After several days reflection, I’m going to weigh in on the “He Gets Us” Super Bowl ad debate. And I’m going to turn this debate slightly, and suggest the following insight: If you want to understand what it’s like to…
SBC’s ‘conservative resurgence’ has brought two decades of baptism declines
The year conservatives consolidated control of the Southern Baptist Convention is the last year a key marker of denominational growth showed an overall upward trend, according to new annual data released by Lifeway Christian Resources. Even a slight rebound in…
If the Sinner’s Prayer is the only way to salvation, why isn’t it in the Bible?
One night recently, I was speaking by phone with the adult son of a man whose funeral I would officiate a few days later. While getting to know the family and the deceased in preparation for these “pick up” funerals…
In her moment of crisis, Julie Chen picked up a Bible a coworker had given her
Julie Chen was on top of the world when her world came crashing down five years ago. She was creator of the daytime Emmy award show The Talk, along with being the host of Big Brother. But then, it all…
Why I don’t invite would-be friends to church
Walking along a well-beaten path, my daughter and I make our way through the canopy of trees toward the small lake’s shoreline. Already, I can see the congregating group of other parents with their children, staking claims with chairs and…
The stampede out of the church and the people of God and Christ outside its walls
“Stampede” may be an exaggerated word for the exodus out of the church in America, but no one can escape the reality. A date has been attached: 2070, the projected date when there will be more non-Christians than Christians in…
A toolbox for evangelism
I am notoriously bad at do-it-yourself projects. Indeed, it is something of a longstanding joke in our household. Among my litany of DIY failures are the sloping shelf my kids’ LEGO figures use as an indoor ski run, the time…
Please be kind when you invite us to church on Easter
This is the week when church members eagerly invite family, friends and neighbors who rarely, if ever, attend church to attend Easter services. What may seem like an invitation to hope could be perceived as something else, though. Many non-churchgoers…
Secular students feel isolated by Christian rhetoric, study shows
“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” But do they? Well, it depends on who “they” are. With the hymn “They’ll Know We Are Christians by…