Billy Graham Says His Heart Aches for 'Deceived' America
The Rev. Billy Graham has posted a new prayer letter on his website where he addresses the people of the nation and tells them he is very much afraid of the damage that the American lifestyle is doing in the eyes of the Lord. The 93-year-old evangelist begins his letter by recalling an incident a few years ago when his wife, Ruth, who has since passed away, remarked that "If God doesn't punish America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah," referring to the cities in the Old Testament destroyed for the sinful nature of their residents. MORE |  | Churches and Pastors in Chicago's War Zone Respond To Violence
Whenever Rev. Ira Acree of Greater St. John Church, 1256 N. Waller, learns of a young life snuffed out as a result of reck- less gun violence that is now commonplace throughout Chi- cago urban neighborhoods, he can’t help but feel somewhat responsible. “Anytime a child is gunned down my heart crumbles,” Acree told the Defender, adding, “A piece of my soul dies…every time. This is a collaborative failure.” Acree, suggests local and state officials could do more in working alongside churches to provide much needed resources to curb acts of violence. “Churches, schools, families, we all share the blame,” he said. MORE | | | | |
WORLD Mag: Chicago Woman Dies after Botched Abortion
Less than a week after the Obama administration pledged to continue funding Planned Parenthood, a woman died after having an abortion at one of the organization’s facilities. Chicago resident Tonya Reaves, 24, was pronounced dead on July 20 at Northwest Memorial Hospital just hours after going through a Dilation and Evacuation abortion at a local Planned Parenthood facility. Abortion provider use the D&E method when a pregnancy has advanced beyond the first trimester. The operation consists of opening the cervix and removing the child after it is dismembered. An autopsy revealed that Reaves died from hemorrhage following the abortion. Her death has been ruled an accident. Operation Rescue, a pro-life Christian activist organization, was the first to release a statement about the incident and are calling for President Obama to halt federal funding and personal support for Planned Parenthood. "Friday's death is yet another reason why men and women of conscience across this nation cannot and will not comply with the forced funding of abortion and its intentional violation of religious liberties," said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue, in a news release issued on Sunday morning. MORE |  | | | |
| Friday, July 27th, 2012 | | | | NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST TO CHRISTIANS | Billy Graham Defends Chick-fil-A, Traditional Marriage Amid Uproar
Renowned evangelist Billy Graham – who has been among the top 10 of USA Today/Gallup poll's annual most admired people in the world list more than 50 times – issued a statement Thursday in support of Chick-fil-A's leaders and their public stance on marriage. | Drought Likely to Bring Higher Grocery Bills in 2013
The U.S. Department of Agriculture warned Thursday that this year's drought will likely cause higher grocery bills in 2013. | Chinese Buying U.S. Businesses at Record Pace
Chinese direct investment in the United States could hit a record high in 2012, according to a new research report released Wednesday. Total Chinese foreign direct investment in the U.S. is on pace to reach at least $8 billion this year, according to the report from research firm Rhodium Group. | 'Pandering' Politicians Piling On Chick-Fil-A
A family advocate in Illinois says it's "ridiculous" as more city officials are trying to ban Chick-fil-A over the biblical stance of the company president on traditional marriage. | Syria's Civil War Forcing Christians to Take Sides
Fighting has spread in Damascus and Aleppo, the country's two largest cities where many Christians live. Now, those Christians are being forced to take sides. | Gaza Christians Fear for Community's Survival
For the second time in two weeks, Gaza's Christians are publicly accusing Muslims of forcing members of their faith to convert to Islam. | Euro Crisis Worsening Despite Reforms
Recent actions by European leaders to mend Europe's financial crisis have failed to turn things around. Economists say the financial crisis in the eurozone continues to get worse. | Holy Land Tour Scam
A suburban Philadelphia man is heading to federal prison for bilking devout customers out of more than $400,000 by promising Holy Land trips that never happened. | Mother of 7 Suffers Complications After Forced Sterilization in China
A Chinese mother of seven has been hospitalized after suffering major complications from an earlier forced sterilization surgery. Zhong Xuexiang was treated in Guangzhou, China, for internal bleeding, months after doctors cut into her large intestine during a forced sterilization. | Chaplain Leaves SBC
A retired military chaplain is glad that an Air Force chaplain who attended a same-sex civil union earlier this summer has decided to leave the Southern Baptist Convention. | The Trouble With Girl Scouts...
