While listening to a teaching by Andy Stanley the other day I was struck by a statement he made regarding our connection with God and His parameters for us. The Atlanta-based pastor noted that “rules without relationship lead to rebellion.” As his sermon illustrated, that has certainly been the case in many of the stories [...]
Most Fascinating People?
I caught the tail end of the annual Barbara Walters special regarding her selections for the most fascinating people of 2011. Not surprisingly, the list skewed toward mainstream media celebrities. The behavioral thread that a majority of them shared is that their lifestyles distort traditional moral boundaries. It was an interesting exercise to try to [...]
The Other George
Most adults in this country know the name Gallup. Not everyone had the good fortune to know the people behind the name. I first became acquainted with George Gallup Jr. while I was in graduate school in New Jersey, back in the dark ages. I heard him speak at a small event in Princeton where [...]
Telling the Truth
I was eating dinner and reading a book while my wife watched one of her favorite TV shows in an adjoining room. I have long had a deep distaste for that particular program, knowing how it has distorted facts and gutted reputations through selective editing and deceptive commentary. Over the years several friends have been [...]
Your Great and Holy Cause
I was reading a book about the life of Francis of Assisi this morning when a particular phrase struck me. Talking about life in the Middle Ages, the author (Paul Sabatier) commented that “men everywhere had but one desire – to devote themselves to some great and holy cause.” Apart from the fact that it [...]
The Future of Book Publishing
Recently I had the privilege of speaking at the International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta. Hosted by the Christian Booksellers Association, my assignment was to speak about the future of book publishing. Below is a summary of those thoughts. What are some likely contours of the future of book publishing? This is a debate that [...]
Comments on the August 4 Barna Update (“Barna Study of Religious Change Since 1991 Shows Significant Changes by Faith Group”)
Although the tracking summary reports religious changes since 1991, it is worth noting that many of the changes reported happened between 1991 and 2001, with the past decade simply a time of stability. (To see the data regarding changes according to religious categorizations, click here) For instance, among Catholics, there was significant movement from 1991 [...]
Comments on the August 3 Barna Update (“Regional Shifts in Religious Beliefs and Behavior Since 1991 Revealed in New Barna Report”)
Have you heard the expression “the more things change, the more they stay the same”? Upon reviewing the regional data pertaining to religious change since 1991, that’s the overriding impression that strikes me. (If you haven’t yet read the Update about regional shifts in faith beliefs and practices, check out the Update here.) The tracking [...]
Comments on the August 2 Barna Update (“Major Faith Shifts Evident Among Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics Since 1991”)
The dramatic faith changes that have unfolded within the Hispanic community over the past 20 years are hard to ignore – partially because some of them conflict so directly with the short-lived wave of immigration to Protestant churches , and partially because the current patterns are so divergent from what is assumed about Hispanic faith (Read [...]
Comments on the August 1 Barna Update (“20 Years of Surveys Show Key Differences in Faith of America’s Men and Women”)
For years, many church leaders have understood that “as go women, so goes the American church.” Looking at the trends over the past twenty years, and especially those related to the beliefs and behavior of women, you might conclude that things are not going well for conventional Christian churches. In addition to the statistics reported [...]
