Why so many people–including scientists–suddenly believe in an afterlife

And that is where the heaven tourists finally mesh, not just with each other, but with the larger culture. We seem to be moving inexorably from a society where organized religion dominates issues of morality—and mortality—but not to the secular promised land of reason. Rather, we are orienting ourselves to a more personal spirituality, at once vague and autonomous. Ordinary sinners increasingly don’t believe that they deserve judgment, let alone hell. Theists and atheists alike dispute any earthly authority’s right to judge, and both feel NDEs give them reason to hope for something beyond the grave. And many believers confidently expect that God isn’t judgmental either.

10 Ways to Fight Like a Christian

In Ephesians 4:29, Paul mentions two kinds of speech: that which builds up and that which pulls down. This verse and the surrounding passage show us ten ways that we can handle conflict well—10 ways to fight like a Christian.

More Metrics for a post-Christendom Age

This question has two aspects: first, does your congregation regularly discuss things as a congregation? Or are all important discussions of the congregation’s life done by leaders behind closed doors and in gossip circles amongst the members? Second, are you capable of listening to each other? Is the goal of most communication in your congregation to understand each other or to get things done? If the latter characterizes the communication of your congregation, then you probably have damaged your ability to do the former. Finally, do you have the spiritual maturity to accept people who disagree?

Doctrine: God-delivered or man-developed?

If our positions are God delivered, great is the future to behold. If, on the other hand, our drive is due to man’s burr under his own preferential saddle, we once again swallowed yet another camel while unaware of the gnatism embedded in our own muddled version of spiritual accuracy.

3 Reasons I Don’t Enthusiastically Recommend the History Channel’s “The Bible: The Epic Miniseries”

These sorts of changes may have only minor effects on people who watch this series and know little about the Bible. Many will think, “Oh! So that’s where that comes from! David spoke Psalm 23 right before he killed Goliath!’” Ideally, this will compel people to read the Bible for themselves. But I suspect that it will mislead and confuse people regarding details.

Money, Honor, and Bible Translation

More generally, we have a problem with more than just Romans 13:7, I Corinthians 6:20, and other passages in which timi connects wealth and merit. Any time we read “honor” for timi, we are missing part of the message, because the very notion of “honor” for us is not what it was for the Greeks. Greek “honor” included an element of finance. Similarly, whenever we read “price” for timi, we are missing the inherent connection to honor and glory.

The Plastic Fruit of Online Living

My greatest need isn’t a public relations manager; it’s a Redeemer. And real-life, everyday friends—the ones aware of both my sin and the gospel’s power—will regularly remind me of this need.
Long-distance and digital friendships, no matter how wonderful they are, cannot gain full access into our souls. Seeing a friend’s compassionate eyes, holding her hand, and kneeling together in prayer are evidences of God’s tangible nearness in the war against sin.

Amazon Staff Meetings: “No Powerpoint”

The traditional kind of corporate meeting starts with a presentation. Somebody gets up in front of the room and presents with a powerpoint presentation, some type of slide show. In our view you get very little information, you get bullet points. This is easy for the presenter, but difficult for the audience. And so instead, all of our meetings are structured around a 6 page narrative memo.

Unruly woman, belts out Whitney Houston songs, kicked off plane

The woman disrupted the flight in part by belting out Whitney Houston songs. And based on the video posted by a passenger on the flight, the woman won’t be getting a golden ticket onto the American Idol competition anytime soon.

The 6 Best Things About American Christianity

As American Christians, we tend to view our cultural identity through the lenses of either self-deprecation or pious elitism. We are a paradox of both good and bad, but we need to remember our good side. In Matthew 25 Jesus tells the story of a master who entrusts his servants with possessions and tells them to be good stewards—we need to do the same with our faith. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away (Matt, 25: 29 NLT).
American Christianity has many great traits, and let’s pray that we utilize them to the best of our ability, always striving to glorify Christ and follow His perfect example.

Sunday Morning Worship Idolatry?

People can take something as good and holy as God’s temple and God’s temple worship and turn it to idolatry. Is it possible for people to turn worship itself into an idol? An idol is anything that we worship in place of God. Is it possible that in our worship we begin to love the songs, the beat, the trendiness of it all more than the God it is all trying to point us to?

Why men have stopped singing in church

But the negatives are huge. Men are doers, and singing was one of the things we used to do together in church. It was a chance to participate. Now, with congregational singing going away, and communion no longer a weekly ordinance, there’s only one avenue left for men to participate in the service – the offering. Is this really the message we want to send to men? Sit there, be quiet, and enjoy the show. And don’t forget to give us money.

Every Every Every Generation Has Been the Me Me Me Generation

In turn, when older people are told that younger people are getting increasingly narcissistic, they may be prone to agree because they confuse the claim for generational change with the fact that younger people are simply more narcissistic than they are. The confusion leads to an increased likelihood that older individuals will agree with the Generation Me argument despite its lack of empirical support.