Concerned former Girl Scout families have created a three-part video series exposing a troubling promotion of abortion and sexual information by the organization. | | | | CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS EDITORIALS | Eric Metaxas: Squawking Over Chick-fil-A
In a better world, buying pens and eating lunch would be a politics-free experience. All that would matter is whether we're getting value for our money. Unfortunately, we're stuck with the one we have. | Research On Religion: Religion Gap Is Deep and Wide
With the election season heating up, we revisit the issue of whether religion plays a role in voting behavior in the United States. Prof. Gerald De Maio's research examines the “religion gap” in American politics and how the media and scholary community have overlooked this rather salient feature in electoral politics. | Robert Morrison: Counterfeiting Money and Marriage
Marriage works like that, too. In Northern Europe, researcher Stanley Kurtz found, when governments began to counterfeit marriage by forcing people to accept same-sex couplings as marriages, we saw the total number of true marriages dropping. Counterfeit marriages drove out true. | Get Religion: The Media & Chick-fil-A -- The Internet Often Honors Stupid Stories
Last week I saw Chick-fil-A trending on Google and thought there must be some delicious promotion, some sort of free sandwich you get for dressing up like a cow. Eager to get a freebie, I clicked through to find out why people were searching. Surprise! Chick fil-A’s president Dan Cathy says.... | Get Religion: Walking On Coals for No Particular Spiritual Reason
....This brings me to an interesting New York Times piece about one of the most famous non-religious prophets (Or is that profits, in this case?) in our media world today. That would be the capitalist guru Tony Robbins. The key non-religious religion words in the story are right there in the headline.... | Matt Hamilton: Christians Against an Islamic Invasion
Even though Muslim groups in Nigeria like Boko Haram have been murdering Christians in a campaign of religious cleansing for years, Nigerian Christians have demonstrated enormous restraint...Reality however is that Christians are under attack from a determined enemy that seeks an Islamic... | Cal Thomas: Dark Night
By now the script should be familiar. A bombing or a mass shooting occurs and the media immediately look for a simple cause. Invariably, they turn to talk radio or some other conservative pit of “intolerance.” Within recent memory are tragedies like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the 1999.... | Chelsea Kolz: A Mother’s Pursuit of Happiness
I remember the smell of my mother’s first briefcase. She carried it during my earliest years, the years from which I can recall smells most deeply. But my mother regrets carrying the briefcase and, according to her, missing so many of my moments. | LaShawn Barber: Saying It Out Loud
...The video is a commentary on the president’s support for redefining marriage to include two people of the same sex, disregard for religious freedom, and other issues. | | | | MINISTRY, SCRIPTURE & LEADERSHIP RELATED ARTICLES AND ESSAYS | Brian Croft: What Essential Quality Must Every Pastor Possess?
When this question is asked today, many qualities would most certainly be listed as essential, depend- ing upon who answers. Great oratory skills, a winsome personality, abilities to lead to name a few. Yet, I believe one essential quality that every pastor must possess is the quality Spurgeon said... | Tony Merida: Ranting is Not Preaching
...While we need to apply the text to a given congregation, does this mean we just use a verse to jump into some agenda of ours? No. That’s not preaching. I have one word for the ranters out there: Keep your finger on the text when you teach and preach. And I will try to do the same.God has not called us to rant, he has called us to preach the word - faithfully, consistently, pastorally, patiently, and.... | David Cloud: Beware of Soft Separatism
The separation that is practiced by many fundamental Baptist churches is “soft,” meaning it is insufficient and ineffectual. It is insufficient in warning, insufficient in education, insufficient in the actual practice of separation. Soft separatism is characterized by focusing on positive truth and.... | Susan R Fri: Homeschoolers are Consumers, Too
When a new demographic emerges, companies begin to find ways to market their products to this budding audience, and entrepreneurs jump at the chance to fill an unexpected gap in the free market. Home schoolers have been such a demographic. In the early days of home schooling, parents used... | Thom Rainer: Why Unchurched Go Unreached
I am often amused when I hear myself identified as an expert in any area. If I am a perceived expert, it is because I have had the wonderful opportunity to listen to thousands of people over the past few decades. They are the experts; I am little more than an interested reporter. | Cripplegate: What Happens to Infants Who Die? The Need for an Answer
...Entering the NICU, we found the child on life support, and the doctors were not optimistic. Pastor John called the family around him, and he opened his Bible. In that setting, John gave a devotional about what happens to infants who die. As he talked, it was obvious that the family was being comforted by the truths of Scripture. But in the background, something unusual was happening. | Clint Archer: Three Reasons Seminaries Exist
....The seminary began covertly with 50 students meeting secretly in the forest during the oppressive iron fist of Communism. As the iron curtain rusted and disintegrated in 1989, the thriving seminary simply popped up like a cork that had been held under water awaiting a gap to emerge. | Wyatt Graham: The Gospel and Language Barriers
Every believer is called to preach the Gospel (Matt 28:18–20), but sometimes language barriers can get in the way. I have been finding this obstacle more and more frequently. As immigration increases, many cities find themselves resembling a mini-United Nations meeting. | Ron Edmondson: Four Words of Advice for a Newbie Leader
I am consistently asked about the beginning days of a leadership position. In my opinion, the opening days of any job are some of the most important. Apparently others think so also. | Tyler Braun: Where Holiness Begins
