You may have noticed we’ve entered some financially challenging times lately. (It has been in all the papers … those that are still printing.) The challenges we face can be quite disorienting. It’s scary. We may now realize that the way we oriented our life was unhealthy but what would a healt...

Recently I was reading a book by a pastor who I admire. He wrote something I think reflects a pervasive mindset among pastors and theologians. It is something that troubles me. The source isn’t important since it is a restatement of what so many others have written, but it is a mindset that I pray...

Pew Forum: Big churches posting small membership losses Membership has waned in the nation's largest Christian bodies -- the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention -- while mainline Protestant churches continue to shrink, according to the "Yearbook of American & Canad...

I’m convinced that one of the most misunderstood concepts in the modern world is markets. Too often portrayed by advocates as the handmaiden of God that will usher in his Kingdom, and reviled by detractors as the handmaiden of the Anti-Christ perverting people into avarice driven malevolence, its ...

Reuters: U.S. charities fear proposed tax law change  (HT: Victor Claar) ATLANTA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Proposed tax law changes in President Barack Obama's budget could hit charities hard even as demand for their services rises due to the worst recession in decades, U.S. charitable groups wa...

The Economist: Primates on Facebook THAT Facebook, Twitter and other online social networks will increase the size of human social groups is an obvious hypothesis, given that they reduce a lot of the friction and cost involved in keeping in touch with other people. Once you join and gather your “f...

BBC: Two sexes 'sin in different ways' Women are prouder than men, but men are more lustful, according to a Vatican report which states that the two sexes sin differently. A Catholic survey found that the most common sin for women was pride, while for men, the urge for food was only surpasse...

There has been a fascinating discussion over at Jesus Creed in recent days about science and scripture concerning Genesis 1-11. It is being led by RJS who is a chemistry professor at a premiere university. A recurring topic in the comments is the historical nature of Genesis 1-11. RJS has described ...

[Link to Part 6] It Takes More Than Markets to Address Poverty A frequent critique of market economies is that some people end up poor. Depending on your definition of “poor,� this is a truism. If “poor� means the bottom 1%, 10%, or 20% of the wealth distribution, and you aren’t going to e...

Jesus the Radical Pastor (John Frye): Creative, Emerging Theological Words From my expansive reading, I’ve come to see the need for some new, emerging theological vocabulary. wishional church– those faith communities longing to be a missional church hermesleuthtics– the process of finding “s...