Category: Christian news

The use of fetal cell lines from the 1960s is another sticking point in the vaccine debate. For certain Christians, the decision of whether to vaccinate comes down to the origins of the vaccines themselves. Some pro-life parents cite a moral disgust and a deep lament over the use of 58-year-old aborted fetal cell lines in development for several recommended immunizations, including MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) and chickenpox. “The use of fetal cells in vaccine study and creation... Read More

The denomination’s legal review could set the UMC on a path to division—or to yet another round of conference voting on gay marriage and clergy. Millions of United Methodists are left waiting and wondering where their denomination will ultimately land in a decades-long dispute over gay marriage and clergy—and if a major split over the issue is imminent or if the debate will continue at its general conference once again next year. Though the United Methodist Church (UMC) voted... Read More

How to Decide What and When. Do you serve at church on top of working and possibly serving with other ministries? A lot of people ask me if I serve at church. Honestly, I wrestle sometimes trying to decide whether I should or not. If this was 10 or 12 years ago, my whole life was spent in the local church serving in our high school and college ministries. Now things are a little different since I travel more than ever before, work long hours, and have a 4-year-old and a daughter on the... Read More

Bethany CEO: Too many kids need loving families. And that’s why we decided to comply with Michigan’s new requirements. For 75 years, Bethany Christian Services has demonstrated the love and compassion of Jesus Christ to vulnerable children by serving them and connecting them with families. In addition to pregnancy counseling, private adoption, refugee resettlement, and other services, we provide temporary foster care and foster care adoption services for children in a number of locations... Read More

Amid funerals and fears after ISIS-linked attacks, Christian leaders across the island explain how they are guiding the faithful on mourning and Muslims. In most Sunday schools, the question is an academic exercise. “How many of you are willing to die for Christ?” asked the teacher on Easter morning. Every one of the children dutifully raised their hands. A few minutes later, the Sri Lankan class descended to Zion Church’s main service, passing through an outside courtyard... Read More

After ACLU lawsuit, Bethany Christian Services shifts foster care placement policy to comply with Michigan’s new requirements. Bethany Christian Services, the largest Christian adoption and foster agency in the United States, will begin placing foster children with same-sex couples for the first time after a legal battle in its home state of Michigan. When Michigan’s attorney general declared this month that foster agencies contracting with the government can no longer decline to... Read More

Families with one parent are part of God’s family. But how do we minister to their complex needs? Single-parent families of all kinds are becoming increasingly common in the US. From 1880 to 1970, around 85 percent of children in the US lived with two parents, according to the Pew Research Center, but over the past 50 years, this traditional family arrangement has changed radically. In 2015, less than one-half of children in the US lived with two parents in their first marriage. In 2018,... Read More

We have hard data about just how much altruism is practiced by Americans from all religious affiliations. One of the hymns that always sticks me with was written by Catholic priest Peter Scholtes, entitled “They’ll Know We are Christians By Our Love.” This song was almost always accompanied by the pastor exhorting us to not just speak the love of Christ, but also show the love of Christ in how we serve those around us. I’m no theologian, but I do know that Protestant... Read More

Pew: Amid growing awareness of discrimination, anti-Semitism has spiked the most. Though evangelical Protestants remain the largest faith group in the country, as clashes over their beliefs turn up in the public square, half the country has come to believe evangelicals face discrimination in the US. A new report from the Pew Research Center reveals that Americans see discrimination on the rise or holding steady across demographic groups, with evangelical Christians and Jews experiencing a... Read More

Survey finds 1 in 3 American evangelicals favorable toward both peoples, neither government. When it comes to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict, do American evangelicals favor one side or the other? A new study from the Pew Research Center finds one-third actually feel favorable toward both—when it comes to their peoples. And one-third feel unfavorable toward both governments. Politico Magazine recently profiled Telos, an evangelical group dedicated to changing the... Read More