The collective story of so many people can be summarized in one word: shame. Our own sin and the sin of others has inflicted large, gaping wounds that have pushed us away from God and others as we’ve hidden ourselves and our shame. | | | | GENERAL ARTICLES & ESSAYS | Boston Herald: George W. Bush Reflects on Being President
...Bush stressed the importance of a leader having a vision and principles that won’t be sacrificed for the sake of popularity. ”When that happens, organizations tend to fail,” Bush said. “A lot of my decisions were informed by a set of principles I had developed by the time I went to Washington.” Popularity is like a “poof of air,” according to Bush. ”Principles are enduring,” he said. | Mere Orthodoxy: When Your Social Media Feeds Get You Down
Through the mirror dimly all we see is the chronically disappointing person who never quite satisfies us: the blogger who is never quite popular enough, the billionaire superhero who still isn’t satisfied, the Facebook poster whose clever or provocative posts don’t ever change anyone’s minds. But in Christ we see more clearly the truth about ourselves: that we are the beloved property of the God... | Art of Man.: How the Cycles of History Shape Values, Manhood, & Your Future
...We are often struck, even sort of tickled, about how much the hopes, observations, and complaints of people decades, even centuries, ago sound just like the hopes, observations, and complaints of modern folks. It’s uncanny sometimes! It is often said that history repeats itself. But do these repetitions happen at random…or is some kind of regular cycle at work? |
///////////////| Thursday, July 26th, 2012 | Price Of Corn Hits A Record High As Global Food Crisis Looms
Are you ready for the next major global food crisis? The price of corn hit an all-time record high on Thursday. So did the price of soybeans. The price of corn is up about 50 percent since the middle of last month, and the price of wheat has risen by about 50 percent over the past five weeks. MORE | | NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST TO CHRISTIANS | White House Warns of $1,600 Tax Hike on Middle-Class Families
The White House has launched a new offensive in its fight with congressional Republicans over taxes, arguing 114 million middle-class families will see their taxes rise without action by Congress. | U.S. Drought Could Cause Global Unrest
Twice in the last five years, rising food prices triggered global waves of social unrest. With drought baking U.S. crops, another round of soaring, society-straining price spikes may happen in the future... | Europe Is Sleepwalking Towards Imminent Disaster, Warn Top Economists
Europe is “sleepwalking towards disaster”, according to the 17 experts, who warned that over the past few weeks “the situation in the debtor countries has deteriorated dramatically”. “The sense of a neverending crisis, with one domino falling after another, must be reversed. | Gay Marriage To Be Introduced in Scotland
Scotland is set to become the first part of the UK to introduce gay marriage after the SNP government announced plans to make the change. | Unintended Pregnancy More Likely For Those Shacking Up
Couples who are living together have more unplanned pregnancies than those who are married, according to a new study by the National Center for Health Statistics. Researchers found that about half of all births to cohabiting women are "accidental and unwanted." | Hundreds of Fetuses Found in Russian Forest
Villagers in Russia's south Urals region stumbled upon a gruesome discovery: four barrels containing 248 human fetuses left in a forest. Police say they were kept in barrels with tags marked with surnames and numbers and preserved in formaldehyde. | U.N. Commission Calls for Legalizing Prostitution Worldwide
A report issued by the United Nations-backed Global Commission on HIV and the Law; recommends that nations around the world get rid of “punitive” laws against prostitution – or what it calls “consensual sex work” -- and decriminalize the voluntary use of illegal injection drugs to combat HIV. | As U.S. and China Discuss Human Rights, Chinese Pastor Tells His Own Story
As U.S. officials began their annual human rights dialogue with Chinese authorities in Washington this week, stories abounded of human rights abuses in the communist nation. | Atheist Group Tells City to Remove Church From Logo
A Wisconsin-based atheist organization has told city officials in Wyoming, Mich., that the city's logo is unconstitutional because a church and cross are depicted on it. | Chick-fil-A Flap Flips to Frat Food Fight
The latest Chic-fil-A controversy is beginning to take on the nature of a frat house food fight, according to some commentators on both sides of the issue, and calls for restraint have begun. Here's what's gone on in just the past few days: | Workers on Disability Set Another Record in July
The number of workers taking federal disability insurance payments hit yet another record in July, increasing to 8,753,935 during the month from the previous record of 8,733,461 set in June... | Advice To Biola: Stand Firm On Scripture
Pro-family leader Peter LaBarbera contends that officials at one California Christian campus should respond according to scripture in light of the formation of a homosexual group on campus. | Colorado Shooting Victim's Birth Defect Saves Life
A miracle has emerged from the tragic shooting spree in Colorado. One of the victims who was shot in the head is making an amazing recovery, and her pastor is giving glory to God. | Eagle Scouts Return Medals Over Organization’s Anti-Gay Stance
The Boy Scouts of America's stance of not allowing openly gay people to serve as troop leaders or members has inspired several Eagle Scouts to return their hard-earned medals and renounce their membership. | Likely No Welcome Mat for Obama In Israel
A U.S.-born Israeli author and Middle East expert says not everyone in Israel would welcome Barack Obama if he follows through on his recent promise to visit the Jewish state if he is re-elected. | Unfortunate Proof That Planned Parenthood Is Putting Women at Risk
Pro-life groups are calling for an investigation into the death of a woman who just underwent an abortion procedure at a Chicago Planned Parenthood. | Oppressive Speech Policy Remains
