Recently I submitted a piece of cultural analysis for publication. The editor read it and asked that one particular section to be rewritten. The reason: it “felt like a slap in the face.” I was reminded that conventional wisdom proclaims it is “better to use honey than vinegar.” In my mind, honey is viscous mass [...]
displaying all posts about "Cultural Trends"
Thoughts on Election 2010
I don’t know about you, but I find the degree of hyperbole and spin that surrounds elections rather repulsive. It is hard to get any news report or watch any broadcast that gives an objective summary of what has happened. Here is my best effort to try to see things clearly in the aftermath of [...]
Is Mr. Obama a Muslim?
During the past few weeks a shocking amount of media coverage has been committed to the argument about whether President Obama is a Muslim. This battle was ignited by aggressive comments from a handful of high profile Christian leaders, followed by a letter signed by 70 Christian pastors asking the media to stop giving coverage [...]
The Crisis of Confidence in the Church
The Gallup Organization has evaluated the public’s confidence in institutions for four decades. Their most recent annual survey on this matter showed that Americans are continuing to lose confidence in churches and organized religion. While religious institutions were among the most revered organizations in the land for many years (topping the list some years), we [...]
Doing More Ministry with Less Money
Barna Group research indicates that the average church has taken less of a financial hit than the typical for-profit organization over the course of the past two years. However, an emerging trend among corporations may challenge the ability of many churches to maintain their existing ministry over the coming two-plus years. Numerous companies cut back [...]
Faith at Work
Several years ago I wrote a book entitled Revolution that suggested a new wave of faith expressions was becoming increasingly popular in America. One of those expressions was faith-centered gatherings at places of work. The popularity of such meetings has continued to grow in recent years. An article in the Wall Street Journal published earlier [...]
Preparing for a Multiracial Church
My first job as a pastor was in a large church that had a multiracial congregation. Having grown up as a white kid in a mostly-white suburb, and then attending a variety of churches in the various parts of the country where I had lived until my late twenties, regularly interacting with such a rainbow [...]
How Do You Pursue and Capture Information?
It has often been said that information gives you power, and that the most important currency in our culture today is information. As someone who has spent his adult life creating new information for strategic decision-making, I have certainly believed in and witnessed the power of information when it is accurate, timely, and well-used. Over [...]
The Census and I
On Monday I received our household’s 2010 Census form to complete. For a researcher, that’s a big deal. After all, the Census is the most comprehensive data collection project to occur on planet earth. The U.S. government will spend more than $15 billion on this census cycle. The information generated is vitally important because the [...]
The Last Unregulated Wild Frontier of Influence
Someone remarked recently how much they are going to miss newspapers, referring to their imminent demise. Further discussion revealed that while some adults – typically 40 or older – harbor a sense of nostalgia and pending loss over such a demise, younger adults are rather indifferent to the disappearance of newspapers. My take on it [...]
