Many Americans support capital punishment until they hear a story or meet someone who makes it personal to them, anti-death penalty activist Melissa Browning says. “Everything changes when you see it through the eyes of someone who is personally affected,” said…
Passion, not money, needed for vibrant young adult ministries, study shows
Younger Americans are abandoning organized religion in ever greater numbers and it’s no shock that churches can’t control the underlying social forces driving that decline. But they aren’t totally powerless, either, says Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, director of the United Church of Christ’s…
Clarify those expectations, experts tell pastor search committees
It seems obvious that a church searching for its next leader would be clear on how it understands the role of the pastor in its own context. But the hard truth is congregations are often fuzzy on that detail. “If…
Sue for religious freedom? It’s not just for conservatives, anymore
The number of religious freedom bills across the United States may give the impression that using the law to protect faith is a purely conservative pursuit. Well, it isn’t, says Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
Conflict is part of the church’s DNA. Learn to live with it.
When the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina needed someone to lead a conflict resolution workshop recently, they thought of Rubin Ortiz. “I have kind of a Ph.D. in conflict resolution,” said Ortiz, pastor of La Primera Iglesia Bautista in Deltona,…
Despite size, Nagasaki Cross inspires reflection on Christian unity, breaking barriers
It is known as the Nagasaki Cross, a small — about 15 inches tall and 7 inches wide — Christian symbol forged from debris found in the wreckage of a middle school located 1,500 feet from where an American plutonium bomb detonated on Aug. 9, 1945.
Louisiana flood victims need help — including the spiritual kind, pastor says
Most Louisiana flooding victims are still much in the rescue phase, still in shock that their homes, businesses and communities remain underwater. But it won’t be long before they enter a stage of emotional devastation induced by seeing damaged or…
Bluefield scholar seeks to take a bite out of interfaith tensions
Anti-Islamic sentiment is driving U.S. and European politics while religious hatred fuels world terrorism. Rob Merritt sees the roots of that animosity. “Most of the global conflict we see today has to do with religious controversy,” says Merritt, dean of the…
Looking for the origin of decline in the U.S. church? Baptist historian thinks he may know the answer
Bill Leonard became fascinated with the topic of conversion early in his career, often teaching and preaching about the dramatic, and not-so-dramatic, ways Americans have become Christians throughout U.S. history. And by the early 1980s, Leonard said, the number of conversions,…