Thanks to the Alliance Defending Freedom, a California community college has withdrawn disciplinary action against a student who was passing out flyers to promote this year's National Day of Prayer -- but the school has yet to revise its speech policy. | Archaeologists Amazed at Treasures Found Near tomb Raided by Nazi SS
An underground pyramid from 500BC and suspected of containing untold treasures has been found near a Celtic tomb raided by Heinrich Himmler... But now archaeologists are excited by a nearby Iron Age burial chamber that is even bigger at 18 square feet, probably the grave of a great chieftain. | | | | CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS EDITORIALS | Dan Delzell: Life Imitating Art Imitating Lucifer in Aurora
Hollywood can create some incredible special effects, but it cannot heal the hearts of those who lost loved ones in Aurora. It cannot pick up the pieces now that someone has lived out the behavior of the "Joker"...James Holmes lived out his fantasy to be a real life Joker and killer. | Michelle Malkin: Hey, Boston -- Leave Chick-fil-A Alone
It's one thing for Hollywood moppets and television Muppets to protest Chick-fil-A over the fast-food chain president's support for traditional marriage. They're private citizens and entities. But when an elected public official wields the club of government against a Christian business in the name of "tolerance," it's not harmless kid stuff. It's chilling. | End of Am Dream: What In The World Is Wrong With American Kids?
What in the world has happened to the children of America? All over the United States kids are acting like half-crazed monsters, but most people seem to think that this is "normal". American kids today are selfish, self-centered, sadistic, cruel, disrespectful, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, boastful... | Robert Morrison: Counterfeiting Money and Marriage
Marriage works like that, too. In Northern Europe, researcher Stanley Kurtz found, when governments began to counterfeit marriage by forcing people to accept same-sex couplings as marriages, we saw the total number of true marriages dropping. Counterfeit marriages drove out true. | Jack Cashill: What the Media Won't Say about Frank Marshall Davis
....As McHenry concedes, Davis was a communist and a pornographer. Had Mitt Romney written two youthful poems about a man of comparable interests, that man's name would be more notorious than "Bain Capital." As it is, not one Democrat out of a hundred could identify "Frank Marshall Davis." | Cal Thomas: Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Government
....As the Obama campaign attacks Mitt Romney’s business success—and by association all who have succeeded or wish to succeed—Romney should turn the tables and attack seven principles that have made government highly ineffective. | American Spectator: The Duty of Self-Defense
The movie theater slaughter in Aurora, Colorado last Friday cost at least 12 people their lives, and scores of others were injured, some of whom may yet die. The reactions to it, from liberals and some conservatives, have been assiduously ignoring the lessons we should have learned from this incident and those like it in the past. | Does the Presence of Religious Symbols Create a 'Proselytizing Environment'?
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that holding a public school graduation in a church violates the Establishment Clause when the church has an indeterminate number of religious icons and symbolism in the building. | | | | MINISTRY, SCRIPTURE & LEADERSHIP RELATED ARTICLES AND ESSAYS | Geoff Surratt: How Should Your Church Respond to Tragedy?
Early Friday morning, while I slept at my house 12 miles away, James Holmes entered Theater 9 at the Century Theater in Aurora, Colorado and began firing a variety of weapons into the crowd. By the time he was done he had killed at least 12 innocent victims and shattered the lives of dozens more. He drew his inspiration for this horrible carnage from the Batman comics and movies, and his weapons of choice were two handguns, a shotgun and a semi-automatic assault rifle. Denver was again rocked by senseless massacre...How should churches respond to this tragedy? MORE | David Schrock: Heaven -- The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
Cinderella. Sleeping Beauty. Snow White. Much Ado About Nothing. Pride & Prejudice. Princess Bride. All these epic romances end with a wedding, and more often than not, they include the famous tag line “And they lived happily ever after.”...the one true tale that God is telling in all the Bible and over the course of human history. It is the story that begins with a broken covenant (Gen. 3) and culminates in a glorious wedding (Rev. 19-22). It is a glorious story.... | Paul Tautges: A Wife’s Submission Is…
The Bible’s call to the wife to submit to her husband is one of the most misunderstood and confused areas of the Christian family. This time, what submission is… An Attitude Before It Is an Action. | Thabiti Anyabwile: Some Basic Thoughts on Manhood
...It seems “manhood” is an en vogue topic these days. In recent weeks we’ve read of the juvenalization of men, what Al Mohler calls “adultolescence.” We’ve also heard of the need for the church to have a “masculine feel.” Of course, that stands in contrast to the oft-expressed concerns about the “feminization” of the church and, by implication, the feminization of Christian men. | Glenn T. Stanton: You Cannot Improve on God's Design for the Family
Children needing more than two parents? This is the case being made by California State Senator Mark Leno, who says that for children to be really protected, the state must be able to assign legal parentage to more than the child's mother and father. How many more? As many as the adults in play desire. | Chad Hall: How to Hire Leaders
...Tim served as Lead Pastor for a large and growing church when he contacted me for coaching. By all measures of success, he was doing well as a pastor: the church was flourishing under his leadership, his staff members were thriving, his family was healthy, and his own soul was growing. | Blazing Center: 7 Ways to Put On Humility
We must put humility on. This doesn’t mean we fake it, but that we begin to do it, even though it takes effort. Putting on humility isn’t easy. After all, it’s not easy to be humble when we’re as great as we are. But it can be done. | Christianity Today: A Recall Notice for Sermons?
