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After the Supreme Court’s oral arguments, Christian legal experts weigh in on the symbol. During yesterday’s oral arguments, the Supreme Court suggested it would allow a 40-foot memorial cross to stay on public land, despite a challenge from an atheist group concerned that the 83-year-old World War I monument represented a government endorsement of religion. The hour-long debate in the case of American Legion v. American Humanist Association didn’t just raise the question of... Read More

Major ministry ends class action with no acknowledgment of guilt and gives board seat to plaintiff. After three years in court, Gospel for Asia (GFA) announced yesterday that it would pay $37 million and a board seat to settle a class-action lawsuit. One of America’s largest ministries—in 2013 alone, it brought in about $93.8 million—GFA faced two lawsuits accusing it of sending only 13 percent of its donations to the field instead of the oft-promised 100 percent. GFA said... Read More

Independent Advisory Group releases report backing claims of pastor’s “sexually inappropriate words and actions.” An independent investigation has concluded that the sexual harassment allegations that led to Bill Hybels’s resignation last year are credible, based on a six-month investigation into the claims against the senior pastor and into Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC) and the Willow Creek Association (WCA). The newly released 17-page report places the blame for such... Read More

Independent Advisory Group releases report backing claims of “sexually inappropriate words and actions” from the former pastor. An independent investigation has concluded that the sexual harassment allegations that led to Bill Hybels’s resignation last year are credible, based on a six-month investigation into the claims against the senior pastor and into Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC) and the Willow Creek Association (WCA). The newly released 17-page report also places the... Read More

N. T. Wright suggests Jesus would disagree with the British government. Other Christians in UK, US, and Middle East weigh in. N. T. Wright, the esteemed theologian and former Anglican bishop, recently offered brief reflections on the case of Shamima Begum—the British teen now seeking to return home after joining ISIS in 2015—in a letter to the editor of The Timesof London. He wrote that “as a tax payer” he couldn’t fault a previous writer who warned against... Read More

Four counterintuitive keys to successful discipleship. When I married a priest, I cut a deal with him. “No children’s ministry,” I made him swear. “Not now, not ever.” At the time we got married, my husband was serving at a large, wealthy, urban parish where the staff was stacked with priests and lay employees. While I’m sure my presence as a children’s ministry volunteer would have been welcomed, there was no need or expectation of my... Read More

Every time I lead a person to repeat those words, I am saying them to God on my own behalf. I’ve led thousands of people in the sweet “repeat after me” sinner’s prayer: “Dear Jesus, I am a sinner.” What the person praying with me doesn’t know is that every timeI lead a person to repeat those words, I am saying them to God on my own behalf. I am a sinner. No kidding, I really am—a really real sinner in utter, desperate need of God’s love... Read More

Gen Z’s digital natives bring followers along for the experience. “I think what I learned can be summed up like this: I can either live missionally, or live for nothing,” read an Instagram caption posted by Max Park, one of 7,000 young adults who attended the Cross Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, at the start of the year. That week, another 40,000 showed up for Passion in Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington, DC, and more than 10,000 for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s... Read More

“This generation is less likely to affiliate with established religious groupings than previous ones, even if they do have a sense of spirituality.” Ed: How would you describe the state of Christianity and the church among emerging adults—18 to 29-year-olds—today? What are their biggest questions, concerns, or motivations? Russell: According to the Pew Research Center, over 50 percent of emerging adults identify as not religious. Three out of ten emerging adults are neither... Read More

Increasingly global delegation outweighs American push to shift LGBT stance, leading some progressive congregations to leave the denomination. After days of passionate debate, deliberation, and prayer—and years of tension within the denomination—the United Methodist Church (UMC) voted Tuesday to maintain its traditional stance against same-sex marriage and non-celibate gay clergy, bolstered by a growing conservative contingent from Africa. The plan passed—with 438 votes in... Read More