GRANDVILLE, Mich. (RNS) — Megachurch pastor Rob Bell, whose best-selling book raised evangelical eyebrows by questioning traditional beliefs on hell, knew it was time to address the “giant, glowing, loud” elephant in the room on Sunday morning, Sept. 25. What’s…
God and the free market
WACO, Texas — Milton Friedman, meet Rick Warren. Americans who strongly believe God has a plan for their lives are most likely to believe God guides the United States through a free market — and they want to see the…
Evangelical up-and-comer
WENHAM, Mass. (RNS) — For the past decade, sociologist D. Michael Lindsay has been living the very phenomenon he’s studied in depth: evangelicals climbing the ranks of secular institutions and becoming American elites. Yet in a surprise move, this 39-year-old…
Religious leaders laud MLK at dedication
WASHINGTON (RNS) — An earthquake and a hurricane interrupted plans to honor Martin Luther King Jr. in the nation's capital, but religious leaders and civil rights veterans said King's legacy is unshakable. The Aug. 27 interfaith service was the last…
National Cathedral damaged in quake
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The earthquake that rumbled up the East Coast from Virginia on Aug. 23 “significantly damaged” the central tower of Washington National Cathedral, shaking carved stone finials from atop the iconic church. The quake also left cracks in…
High profile for religious freedom
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Often accused of ignoring religion as they craft foreign policy, the White House and State Department are trying to show that religion is a rising priority for U.S. diplomacy. The most recent case in point: Secretary of…
Candidates run for office, and some away from their church
NEW YORK (RNS) — On a recent Sunday, Rep. Michele Bachmann offered a Pentecostal church in Iowa an intimate account of her pilgrimage from apathetic teenager to devout Christian whose faith has persevered through hardship, including a miscarriage. But when…
Ken Medema articulates his art form
TAMPA, Fla. (ABP) — Ken Medema — singer, composer, pianist, artist and for four decades a softly prodding social conscience of the church — worked his art through the two days of the 2011 Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly June…
Progressive Christians flock to Wild Goose festival
PITTSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — From Ontario, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta and dozens of towns and cities between people pulled into the dusty pasture in rural central North Carolina to see if four days chasing the wild goose in community with others…