“Dear Church. There were critical flaws in last Sunday’s sermon. Please delete it from your memory. The sermon will be repaired this week and re-preached this coming Sunday.” This led to asking myself if I’d ever preached sermons that should’ve been recalled. And the answer was, sadly, yes. |
///////////////////////| Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 | Support ... and Opposition ... for Chick-Fil-A
In the aftermath of the company president’s declaration for traditional marriage, the National Organization for Marriage is calling on people of faith to support Chick-fil-A. At the same time, the mayor of Boston is getting roasted for his opposition to the restaurant chain. President Dan Cathy recently stated in an interview with a Christian news journal that his privately owned company is "guilty as charged" of supporting what he calls "the biblical definition of the family unit." MORE | | NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST TO CHRISTIANS | Colorado Shooting: Cross Carrying Evangelist One of First Responders to Carnage
An evangelist perhaps best known for carrying his 12-foot cross around the globe during the last 44 years – often to places of tragedy – didn't have to travel thousands of miles to share his love for Jesus late last week. Denver area resident Arthur Blessitt was one of the first responders to the aftermath... | Poll: America's View of Religion at an All-Time Low
A recent Gallup poll shows America's view of organized religion is at the lowest since the 1970s. Gallup notes that "the decline in confidence does not necessarily indicate a decline in Americans' personal attachment to religion." | Christian Chorus Rising Among Tribal Hindus In India
A large portion of India still lives in tribes, and one of the largest of these communities is witnessing a Christian revival. Hundreds of men, women and children who used to follow Hinduism are now embracing Christianity. Ask Dinesh Shur why so many tribal people are accepting Jesus Christ and.... | Is Obama Losing Support Among Atheists and Christians Alike?
President Obama has been criticized by some born-again Christians for running the most anti-biblical administration in history, but recent data from Gallup show that he is actually losing ground among atheists as well. | Court Rules Against Wis. School District That Held Graduations in Church
An appeals court ruled against a Wisconsin school district over its usage of a church building to hold graduations due to a lack of space in public school facilities. | Evidence That the US Military Is Spiraling Downward
An advocate for America's fighting men and women says it was absolutely inappropriate for the Department of Defense to allow service members to march in uniform in a San Diego "gay pride" parade this past weekend. | Swiss Hospitals 'Evaluating' Circumcision
Two hospitals in Switzerland have suspended infant male circumcision, following a ruling by a German district court last month banning the procedure. "We are in the process of evaluating the legal and ethical stance in Switzerland," said Marco Stuecheli, spokesman for the children's hospital in Zurich. | Catholic Monsignor Headed To Prison
A Roman Catholic monsignor who became the first U.S. church official branded a felon for covering up sex abuse claims against priests has been sentenced in Philadelphia to three to six years in prison. | Missing Faith & Values -- The 'Dry Rot' of Society
Noted Christian movie critic Ted Baehr says the mainstream media and liberal advocacy groups are overlooking the real problem in blaming the recent Colorado massacre on various social and political issues. | Opportunity To Minister at Olympic Games
As athletes prepare to compete for Olympic gold medals in England, Christian ministries are also preparing to hit the streets of London to spread the word about a greater reward. | Forced Abortion, Sterilization Are Major Human Rights Issues
As news of a new case of forced sterilization has surfaced in China, one women's rights advocate says that issue and forced abortion should be "front and center" a the ongoing U.S.-China human rights dialogue. | Mass. Pastor Who Was Kidnapped in Egypt Is Now Back in US
The Massachusetts pastor who was kidnapped in Egypt is back home. The Eglise de Dieu de la Pentecote congregation was on hand to celebrate the return of Rev. Michel Louis and church member Lissa Alphonse at Logan International Airport. | Evangelical Alliance Responds to 'Extremist' Label in UK
In response to an article recently published in The Telegraph U.K., the Evangelical Alliance has expressed concern over the mentality of governmental officials towards faith schools and those who support them when they cautioned the public about "evangelical Christians." | Over 100 Killed in Attacks During Ramadan in Iraq
Iraq's Shi'ite community and government officials were targeted in a series of attacks around the country that killed at least 125 people soon after the beginning of the Muslims' holy month of Ramadan. | | | | CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS EDITORIALS | Eric Metaxas: The Twilight of Liberal Christianity?
