The global aid industry is experiencing an unparalleled era of evolution and transformation. Globalization of media has increasingly brought the plight of the world’s poor, disadvantaged, and disabled before our eyes. A growing awareness of the chasm between the privileged and the poor has spawned a tremendous burst of creativity in efforts to end poverty. At the same time there has been an increasing demand for heightened scrutiny over the impact of poverty programs. Do any of them really work?

A trailer for the forthcoming documentary “Conversations After Church”, a film that honestly explores the all too common and often discomfiting questions and experiences of those who, disillusioned by the “institutional church”, chose to journey outside her doors.

As America lurches toward a fully same-sex-affirming public square, it is increasingly urged along by that most curious of cheerleaders: the “affirming pastor.” Those acquainted with even a passing knowledge of biblical ethics might find this phrase strange, even paradoxical. The Old Testament famously calls same-sex conduct an “abomination” (Lev. 18:22) and the apostle Paul does nothing to soften the portrait in Romans 1:26–27. What alchemy produces the “affirming pastor,” then, if not Scripture?

I'm not praying for young children anymore. I'm praying for adults. But my prayers are not that different. When they were younger, I prayed that they would love God's word, serve Him faithfully, devote their lives to living a life which would reflect God's glory. I still pray for that. I don't really care about much else other than those things, because I think if those are their priorities, everything else will fall into place for them.

Posted by Christianity.com via GodTube.com.

I often hear Christians say that we should be more like the early church. And I must admit, I’ve been one of those Christians. But if we linger on how this would look, I wonder how many of us would rather stay put in our 21st century churches. After all, first century Christians clung to a set of values that differs quite radically from most Christians today.

If you are a committed believer, no matter what your occupation, you are in full-time Christian service. The workplace is your mission field.

Fewer Americans are attending church. So, who are these new churchless Americans? Are there significant demographic or psychographic differences among those who attend church and those who don’t? During the past three decades, Barna Group has conducted tens of thousands of interviews with unchurched people. Based on those interviews and the resulting “tracking data,” here are 10 facts about the “churchless” in America.

For Christians there are some very specific things you can’t do if you want to actually honor and follow the person we say we celebrate this season. So, I give you my “10 Things Christians Shouldn’t Do At Christmas.”

I fear that many white Christians are hiding behind “the gospel” instead of figuring out how it actually applies to the racial conflicts all around us. The gospel is only a solution when it drives us to do, only when what we believe about the free grace of God in Jesus makes us move. Only when we can make the connection between the gospel and the centuries of racial inequality in the United States, the lasting impact on our government and social structures, and the insidious and subtle effects on our own minds and hearts is it a solution.