Category: Christian news

After three decades of Bible reading, I discovered something unexpected about the New Testament’s intended audience. As much as I try to be a good listener, it’s still amazing how much I don’t hear on any given day. Of the tens of thousands of words that float by my ears from speakers (both human and electronic), relatively few seem to cross the auditory abyss and register in my brain. My six-year-old was stunned to discover recently that I didn’t know what had happened... Read More

Modern technology influences young adults as they consider faith and church. 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? Brian: I am grateful there is much research on this and the speakers at the April conference are well prepared to address this. I will highlight the broader technology and social media angle first. I would describe the use of... Read More

God is doing a new thing in the millennial generation through his witnesses. In a contemplative and reflective frame of mind, I was trying to discern what God is doing across this land. For example, a decade ago, during the financial crisis that led to the Great Recession, I happened upon a series of sermons on holiness by David Platt. I knew God was working with a new generation. Now, in the midst of a very noisy culture, I asked God the same question again: What are you doing across this... Read More

The Portland-based animation studio is seeing unprecedented success in an age of biblical illiteracy. My screen fills with a glow of color, rich golds and reds blending and shifting. Particles phase into the outline of a DNA double helix, mimicking the pinpoint lights of the globe. A soothing voice speaks, and a story leaps into animated life: a man falling victim to a cosmic setup, a heavenly gamble with the reputation of God at stake. A whirlwind forms among the images, constellations... Read More

This church represents the passion the Vineyard founders had to make the world more like Jesus would have it to be. I used to do a regular series called “Sunday Journeys”. The series was primarily about things I observed while visiting churches from different traditions and the practices they had that may be helpful for others. Typically, I began with a brief description and then one or two notable things at that church. We had dropped the series because for the past few years, I... Read More

“The incarnation is the fullest expression of the empathy of God.” 1. “What impacted me most was their capacity to love. They regularly overcame their wounds—physical, emotional, and psychological— choosing to forgive the perpetrators, reconcile with their enemies, and serve their communities” (Page 6). 2. “Empathy became an engine to bring change to their communities. It was real, muscular, disciplined” (Page 7). 3. “Empathy is also a radical... Read More

Protestant clergy feel the pressure around addressing LGBT identity and same-sex marriage, but that doesn’t mean they’ll change their message. Protestant pastors aren’t as concerned about religious liberty as they were just a few years ago, amid high-profile cases challenging Christian convictions on abortion and marriage, but they increasingly feel the tension around whether and how to address hot-button moral and social issues. According to a comprehensive new religious freedom... Read More

A writer goes in search of the young Coptic Christian men executed on film by ISIS. Martin Mosebach’s new book, The 21, tells the story of 21 Coptic Christians martyred by Muslim extremists on a Libyan beach in 2015. I finished reading it a day before the horrific terrorist attack by a white nationalist on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The echoes between the martyrdoms in Libya and Christchurch are uncanny. In both cases, the perpetrators made a video recording of their... Read More

In the CW’s take on the teenage witch, Satan is front and center. It has been two decades since the Harry Potter series emerged as a cultural phenomenon. When the story of the boy wizard who attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry began to dominate children’s literature, evangelicals wondered if it was okay to allow their children to read the books. As the series continued, however, it became increasingly clear that the mechanical nature of the magic practiced by... Read More

Taraji P. Henson says her faith influenced her decision to play Ann Atwater, the Christian woman who got the head of the Ku Klux Klan to consider integrating Durham schools. “Oh absolutely,” Taraji P. Henson told Christianity Today when we asked if her faith in God informs her choice of roles as an actress and influenced her to take on the challenge of playing Ann Atwater in Best of Enemies. “I look for projects that are going to transform people … and spark... Read More