What A Week Of Groceries Looks Like Around The World

It seems as a people, we have a fascination with photographing our food. From Henry’s series of riders, to looking on instagram we cant help but document what we consume. Photographer Peter Menzel started this intriguing series of one weeks of groceries from around the world, taking traditional food photography to a much larger scale.

Teen Hit By Flying Toilet On Way To School Redefines ‘The Mondays’

We’ve all had crappy Monday mornings, but a high school student in Thorndike, Maine, may have just raised the bar. The teen was driving to school when a portable toilet fell on her red Jeep Cherokee – a direct hit, though she swerved to avoid it.

Airline mix-up sends wrong bodies to two funerals

WLTX TV of Columbia, S.C., says the mix-up apparently came as the caskets were being sent via the same Delta flight out of New York LaGuardia. That’s where WLTX reports that Delta shipping clerks “apparently put the wrong shipping labels on the caskets.”

The 6 Worst Things About American Christianity

America is wonderful! We have religious freedom to express our beliefs and worship according to our preferences, but there are also very distinct problems associated with American Christianity.

Missing the Mission: Looking for the Right Results While Loving the Wrong Things

Love is good– and everyone wants a loving church. However, loving the wrong things leads you the wrong way. Loving what is good, including our context, Jesus’ mission, and the next generation (to name a few things), moves the church in the right direction. The church should be always reforming, that is, humbly looking at itself and assessing their ability to reach people with the good news of Jesus. Sadly, many of the people Jesus devoted his time to would not feel welcome in our churches.

Has youth ministry failed us?

But I have to wonder…
If we have been so heavily invested in youth ministry for all these years then how can we be so worried about losing our young people?
Or has youth ministry failed us?

Should Christians Be Rich?

What’s tricky is that everyone seems to have a verse to back up their beliefs. So what is the truth? If the Bible says, “We rejoice in our sufferings (Romans 5:3),” and also, “Test me in this … and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it (Malachi 3:10),” then what can we really expect in this lifetime in regard to prosperity and wealth?

“The Gates of Hell Shall Not…”

Oh, my friend, the church may suffer and we will have our ups and downs – but we are not going anywhere. It will be here forever – Daniel 2:44, Matthew 16, Luke 1:33.
It’s gonna be here so let’s learn to love it, believe in it, help it be healthy, grow it and by all means encourage each other in it in every way possible. Remember what you do to and say about the church you do to and say about the Lord (Acts 9:3-5).

Majority of Pastors Doubt Global Warming, but Recycle at Church

“Pastor opinions on global warming reflect their own political beliefs,” said Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay Research. “The pendulum of public and pastor opinions on man-made global warming is swinging back toward agreement but still lacks a majority. For some, the terminology has shifted, and environmentalists now speak of ‘climate change.’ However, for consistency and comparison, we have asked the same question multiple times – and pastors are split on the issue – along most Americans.

Who do you know?

The question is: now that we know these people, will we listen to them in an effort to understand? Tom Friedman famously wrote that there’s never been a war between two nations that had McDonald’s franchises in them. I wonder if we’re going to develop a new sense of mass, one where it’s harder than ever to demonize a group that contains your friends, even if they’re merely online friends. Or, are we going to get better at hating people we know, at de-personalizing our experiences…

Remember – Beginning, Middle, & End – The True Basics of a Good Speech/Good Presentation

Here’s my observation. The better speakers have pretty good “middles.” But the very best speakers have superb “Hooks,” and really clear “Calls to Action.” So, here’s my suggestion – start working a lot more diligently on these two aspects.

Wishing Mom a Happy Mother’s Day…on Facebook

Are you planning to wish your mom a Happy Mother’s Day on Facebook? If so, you’re not alone. “Moms” (defined as women with a child or children under the age of 18 living at home) are especially likely to be Facebook users, even compared with dads, or with other women, according to Pew Research Center’s 2012 data on social networking. Some 79% of moms use Facebook, compared with 61% of all women and 57% of men with a minor child living at home. (As of December 2012, 54% of all American adults and 67% of internet users use social networking sites.)

The Struggle to Trust God with My Child’s Salvation

Take heart, Mom & Dad. Jesus is sovereign over your children’s salvation. And he faithfully goes after his lost sheep (Luke 15:4), whether they’re in the time-out corner of their preschool class or walking through cancer and chemotherapy. Our Father is more concerned with redeeming our children for his glory than we are.

Cultivate Dissent: Negativity Is Not All Bad

The “Authentic NO” is so helpful that leaders should actually cultivate dissent in order to elicit it. An authentic NO invites you to open up a conversation and explore the position. An authentic NO will reveal bad thinking, suggest a better approach, or point out that the organization is heading over a cliff.

The Top Mistakes I Make in Preaching

Maybe it’s because I’m naturally a pessimist, but the most natural way for me to figure out how I can grow as a preacher is to identify what mistakes I most commonly make and try to work on improving those, by God’s grace. For the purpose of self-evaluation and ‘fanning into flame’ the preaching gift that I have, I decided to list out the mistakes I most often make in sermon preparation and delivery.

