984 election when Vice... Read more

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram... Read more

By Michelle Van Loon: What do these people have in common? The single woman in her mid-thirties with $40,000 worth of seminary debt now working as an office manager for a software vendor. The former youth pastor now installing replacement windows for a home-improvement company. The veteran minister with 20 years of pastoral experience now an anonymous attender at another congregation after losing his job when a nasty split took place in his old church. Each aimed at vocational ministry,... Read more

By Jason Micheli Memorial Day Weekend is approaching. Memorial Day, though it’s not a Christian holy day and though we won’t change out the paramant colors to observe it, it’s a tricky time for preachers of the Gospel. It’s tricky not because the valor of the fallen lacks honor but because the story of America, particularly when its cast in terms of those who’ve died in its service, is a story that is more powerfully felt by many Christians than the Gospel... Read more

By Joe James My first post in this series was aimed at exposing an unnecessary divide in Christianity. I believe that the church cannot afford to adopt either a conservative or a progressive worldview. At the end of this series, I will propose a third way – the Table. But for now, let us examine the conservative paradigm. One of my favorite novels (and films) is Cormac McCarthy’s “No Country for Old Men.” The book is pulp novel, blood and... Read more

I received a new book in the mail today How I Changed My Mind About Evolution: Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science. In this book twenty-five Christians reflect on their journey to and around the intersection of evolution and Christian faith. The contributors come from a range of perspectives including pastors (e.g. John Ortberg, Daniel Harrell, Ken Fong), biblical scholars (e.g. N.T. Wright, Scot McKnight, Tremper Longman III), scientists (e.g. Francis Collins, Jennifer Wiseman, Denis Lamoureaux) , and philosophers (e.g.... Read more

By Michelle Van Loon: The lights dim, and the band takes the stage.The worship leader welcomes the crowd with a boisterous “Hey, how’s everyone doin’? Great to see you all!” before the band slips into a booming, clever cover of a pop song, then segues into a couple of modern sing-a-long worship standards pulled right from heavy rotation on the positive, encouraging Christian radio station. A carefully-curated selection of announcements and a prayer follows, creating space for ushers/hosts to collect... Read more

Tom Jacobs: The point has been made by everyone from neuroscientists to foul-mouthedsinging puppets: If you really want to be happy, set aside your own desires and help others. But do we really believe it, and do we, in fact, behave accordingly? If your answer is a sheepish “no,” you might want to consider the results of anewly published study. It followed a diverse group of people for six weeks as they either focused on themselves, or performed regular works... Read more

Branding is one of those terms that have crept up on us and caught us unawares and now it seems here to stay. Occasionally my publishers — never my editors — have spoken about “branding” me and it just seems so slimy to me. Faithfulness and wisdom and above all love are the virtues to be sought by those who teach the Bible and theology, and since we are seeking to be faithful to God in Christ as revealed in... Read more