By Kelly Edmiston. She is the Youth and Family Minister at the First Colony Church of Christ in Sugar Land, Tx. She enjoys “suburban life” with her husband Ben and two sons, Mason and Hunter. Kelly is a passionate leader following God’s call on her life to minister to students and edify families. Kelly is currently obtaining a Masters of Divinity from Abilene Christian University. Find her blogging at brophytwinspeak.com about faith, family, and fashion. [Image] The silence that surrounds me... Read more

On the “Decline” of the Church in America: Devil Worship for the Sake of the Common Good, by Allan Bevere, with a zinger for an ending! So much ado has been made about a recent Pew Research Center report on the decline of Christianity in America. Many have weighed in on what the results of the research mean. Many things I have read are insightful, such as United Methodist Bishop Ken Carter’s post on the matter. I have found other analyses to be... Read more

Deborah Netburn: Heads up, men: Pulling on a bright red shirt in the morning may change the way people perceive you throughout the day. According to a new study, most of us think men dressed in red look more aggressive, dominant and angry than if they were clad in gray or blue. The research was published last week in Biology Letters. Red has long been associated with aggression and competitive success in animals, including humans. The research team, led by... Read more

Chapter 5 of Mark Harris’s book The Nature of Creation: Examining the Bible and Science looks at the biblical framework of creation. The concern is not so much the act of creation, but the way in which the bible’s authors talk about the nature of creation, especially time and space and the theological significance of this discussion. The challenge is to try, as much as we are able, to project ourselves back some two to three or four thousand years... Read more

Source: NEWSER) – As California enters its fourth year of drought, with fines that the Los Angeles Timesreports could range up to $10,000 for water wasting, citizens are taking to social media to not only rat on their neighbors but call out the state’s wealthiest, some of whose magnificently manicured lawns are still green while everyone else looks at various shades of brown. Targets include Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, whose lush lawns stand out from above; Beverly Hills residents, who keep filling their... Read more

This is Mother Theresa’s version of the “St Francis” Prayer, and it can guide us as we remember those who have lost their lives in service to their country: Make us worthy Lord to serve others throughout the world, who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread and by our understanding love give peace and joy. Lord, make me a channel of thy peace. That where there is hatred I... Read more

By Allan Bevere:[SMcK: Civil religion equates what God wants for his people with what God wants for the nation, and then soon equates nation and church/Israel.] In his book, To Change the World, James Hunter persuasively argues that the religious right and the religious left are nothing more than mirror images of each other. The civil religion of the religious right should be obvious to everyone paying even superficial attention to religion and politics in America, but as Hunter points out,... Read more

Lindsey Bever: An 81-year-old North Carolina Army veteran touched an emergency operator earlier this week when he dialed 911 — not because he was hurt, but because he was hungry. Clarence Blackmon had just returned to his apartment in Fayetteville, N.C., after spending months in a hospital and rehabilitation facility where he has been battling cancer. When he got home, his refrigerator was empty. He had no family living nearby and no way to get to the grocery store. “I... Read more