Thursday's Catch: "Religion Scholars Hear About Church Numbers' And More

Religion Scholars Hear About Church Numbers
The American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature host an annual conference dedicated to the academic study of religion. This year it met on November 22-25 in Boston. The Living Church attended panels that included Anglican theologians, as well as one about Protestant relic collecting.

The Rev. Dr. Molly James, an Episcopal priest and interim executive officer of the Episcopal Church, gave a presentation on membership trends and the future of the Episcopal Church.

James' comments on Episcopalians and evangelism caught my attention. Based upon what I have observed over the past four odd decades, including a recent sermon given by a retired Episcopal priest and the reaction of the congregation to the sermon, Episcopalians not only have negligible understanding and appreciation of the importance of evangelism but also harbor a self-destructive antipathy toward evangelism. They denigrate the very thing that they need to do to arrest the decline of their church and which Jesus commissioned every succeeding generation of his disciples to do.

6 Signs Your Church Is Dysfunctional
"And therein lies the quandary of dysfunctional churches: it often does good things on the outside while destroying the souls of those on the inside. So, how do you know if your Christian organization or church is dysfunctional? Let me share some signs I have observed about dysfunctional churches."

They’re doing to America what they did to Christianity
Trump’s wrecking-ball approach to America has a precedent: the Maga evangelical perversion of Jesus’s message of radical love to one of hate and aggression.

A nasty, hard-to-kill virus is spreading across the country ahead of the holidays
A nasty, highly contagious virus is spreading across the country ahead of the holiday season — and it’s not the flu or Covid.

Norovirus, also called the “winter vomiting disease,” has been rising across the nation since as early as mid-October, especially in states like Louisiana, Michigan and Indiana, according to data from WastewaterSCAN, an academic program through Stanford University in partnership with Emory University.

Indian Ocean bishops rejects appointment of Sarah Mullally stating her teachings are "morally compromised." 

"As the Bishops and the Standing Committee of the Anglican Church of Indian Ocean, we receive with regret the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. We remain committed to the apostolic faith as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and the universal communion of the Church.

We cannot, therefore, support the new Archbishop of Canterbury because her leadership represents a clear and evident departure from the teaching of Scripture on marriage and human sexuality...."

Arctic diocese could lose cathedral, bishop says
Parishioners at St. Jude’s Cathedral in Iqaluit are in danger of losing their place of worship if the congregation and the diocese of the Arctic cannot find solutions to several pressing financial problems, says Bishop Alexander Pryor. An outstanding tax bill with the City of Iqaluit, rising insurance rates, high operational costs and the by-now familiar problem of congregational decline—each exacerbated by the unique challenges of life in Northern Canada—have combined to threaten the parish’s ownership of the cathedral.

Grace Is a Verb
Preachers are sometimes fond of a grammatical claim or two in the context of a sermon. “Love is a verb.” “Worship is a verb.” That sort of thing. I don’t think anyone ever makes the point that something is a noun—even in cases like these where it could be.

There’s a place for this sort of claim, identifying a part of speech toward an edifying exhortation. And, having taught grammar to seminarians for several decades—intentionally to students of Greek, unintentionally and too often in marking papers—it is somewhat heartening to hear grammar from the pulpit.

The Divine Attribute That Can Transform Your Thanksgiving
What if God doesn’t merely have one purpose but countless good reasons for everything he ordains?

New book warns shifts in Episcopal priests’ formation is creating a ‘wild west’ of training options
VTS Press is excited to announce the publication of The Varieties of Episcopal Theological Education by the Rev. Robert D. Flanagan, DMin, Dean’s Advisor for Partnerships at Virginia Theological Seminary and Chaplain at The General Theological Seminary. The book examines significant changes to the way Episcopal priests and deacons are being formed.

US military may cut ties with Scouting America, claims 'attack' on 'boy-friendly spaces': report
The United States military may soon cut ties with Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts, amid claims that the youth organization "no longer supports the future of American boys."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will soon look to sever ties between Scouting America and the military, according to an alleged draft memo that has not yet been sent, which National Public Radio reported on Tuesday.

Does Your Youth Ministry Contain This Key Piece?
Jesus didn’t separate following him from sharing him, and neither should we.

Faith Rising: Gen Z and Millennials Lead a Comeback for Jesus
Although it’s easy to get discouraged by the state of the world today, our team at Barna is happy to share some good news: We are witnessing a significant, positive spiritual shift.