Month: May 2021

Ex-employee sold Comcast cable boxes and premium channels using dead people’s identities

The Comcast Cable Corporation lost more than $437,000 worth of account fees, cable boxes, modems, DVRs, mobile phones and other equipment between 2014 and 2018 due to the scheme, the FDLE said. The estimate does not include lost revenue from the pirated signals of HBO, Cinemax, Playboy, Pay-per-View, On-Demand and other premium services, the FDLE said. ... Read More

Matt Gaetz helped set off Florida’s marijuana ‘green rush.’ Some of his friends, allies scored big

Thad Beshears, who could not be reached for comment, has also become a major national Republican Party donor, giving $50,000 in one day during the 2016 presidential election to committees supporting Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee. During the 2020 campaign, he donated more than $200,000 to the Trump and Republican committees. ... Read More

Accelerating the Great Commission: Breakthrough and Innovations

Article 3 in a series of articles based upon the Lausanne North America Listening Call Question 3: What promising breakthroughs or innovations do you see that can accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission? We live in an age of constant innovation and breakthroughs in science, medicine, and technology. Just so we are on the same page, let me define innovation and breakthroughs. I’m borrowing from Ted Esler’s innovation definition where he writes, “Innovation is the... Read More

Accelerating the Great Commission: Breakthrough and Innovations that Can Help North American More Effectively Participate in the Great Commission

Article 3 in a series of articles based upon the Lausanne North America Listening Call Question 3: What promising breakthroughs or innovations do you see that can accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission? We live in an age of constant innovation and breakthroughs in science, medicine, and technology. Just so we are on the same page, let me define innovation and breakthroughs. I’m borrowing from Ted Esler’s innovation definition where he writes, “Innovation is the... Read More

Remembering Marva Dawn, a Saint of Modern Worship

Her teachings pushed us beyond worship wars and individualism with keen observations, a generous spirit, and an otherworldly devotion to Jesus. When a mentor saw me struggling with worship in our fledging church plant, he handed me a copy of Marva Dawn’s Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship in this Urgent Time. I wondered what a Lutheran and a lover of historic worship practices would have to say to a congregation whose traditions came more from indie rock shows... Read More

Christians ‘Pray the News’ in a Year of Doomscrolling

Ministries offer tips for how to give heartbreaking headlines over to God Over the past year, the news has been enough to drive us to despair. Or prayer. Or both. As people have been bombarded with headlines about the global pandemic, civil unrest, natural disasters, and religious persecution, some ministry leaders and Christian media outlets have been offering resources to help believers pray through the news. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the UK outlet Premier Christian News had... Read More

Proof That Political Privilege Is Harmful for Christianity

Our analysis of 166 nations suggests the biggest threat to Christian vitality is not persecution, affluence, education, or pluralism. It’s state support. Why is Christianity growing in some countries but declining in others? For much of the 20th century, social scientists answered this question by appealing to the so-called secularization thesis: the theory that science, technology, and education would result in Christianity’s declining social influence. More recently, some scholars... Read More