Since 2000, the Episcopal Church has lost 23 percent of its members. At this rate, there will be no Episcopalians in 26 years. | Caroline Glick: Syria Threatens Israel with Chemical Weapons
Israel of course has not threatened to attack Syria. Rather Israel has made clear that it reserves the right to use force to prevent the embattled terror sponsor Bashar Assad from transferring his chemical and biological weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. | Denny Burk: Chick-fil-a and the Irony of the Tolerance Police
Do you see how this is going? You don’t even have to mention homosexuality or gay marriage. All you have to say is that you are pro-family, and certain municipalities will exile your business. | Robert Spencer: Why Michele Bachmann Is Right About Keith Ellison
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has accused Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) of having a “long record of being associated” with the Hamas-linked Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood. | Wallace Henley: Gotham City Is a Caricature of Biblical Babylon
The dark knight rises and Gotham's dark night deepens. Gotham is a virtual world that sprang into horrid actuality as alleged shooter James Holmes gave flesh and breath to his avatar, the Joker. MORE | Am Thinker: The Dream Is Dying
...Tell a story? Well, there are a lot of us these days who have stories to tell. And far from reflecting unity, purpose, and optimism, these are testimonials to another sad reality: the "American dream" -- at least under the Obama administration -- is dying. | Am Thinker: If Darwin Was Right, Don't Sweat Global Warming
With record-setting heat, power outages, and raging wildfires in the news, it was just a matter of time before global warming reared its sweaty head as the culprit. | Bruce Bawer: Heroes in Aurora
....I couldn’t help thinking of those, and other, historic instances of human passivity when the details of the movie-theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, began to come out. I am referring to the remarkable fact that not one, not two, but three of the people who died from gunfire that night were young men who lost their lives protecting their girlfriends from the spray of bullets. | | | | MINISTRY, SCRIPTURE & LEADERSHIP RELATED ARTICLES AND ESSAYS | Jill Sullivan: How to Help Bereaved Parents in Your Church
...I was scared to death of parents who had lost children. I could not begin to imagine the magnitude of that type of loss, and I had no idea what to say to them, or what NOT to say to them. What if I said the wrong thing and added to their pain?....And then I became one of them. | Kevin DeYoung: Tragedy and Moral Language
...The world, and to a large extent the church, has lost the ability to speak in moral categories. We have preferences instead of character. We have values instead of virtue. We have no God of holiness, and we have no Satan. We have break-downs, crack-ups, psychoses, maladjustments, and inner turmoil. But we do not have repugnant evil as the Bible has it. | Greg Breazeale: What Does Gospel-Centered Leadership Look Like?
The phrase Gospel-centered gets much use these days. Books, blogs, and articles on what it means to be Gospel-centered seem to pop up every day. My aim here is to wrestle a bit with what Gospel- centeredness looks like when it comes to leading an organization such as a church, a bank, a school... | Matthew Olson: Why Is Legalism So Attractive?
Why is legalism so attractive? It is attractive because it feeds the sinful flesh. It may not feed the flesh in the same way that sexual perversions, alcohol, drugs, and promiscuity do, but it does feed the flesh. And, I will argue that it does so in a more dangerous way, because it deceives a person into thinking... | Bible Mesh: How Should We Respond to Old Testament Polygamy?
