Category: Christian news

In Alabama’s Black Belt—once cleared for cotton plantations—rural black communities are now at risk for hookworm. In 2013, the septic system at Jesus Christ Church of God the Bibleway failed and sewage began leaking into a neighbor’s yard—not uncommon for rural Alabama, an area plagued by sewage problems and a related upsurge in hookworm cases. A warrant was issued for the arrest of the church’s pastor, Bishop Ira McCloud. The public health department accused... Read More

Revised code of conduct shifts in favor of “uniform standards of behavior for all students.” Azusa Pacific University (APU) has gone back and forth this school year on whether to allow students to date members of the same sex. Last week, the Southern California Christian college decided, once again, to remove a ban on “romanticized” same-sex relationships from its code of student conduct. APU had initially made the same change in the fall, only to reverse the decision when... Read More

The agnostic is credited with bringing believers and religious questions into the scientific realm. An agnostic theoretical physicist who has encouraged Christians to embrace the dual mysteries of science and faith is the latest recipient of the prestigious Templeton Prize. The 2019 honor goes to Marcelo Gleiser, a professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College. The 60-year-old researcher has suggested that science and spirituality represent complementary expressions of... Read More

When I found out about my daughter’s condition, I felt the destruction of my plans and hopes. But this place of limitation also revealed God’s profound love. “How do you prepare for a birth and a death at once?” I asked a friend one morning in mid-July. “Can anything be more unnatural?” Two months before, I had sat in a medical office listening to a doctor. His voice was unduly loud, as if he were speaking to a general audience. “Thanatophoric dysplasia... Read More

Jesus schooled the world on how to understand and exert power. This series is an expanded version of my talk from the GC2 Summit, December 13, 2018. Here are Part 1 and Part 2. Jesus schooled the world on how to understand and exert power. Rather than wielding it through a sword, a harsh tongue or a prestigious position of authority, Jesus exerted power through two particular images: a lowly servant washing the feet of guests and a suffering sinner hanging on a cross. What’s amazing... Read More

Eleven evangelical experts weigh in as death toll of New Zealand Muslims hits 50. Last Friday, Muslim worshipers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, suffered a terrorist attack at the hands of an avowed white supremacist. 50 people were killed, with another 50 injured. Prior to the attack, the citizen of Australia posted a lengthy manifesto to social media, filled with anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim themes. He then proceeded to livestream the shooting. Some victims originally hailed... Read More

There is legitimate reason to caution against a universal plea toward blind reproduction. There is a growing awakening to the need of a multiplying church movement within North America, as the best—and likely only—means to bring the gospel within proximity to those who desperately long for good news. As an advocate of this for many years, both as a church planter and as a pastor of a multiplying church, I am in complete agreement with this idea. I cannot envision a future where... Read More

What we learn about her life and work from two releases of previously unpublished writings. Years ago, I needed to write a brief biography of Elisabeth Elliot as part of a larger project. I searched for book-length biographies that I could draw on for information about her life and came to the startling realization that, despite Elliot’s status as one of the most widely-known American Christians of the 20th century, there were none available. To complete my project, I had to turn to... Read More

Bible scholars, theologians, and philosophers used to work together. N.T. Wright believes they need to do so again. Stop thinking like children.” Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians is even more urgent for us today. Though they should be like little children when it came to evil, he insisted they should be grown-ups when it came to thinking. To that end, Paul constantly tried to teach people not only what to think but how to think. This remains vital. The various disciplines... Read More

Why the church should resist technologies that aim to liberate us from ordinary, embodied life. Amid the pop-culture detritus of my childhood, one unforgettable fragment is the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man. For the children of the 1970s, Steve Austin (played by Lee Majors) was our first cyborg, fitted with a “bionic” eye and limbs after a nearly fatal accident. Every episode began by retelling his origin story, as a voiceover intoned: “We can rebuild him. We have... Read More