How To Speak The Truth in Love

We’ve all done it. We’ve all blurted out harmful and harsh words that have cut someone or some group apart through rhetoric. In response we defend our failed speech by baptizing those words in the polluted waters of misrepresenting Paul’s intent regarding “speaking the truth in love.”

Don’t Mumble – Your Communication Tip of the Day (One Reason why Todd Bradley is not the CEO of HP)

This only takes a few minutes a day – if you stick to it! Print out your favorite poem, your favorite Psalm, your favorite song lyric, mark it up with a great big slash between words, and read it aloud one-word-at-a-time. Put your lips fully together in between each word to force yourself to practice saying each word fully, and then stopping (ask yourself – “Did I pronounce this word fully?”); then, and only then, do you read the next word. Read at least one selection once a day, one-word-at-a-time, for a month. At the end of the month, you have a shot at mumbling less. At the end of many months, you will be speaking much more clearly.

Why We Can’t Stop Eating Frosting From The Can

You know when you’re eating frosting straight out of the can and you’re thinking, “I don’t even really like this flavor,” but you keep on eating? (It’s a dark, but human, moment. We understand.) Well, now one study is offering an explanation for why. Compared to calorie-free foods, foods with calories in them hit the human brain with big effects, even if people don’t appear to consciously like the flavors all that much.

105-Year-Old’s Secret to Long Life: Bacon

The 105-year-old told a local news station that she eats bacon every single day and recommends copious amounts of the sizzling cured pork to anyone else who wants to live to see 100.

Houston braces for giant snail invasion

These invasive creatures have already been found by the thousands in Florida. The USDA warns that, in addition to carrying diseases, they’re the “most damaging snails in the world because they consume at least 500 different types of plants [and] can cause structural damage to plaster and stucco.”

An open letter to pastors {A non-mom speaks about Mother’s Day}

I know I might be an unusual one to be speaking about Mother’s Day; but maybe that’s why so many talk to me about mothering, I’ve got the parts, just not the goods. Thanks for listening and for continuing to mother us in a shepherding way. Even though I’m a bit nervous to come on Sunday, I will be here. But if you make us stand, I might just walk out =).

6 Ways Churches Should Be More Like Libraries

The church must acknowledge the challenge of mental illness and our responsibility to vulnerable people. We must provide not only spiritual solutions but also practical help. And we must show our theology is deep and wide enough to accommodate the reality of great psychological and emotional pain.

Corrective Strategies and Themes for Understanding the Book of Revelation (Tired of the chaos? Me too!)

Revelation is a book that continues to be used as “trump card” against Christian nonviolence as it posits a future tribulation and war in which Christ comes back to lead people into a battle, one that apparently contradicts everything he taught during his earthly ministry. And of course there’s the baggage of the “Left Behind” series that imagines a rapture followed by the rise of an “anti-Christ” and a literal 7-year tribulation which fuels a mentality that the book is mostly about what will happen and how to escape that fate. I want to suggest that most of what you have been taught about Revelation, especially if you watched the cheesy Christian movies or grew up in conservative/fundamentalist expressions of evangelicalism, is wrong.

What Has Fear Done To You?

Jon Acuff has written a fine book entitled Start. At one point in the book as he discusses fear he writes, “Stories without dragons are boring” (p. 64). He says that in every story there is typically a villain of some sort.
For many of us the villain in our lives is the voice that often puts fear in our hearts.

Family feud

Dissenters’ primary objection is that the Heritage report uses static, rather than dynamic, scoring. In other words, it estimates illegal immigrants will take in more than $9.4 trillion in government benefits and only contribute $3.1 trillion in taxes during their lifetimes, but it doesn’t assume any positive economic impact in gross domestic product (GDP).

Immigration and the Republican Party

If white evangelicals would like for there to be more pro-life voters, they should actually want Latino undocumented immigrants to be voting as soon as possible, not waiting thirteen years or more for the privilege: the longer they live in the U.S., the more likely Latinos are to become pro-choice (though still less likely than Caucasians as a whole).

WordPress for Churches: Themes & Plugins to Get Started

One of the best things about technology today is that it’s faster, it’s cheaper and it’s better than it’s ever been. All of these qualities are a boon for the small, medium and large church because we have nothing but opportunity now to engage with our congregation, reach our local communities and expand our message unlike we’ve ever done—and again, we can do it on the cheap.
That’s why I’ve been a fan of WordPress for the church for a long time. Did you know that WordPress now powers over 17% of the top 1 million sites in the world? The growth curve is unbelievable and your ministry has everything it needs to leverage a best-in-breed technology with an extremely low bar.

Ex-Con Who Hid Stolen iPhone Up His Butt Foiled When It Started Ringing

The iPhone 5 owner, a 27-year-old man, called the phone once he arrived at the station and heard his ringtone emanating from Mr. Patterson’s butt. The ex-con admitted to stealing the phone, although it’s unclear how long he had it stored up there. He was charged with criminal possession of stolen property.