I’m a sucker for the Olympics.  I’m not sure why, but for several weeks every two years my evenings consist of my wife and I sitting on the couch and watching an evening full of events.  Like every Olympic year, NBC rolls out a whole shlew of stories featuring athletes and their emotional struggles that [...]

A while back, I read about an interesting experiment on PhilCooke.com.
Worried about the real motivation of TV evangelists, Mary Hutchinson, a veteran in direct mail and fundraising, tested several TV ministries by sending them $20 and a letter asking how to accept Christ.
“After 45 days, I had heard from more than 95% of them,” she [...]

Before one fateful week this fall, I’d never watched a minute of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). All I knew was what I’d read, heard or glimpsed while channel surfing—headlines about mixing money and ministry, a reputation for being cheesy, a talk-show set with golden thrones, and some woman with big pink hair.
I was intrigued [...]

A couple of months ago, we had a conversation about online church.  Now lifechurch.tv, which is well known as a leader in online worship, has put out a video showing what it might be like if all of those online church goers actually ended up in a brick and mortar building.  It’s always good when [...]

I’ve written here before about why I believe family focused talk in churches is alienating and excluding Christian singles and childless couples. I was thinking more on the topic recently, and thinking about how family focus also devalues other kinds of important relationships.
For example, I’ve lived with the same roommate for the last 2 years. [...]

A friend of mine is a chaplain for a NFL team. He and his wife spend time with players and their families. He prays with them, mentors them, encourages, challenges, and teaches them.
He’s not mentioned in Time Magazine’s recent write-up on NFL chaplains, but the roles sound similar.
The Time magazine piece seems to emphasize the [...]

(Guest Blogger: Dave Trout.  Dave is the host of the nationally syndicated program ‘Under the Radar’ which features the best in under-appreciated Christian music.  He also writes a weekly column called ‘The Gourmet Music Report.’  In this post, he’s taking a little break from music to talk about culture.)
Should a pastor friend of mine have [...]

A recent Washington post article talks about the prevalence of faith-based weight loss plans. I had no idea this was going on, and I have to say, I’m torn about the whole thing.  I was more skeptical when I read the headline than I was after I read this justification from Pastor Steve Reynolds:
“About [...]

Rolling Hills Baptist Church in Fayetteville, GA has received a lot of press lately for the decision to sell its brand new building and use the money to take care of those in need in the community. The $1.4 million dollar new facility is nearly paid off, but the congregation overwhelmingly voted to put the [...]

I wrote earlier on celebrating sexuality within a Christian worldview. I still think the world yearns for affirmation of our sexuality from God’s point of view, especially since the world never hesitates to offer distortions and lies on the topic.
However, the most intriguing responses to me were the voices of Christian singles. I heard much [...]