In the middle of ongoing cultural convulsions over the definition of marriage, I have found one question increasingly on the minds of many people: “Didn’t God in the Old Testament allow for polygamy? If that is true, then how can you say that marriage is defined as being only between one man and one woman?” | | | | GENERAL ARTICLES & ESSAYS | Ben Reed: Seven Ways to Not Be a Slave to Your Phone
...When I hear the “ding” on my phone, I’m like Pavlov’s dog. I can’t not check it. It’s just not possible. Something inside of me goes off. I’ve talked with guys who just put their smart phone on the bedside table when they get home from work and don’t touch it until the next morning. But I can’t do that. Pastoral emergencies happen. I was just tired of my smart phone controlling my life. I had a problem. So I decided to take action. | Sean Lucas: Blogs & Social Media -- Thinking Out Loud in Public
In some ways, blogging is a form of thinking out loud in public. In fact, all social media has this element–thoughts are tried out whether in long form (like a blog post) or in short form (like a tweet or Facebook post), but often it is an exercise of talking to one’s self. In the sense that these ideas are expressed in ways that make sense to ourselves, but can often draw funny looks from others, if not outright criticism. | Art of Manliness: The Art of Worldly Wisdom
...While Gracian’s maxims were directed to men trying to gain favor in the dog-eat-dog world of 17th century Spanish court life, they’re just as applicable to a 21st century man trying to both succeed in a hyper-competitive globalized economy and develop an upright, heroic character. |
//////////////////////////// ///////////// |  About one-third of the colleges and universities in the United States are on a financially unsustainable path, according to a study conducted by Bain & Company and Sterling Partners. The Christian Post found 10 Christian colleges and universities deemed financially unsustainable along with a number of others considered at risk of becoming financially unsustainable. "The financially sustainable university," written by Jeff Denneen and Tom Dretler, looked at financial stability along two dimensions: expense ratio and equity ratio. Those with a high increase in expense ratio (expenses as a percentage of revenue) and a high decrease in equity ratio (total net assets, or assets minus liabilities, divided by total assets) are considered financially unsustainable. MORE |  ....Can any good from these crimes: crimes of personal assault and crimes of cover-up? I cannot be objective in my analysis. Any objectivity goes out the window when I think of the children. Emotions supersede calm logic. Nevertheless, I keep asking myself to focus, to learn what I can as a leader. I must force myself to learn something if I am ever to be the kind of leader to make certain this tragedy does not place where I serve. If nothing else, I must learn leadership lessons for the sake of these children and future children. In doing so, I noted seven leadership lessons from Penn State. MORE |  ....What Cathy is experiencing is the tip of the iceberg. Right now, people are in court and being severely fined simply because they wish to exercise their faith convictions in how they run their businesses. Elane Photography is in court because the co-owner of the small New Mexico photo company couldn't in good conscience user her artistic skills to beautify a same-sex "commitment" ceremony. Hercules Industries is in court in Colorado because the Obama administration wants to force its owners to abandon their faith convictions when it comes to providing health insurance that covers abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception.... The list goes on and on. MORE |  The Obama administration, through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a new policy directive to the states that would waive work requirements in the welfare program known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). This program specifies the work requirements that accompany welfare assistance and requires recipients to work or actively look for work. The new policy suggests that new flexibility for states to help families find and secure employment. Since the emergence of this presidential memo, the issue has been hotly debated on both sides of the political aisle. But are we asking the right questions? What does removing the work requirements do to the very nature of work itself, and how does it alter incentives for those receiving welfare? MORE | //| EDITOR'S DISCLAIMERPlease do not assume that a link to an author or a ministry implies our agreement with, or support of, that entity. Even the article or item itself may not agree with the editor's views. We trust our readers to discern the truth for themselves. Our purpose here is to make known to Christian leaders the issues of the day, and point to articles that may shed light on what others are thinking about an issue or subject. You can find more about the Editor's beliefs and views by clicking on About This Site. |
///// |  The recent shooting massacre in Aurora, Colo., has fed into a perception that America is becoming increasingly violent amid a gluttonous gun craze. Actually, the opposite is true, Patrick Egan, assistant professor of politics and public policy at New York University, points out in a post for The Monkey Cage, a political science blog. In the wake of the national tragedy in Colorado, Egan wrote that pundits have reached for explanations, with some blaming weak gun laws or the power of the gun lobby, while others talking about a cultural decline. MORE |  If a major emergency happened in the United States, do you have faith that the government would take care of you? Amazingly, even after all of the examples to the contrary that we have seen in recent years, a solid majority of all Americans actually believe that the government will be there for them when things hit the fan. According to a new survey conducted by the Adelphi University Center for Health Innovation, 55 percent of Americans believe that the authorities will come to their rescue when disaster strikes. Sadly, most Americans still view the government as a "nanny state" that has both the capability.... MORE |  In 2006, the Episcopal Church's presiding bishop, Katherine Jefferts Schori, told the New York Times that Episcopalians were not interested in "replenishing their ranks by having children." Instead, the church "[encouraged] people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion." "Stewardship of the earth" and having children are not incompatible, but if Schori's goal was a principled extinction, she's about to succeed. The Episcopal Church, you see, is in a statistical free-fall. Since 2000, the Episcopal Church has lost 23 percent of its members. At this rate, there will be no Episcopalians in 26 years. MORE |  While the Bible praises marriage and demands that we hold it in honor, it gives very little guidance on how we get from single to married. The Old Testament provides many and varied examples, but the New Testament describes and prescribes nothing. Nothing in the Bible prohibits the use of a dating service or the use of any kind of media as a means of communication between unmarried men and women. Though the New Testament could have decreed certain patterns of courtship or certain means of communication, the Lord, in his wisdom, chose not to address the subject. This tells us that we have freedom before the Lord to rely on wisdom and discernment in the pursuit of a spouse. So here’s the rub: Any question about eHarmony or online dating is not a question of truth or error, but a matter of wisdom. MORE |
