We should face it: we’re never going back to the old normal. The technological question facing churches is now, what will be the new normal? What technological necessities are part of doing church even after the development of a Covid vaccine? Read More
8 Ways COVID-19 Is Complicating Disaster Ministry Responses
Can a public health disaster affect our ability to recover from natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes? Absolutely, and here’s why: For the foreseeable future these tragedies are happening in the context of an ongoing global pandemic. One challenge is that well-intentioned volunteers can make the situation worse for survivors. Read More
The Conspiracy Theorizing about Trump's Diagnosis Has Already Begun
Early in the coronavirus pandemic, the wives of the prime ministers of Canada and Spain were diagnosed with COVID-19 in close succession. Their husbands were not, which raised the question of political "immunity": Would the public be told if a head of government was infected? President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis answers that question for Americans. Unfortunately, that won't keep this diagnosis from being a font of conspiracy theories and misinformation. Read More
Christians Call for Prayer After Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19
Leaders urge Americans to “put aside partisan politics” and pray in the spirit of 1 Timothy 2. Instructed in Scripture to pray for “all those in authority,” Christians offered their prayers for President Donald Trump after he shared on Twitter late Thursday night that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. Several pastors and ministry leaders encouraged Americans that this was a time to pray for the president and the country regardless of their political stances. Read More
Methodism Yesterday, Today, and Forever?
Jeffrey Barbeau’s The Spirit of Methodism is a helpful primer for non-Methodists seeking to understand a global religious movement now numbering about 70 million or more. The story is especially important for U.S. Christianity as America’s third-largest denomination—the largest Methodist body in the world—prepares for likely schism next year over sexuality. Read More
Here in Kentucky and neighboring Tennessee, three churches are ubiquitous in almost every community. If you don't find one in the community, you'll find one on its outskirts or in the countryside. The three churches are Baptist, Church of Christ, and United Methodist. How the 2021 General Conference's decision on the division of the denomination into two or smaller denominations over sexuality will affect the two states' United Methodist churches is difficult to predict. It may leave some Methodists churchless as their local church takes a position different from their own and they do not have the numbers or leadership to start a church of their own.5 Ways to ‘Feel’ Scripture
The growing rate of biblical illiteracy within the Church is extremely troubling. More troubling still, however, is that this illiteracy is not for lack of reading! According to a recent Barna Group study, 96% of those identifying as born-again Christians had read the Bible in the last seven days, while in another recent Barna study only 26% of born-again Christians claimed to base their moral decision-making on biblical principles. This means that we are reading the Bible, but it doesn’t appear to be making much of a difference in our lives. Read More
The Barna Group's research supports my own observation that a growing number of individuals who identify themselves as Christians and as evangelicals do not live in accordance with the teaching of Jesus and the apostles. Chuck Lawless attributes this development to inadequate disciplining. Jared C. Wilson offers a different explanation, an explanation which, however, can be traced back to indadequate discipling.
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