The Walking Dead, Doomsday Preppers and Left Behind may have more in common than meets the eye. Dramas about zombie apocalypse, TV reality shows about survivalists and speculation about end-times prophecy all grow from a desire for hope in the…
Study suggests bad World War II experiences led veterans to church
(RNS) — A new study has found that American veterans who had a negative experience serving during World War II attend church more frequently today than those who were less troubled by their service. The study also found that when…
Catholic rocker Matt Maher finds cross-over appeal among evangelicals
(RNS) — Growing up Roman Catholic in Newfoundland, Matt Maher never imagined that his childhood interest in music would lead to a career as a Grammy-nominated, chart-topping Christian rocker — let alone a crossover artist featured on Christian radio and…
In a low-trust environment, do churches operate on a need-to-know basis?
Many churches have cut back the number of business meetings held each year. Some have scaled back publications — particularly mailed-out print versions. Some large churches with communications staff or a department have eliminated them or severely reduced their resources….
Denominational entities struggle to find balance between privacy and openness
Baptists follow the congregational form of church governance — every member who wants to can have a say in the way the church and the denomination operate. But how much access does the average church member have to information about…
Social media and public records offer options to fact-finders
Do people in the pew have any options for finding information if their local church, state organization or national denominational body refuses do divulge it? Not many — but technology and government offer a couple of options. Social media When…
Baptist leaders, with personal experiences, tackle the stigma of mental illness and suicide
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Frank Page, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, was getting ready to work in the yard in the fall of 2009 when the phone rang. His daughter was on the line. Daddy, I love you,…
Beneath the stereotypes, a stressful life for preachers’ kids, say some who’ve lived it
(RNS) — The day Franklin Graham was born, he received a telegram. “Welcome to this sin-sick world,” the Western Union message said, “and to the challenge you have to walk in your daddy’s footsteps.” It didn’t take long for Graham,…
Despite biblical injunctions to the contrary, Christians remain obsessed with end times
Just because Jesus told his disciples God alone knows when he will return, that hasn’t prevented 2,000 years of Christian speculation. “Some have said: ‘Jesus just said we can’t know the day or the hour. But that doesn’t mean we…
As they turn 150, Seventh-day Adventists still praying for the Apocalypse
WASHINGTON (RNS) — In the past 150 years, Seventh-day Adventists have built one of Christianity’s most inventive and prosperous churches — while praying for the world to end as soon as possible. A small band of believers has mushroomed to…
Author asks, how would Jesus have treated the followers of the world’s major religions?
In his 2012 book, Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?, emergent church author Brian McLaren purposely evokes an old joke about, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” But instead of introducing a joke, McLaren…
British faith groups reclaim St. George as symbol of inclusivity, not symbol of hatred
(ABP) — The Baptist Union of Great Britain joined other faith groups in a letter reclaiming St. George’s Day, celebrated April 23, from right-wing group’s using England’s patron saint to promote Islamophobia and hatred. “We want to promote a new,…