Charles Chandler can joke about preachers suffering from “Superman syndrome” since he portrayed the “Man of Steel” when Metropolis, Ill., claimed the status as the superhero’s hometown. The first “Superman” for the city’s annual celebration, Chandler, now director of the…
A new book claims more Baptists will embrace liturgical forms of worship as inherently missional
(ABP) — Pastors and scholars familiar with a new book about liturgical worship say its publication signals the practice’s spread in Baptist churches which realize ancient Christian practices are inherently missional and may lure younger generations to the faith. Gathering…
Increasingly, Hollywood looks to Bible for screenplay potential
NEW YORK (RNS) — Studios and filmmakers are rediscovering a classic text as source material for upcoming mainstream films: the Bible. Nearly 10 years after the blockbuster success of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, which earned $611.9 million…
Does BYU visit by top Southern Baptist and other leaders signal evangelical-Mormon truce?
(RNS) — Last month, after being sure to get his caffeine fix at Starbucks, Southern Baptist leader Richard Land went where few evangelicals had dared to go before: the campus of Brigham Young University, the intellectual heart of Mormonism. After…
50 years later C.S. Lewis’s legacy shines in U.S., but not his homeland
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) — When C.S. Lewis died on Nov. 22, 1963, hardly a soul blinked in Northern Ireland where he was born or in England where he spent most of his working life as one of the world’s greatest…
Tax-exempt status for churches and other religious organizations has historical context
Because of a senator’s action in 1954, churches have been included with certain other tax-exempt organizations restricted from electioneering — publicly endorsing or working against candidates for political office. The prohibition against political campaign intervention by nonprofits that qualify under…
Endorsing political candidates endangers churches’ tax exemption
During the last election cycle, Pastor Smith included in an article for his church’s online newsletter that he personally supported a specific candidate in his bid for the Senate. Did he endanger his church’s tax-exempt status? Yes, if the Internal…
Some delight, other worry about effort to canonize British writer G.K. Chesterton
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) — Christians and Jews are mounting campaigns for and against a path to sainthood for British writer G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), one of the world’s best-known Catholic converts. Roman Catholic Bishop Peter Doyle of Northampton, where Chesterton lived…
Bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell describes return to faith while writing David and Goliath
(RNS) — Author Malcolm Gladwell may not be known for writing on religion. His New York Times best-selling books The Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink and What the Dog Saw deal with the unexpected twists in social science research. But his…