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In “A Life of Purity,” Dallas Bivins writes, “No one could compete with the Pharisees when it comes to pure doctrine. Now a pure heart, that's another issue. Pharisees could scale volumes of regulations while tripping over the law's intentions. Whether he spoke of murder, adultery, or marriage, Jesus…

Do you remember the first Mr. Coffee commercials? For more than ten years, Baseball’s Joe DiMaggio stood in front of the cameras lauding the great taste of drip brewed coffee. However, when Mr. DiMaggio wanted to indulge in a hot drink, he fixed himself a cup of instant Sanka. In the mix of things that…

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life conducted a survey that states 78% of the adults in America classify themselves as Christian (this includes Protestant, Catholics, Mormons, etc). Only 5.8% of those adults claim religion is "somewhat important or very important" in their lives. That is a scary statistic!…

What is the impact of our lives and our churches on our communities? Are we fulfilling our mission to reach the world with the message of the Gospel? Or are we just marking time and creating wonderful, peaceful communities of believers who are not impacting the world? The Barna Group has released a 2015…

In a new book, How The West Really Lost God, Author Mary Eberstadt argues that we are not losing the family because we are losing God, but rather the exact opposite. It is the breakdown of the family that is causing the decline in religious belief. Religious decline comes first, then family decline.…

Polls taken over the past several years have revealed a strange trend in America. While faith in organized religion has dropped to an all-time low, spirituality is at an all-time high. Similar polls have shown that 80 percent of Americans identify with a religious denomination, while 58 percent say they…

Studies have indicated the growth of a new group of Americans in the past few years. This group, referred to “nones,” is those who claim that they are not associated with a particular religious group. Pastor Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv says he believes the growth of this group has more to do with…

Stockholm resident Henrik Ismarker complained to police about the traffic in front of his home. Too many cars going too fast made his street unsafe. The next day, police caught Henrik in a speed trap. He was driving too fast on his own street and police responding to his complaint wrote him a speeding…

In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI resigned, which was a surprise to all. However, the media reported that he decided to resign after receiving the results of an internal investigation, “with 300 page, two-volume dossier that laid bare a sordid tale of blackmail, corruption and gay sex at the Vatican.” The nine…

A new poll by the Gallup organization found that 78 percent, of American Christians identify with Christianity. Overall, the survey found 82 percent of Americans claimed a religious identity with 52 percent claiming to be Protestant or other Christian, almost 24 percent claimed to be Catholic, with other…

A new listing of churches within a denomination has found an interesting trend among young Christians. The survey conducted for Churches or Christ that most denominations are seeing a decline in overall membership. Carl Royster who conducted the survey says he found an increasing number of Americans…

In The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, Skye Jethani writes, “In Consumer Christianity, our concern is not primarily whether people are transformed to reflect the countercultural values of God’s kingdom, but whether they are satisfied — often measured by attendance…

In Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, David Platt writes, “I was in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, teaching in an Indonesian seminary. Before they graduate, the students in this seminary are required to plant a church, with at least thirty…

In Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, David Platt writes, “While the goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God.” - Radical, p. 46 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson John 3:30 (CEV) Jesus must become more important, while I become…

In The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, Skye Jethani writes, “If imitation is the highest form of flattery, than Christians have become pop culture’s most devoted admirers.” - The Divine Commodity, p. 19 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson Instead of adapting to culture,…

In The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, Skye Jethani writes, “In our cultural quest for survival, driven by our fear of irrelevance, have evangelicals become Crypto-Christians? Have we clothed our faith with the forms of our American culture to the point that our Christianity…

A study at a Kansas University found almost no difference in the sex practices of atheists and highly religious people. Adultery, masturbation, and other sex acts are as prevalent among the religious as the irreligious. The only difference investigators found was that the religious feel guilty about…

Americans like to pick and choose their religious beliefs. Julia Roberts has chosen Hinduism. What does she base her choice on? Well, it combines the best of her mother’s Catholicism and her father’s Baptist beliefs. Mostly she just likes the idea of reincarnation. --The Week, August 27, 2010 p. 8Illustration…

Athletes, coaches, movie stars, politicians, and other people who are in the public eye have a great platform from which to teach moral and spiritual values. Some of them use the platform, some of them do not. The greatest hindrance to the gospel may be those who use the platform, and then fall far short…

New information from a Gallup survey conducted in 114 countries agrees. When asked how important religion is in their daily lives, 84 percent of adults worldwide say it is important. The richer a country is, the less important religion is. The one exception to that finding is the United States where…

In Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash A Revolution In Your Life in Christ, Peter Scazzero writes, “According to Gallup polls and sociologists, one of the greatest scandals of our day is that ‘evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered…

Erwin McManus says the church must to change the way it thinks or risk losing the opportunity to shape culture in the future. Speaking at The National Leadership Forum, McManus challenged Christians to stop ignoring the innovators and early adopters. He says recently the church has been lead by late…

PRAYER For those who can’t find time in the day for prayer but still want to cling to religious activity, an online company offers outsourcing for your prayer life. The website, www. informationAgePrayer. com allows subscribers to leave the praying to their company’s computers. For a fee of $3.95 per…

Russell Carney, a Psychology professor at Southwest Missouri State University, told the Associated Press in 1992 that he had developed a technique for improving memory. Here is his suggestion for how to remember that Degas did a particular painting in 1865. “First, think of an object that sounds like…

California pastor and author Francis Chan recently surprised church members saying he was leaving the church he and his wife planted because he feared he liked his popularity too much. Chan explained his actions and called the church to radical service at a recent Exhibition. Chan said he was concerned…