I’m guessing most evangelicals will answer “yes” to that question. (Although if you disagree, please share your thoughts below.) And I think that’s right—but there’s an excellent article over at The Atlantic this month about the topic which you should read even if you think you know the answer. It’s by Ross Douthat (who is [...]

In 1986, award-winning singer-songwriter Ray Boltz wrote these powerful lyrics:
Standing up on the outside
Falling down within
Looking righteous as a Pharisee
But filled with guilt and sin
Trying to walk with Jesus
On a straight and narrow road
And holding onto this world
I just could not let go
That’s such a heavy load
Come and break the yoke, Lord
Come and set this [...]

Is it time for clergy to get out of the wedding business? An article in the Sacramento Bee describes a growing sense in some California churches that the traditional “church marriage” ceremony should be reconsidered:
The controversy over same-sex marriage – along with a growing sense that many couples who marry in churches never return – [...]

When you’re around your pastor, are you able to be open and honest—or does the presence of a pastor make you clam up and behave differently?
A very short reflection by a former pastor at Dear God raises an interesting, and slightly worrisome, issue:
Now, I am on the outside of the church looking in and I [...]

Congrats to the Boston Celtics for winning the National Basketball Association title last night. (And condolences to my friends in LA.)
This season, the team has stressed, well, teamwork by adopting the South African word ubuntu (pronounced Ooh-BOON-too). In English, it roughly translates to “I am, because we are.” I love it!
“A person is [...]

Today, California will begin performing same-sex unions for any residents of the United States, but the unions will not be legal in all other states.
On May 15, California’s Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples can marry. The window of opportunity could close in November, however, when a constitutional amendment could limit “marriage” to [...]

The popular HBO series Sex and the City is coming to the big screen. The series followed relationship columnist and anthropologist, Carrie Bradshaw, as she and her three gal pals indulged in designer shoes and casual sex. As a researcher, Bradshaw somehow missed some important research findings on the subject—and that’s a pity!
For [...]

I wanted to let just go away unnoticed. Really, I did.
Relevant Church’s 30 sex challenge and Relevant’s accompanying blog:
Relevant Church is proposing a challenge encouraging married couples to purposely engage in sexual activity for 30 days and singles to intentionally forgo sexual activity for 30 days. We know, it sounds crazy. However, we believe [...]

If you haven’t come up with a romantic date idea for your significant other yet, well, you’re in trouble. But Relevant Magazine has put together some good last-minute, low-budget ideas for Valentine’s Day. There’s an interesting one partway down their list:
Although many of our major holidays still involve elements of service to the less fortunate [...]

Burned once too many times by the church? Has church-hopping become the defining characteristic of your worship life? Thinking about just writing off church altogether, and living out a Christian life apart from the frustrations and melodrama that come with church attendance? Bob Hyatt, writing at Next-Wave magazine, looks at some recent Barna writings and [...]