 ....We think if someone could only answer why---by finding fault with gun lobbyists, or theater security, or the Tea Party, or Batman---we might be able to snuff out the source of this violence. Then maybe we'd be safe. But right now, no one can promise you'll be okay tonight if you decide to see The Dark Knight Rises. One Aurora victim even escaped a shooting last month at a Toronto mall, only to die shortly after tweeting friends last night about her excitement for the movie to begin. This might be the scariest thought about this random killing spree, which follows many others in varied settings in countries around the world: Authorities will promise to do everything to ensure our safety. But in the end, no one can guarantee our security... MORE |  There is no way, short of a miraculous and full-scale changing of hearts and minds, for North American denominations to survive the homosexuality crisis. Denominations like the PCUSA, ELCA, RCA, UMC, and Episcopal Church will continue. They won’t fold their tents and join the Southern Baptists (though wouldn’t that be interesting!). I’m not suggesting most of our old, mainline denominations will disappear. But I do not see how any of these once flourishing denominations will make it through the present crisis intact. And the sooner denominations admit this sobering reality the better. MORE |  Those who doubted Obama's immersion in Marxism now have a perfect window into his soul -- namely, in the form of the stunning class warfare remarks he recently made in Roanoke, Virginia. We must grasp, however, what Marxism is and what it is not. Marxism is not a political philosophy to help the poor at the expense of the rich, and it is not a design for a utopian future. Marxism is simply a Heart of Darkness, a Siamese twin of Nazism, a curse on all humanity committed to three themes: (1) hatred, (2) misery, and (3) lying. Marxism is neither a science nor a system of belief. It is a rationale for seizing power and terrorizing all those who are not its cadres. MORE |  .....Despite a legacy of some two hundred million (and counting) deaths in his name, Marx remains the godfather of the left. Such perverse idolatry is perhaps symptomatic of the left's pathological lust for power to reshape the world into a "heaven on earth." Mass genocides in the name of "social justice" could come only from a seriously warped ideology. To know Marx is to know the contemporary left as well. Both rest on duplicity, hypocrisy, and nihilism...It's argued here that Marx's obsession with fomenting revolution can be seen not as a matter of compassion for the proletariat, but as a self-aggrandizing nihilism. Marx was fixated on revolution and the power he might inherit from it. MORE |  The news hit the airwaves like a sudden onslaught, and the truth began to sink in. It has happened again. This time, 50 people shot while attending the midnight premier of the last in the Batman sequence, "The Dark Knight Rises." According to press reports, a 24-year-old man burst into the crowded theater, wearing a gas mask and carrying an arsenal. After deploying what is believed to be tear gas, he opened fire with a shotgun, a rifle, and two handguns. At least 12 people are dead, and dozens are injured, many critically. Over 100 police officers responded to the scene in Aurora, just a few miles from Columbine High School, where in 1999 two high school students killed... MORE |  The president's Roanoke speech goes beyond mere insult to American entrepreneurs.Certainly his words are offensive enough to business builders and owners; however, they go beyond mere insult. They go beyond the implication that the collective trumps the individual. They go beyond the trampling of the American dream. They even go beyond a direct attack on personal achievement and the fluid hierarchy that have characterized the American middle class. His core message, combined with other red-light indicators of a radically leftist political philosophy which includes wealth redistribution, is the message of the almighty and sovereign State: "We own you." MORE |
 Author Richard Louv believes that America’s children are now suffering from a syndrome he identifies as “nature- deficit disorder.” In his recent book, Last Child in the Woods, Louv suggests that the current generation of American children knows the Discovery Channel better than their own backyards–and that this loss of contact with nature leads to impoverished lives and stunted imagination. Louv begins by recounting an anecdote involving his son, Matthew. When the boy was about ten years of age, he asked his father: “Dad, how come it was more fun when you were a kid?” The boy was honestly reflecting on his knowledge of his father’s boyhood. Richard Louv, like most of us who came of age in his generation, spent most of our playing time outdoors, exploring every.... MORE |  ...Yet instead of attracting a younger, more open-minded demographic with these changes, the Episcopal Church’s dying has proceeded apace. Last week, while the church’s House of Bishops was approving a rite to bless same-sex unions, Episcopalian church attendance figures for 2000-10 circulated in the religion blogosphere. They showed something between a decline and a collapse: In the last decade, average Sunday attendance dropped 23 percent, and not a single Episcopal diocese in the country saw churchgoing increase. MORE |  I believe in using social media for Kingdom purposes, having done online ministry for over 15 years. I’m thankful for the intentionality of ministries and Christian-based businesses helping us to do that well. Here is how to Promote Your Church on Facebook: Your church is having a great new band visit in a few weeks and you want to let everyone in your community on Facebook know about it. The problem: your Facebook Page only has 200 “likes.” The solution: create a Facebook page post ad—yes it’s a mouthful to say, but not too difficult to do. Why should your church create a Facebook page post ad? MORE |
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