Buy the Product, Not the Sob Story

Speaking Out

Buy the Product, Not the Sob Story
Why sustainable social enterprise has to be more than a pity-inducing sales pitch.
Leah Wise
Nashville-based Magdalene community and Thistle Farms is part rehabilitation center and part social enterprise. The program assists 700 addicted, trafficked, and abused women a year with case management and recovery. After rehab, they can work in the campus' café serving up fair trade tea, or make ethically sourced Thistle Farms bath products. They brought in $1.7 million, selling products in 450 stores, including Kroger and Whole Foods. Even more remarkable: The... continue reading >>

Gleanings China Scraps One-Child Policy After population reduced by 400 million, Communist Party ups the legal family size. Morgan Lee

Her.meneutics Why Presidential Candidates Can't Ignore Black Lives Matter And neither can Christians. Ekemini Uwan, guest writer

Movie Review Why The New 'Feminist' Rom-Com Is a Lie It's no good to deny that we're both emotional and sexual beings. Alicia Cohn

The Exchange Border Crossing: Outreach Carnivals with Diverse Neighbors Elizabeth Drury stops by the blog to help us understand how to have fall parties with our diverse neighbors in mind. Elizabeth Drury

Really Good News about Really Bad Sinners

The Really Good News about Really Bad Sinners Here's a story that starts out seeming like bad news but turns out to be the best news: "David Was a Rapist, Abraham Was a Sex Trafficker." The title is too hyperbolic for my taste, but it does help make the point that God is no respecter of sinners, and will forgive and use even those who have done vile things. And just when I think this applies to vile sinners out there, I look into my heart and see a bottomless black hole of vile and realize this good news applies to me as well.

The Problem May Not be Prisons I've used this newsletter to bemoan the enormous size of the U.S. prison population, especially compared to that of other nations. Our bulging prisons suggest that something has seriously gone wrong somewhere. Some indict the criminal justice system, others American racism. To be sure, we sometimes lock people up too quickly for relatively minor offenses, and the criminal justice system is affected by racial bias. This article—The Decriminalization Delusion—looks at the hard numbers of who is in prison and why. The author concludes, and the subtitle of this week's long read says, "America doesn't have an incarceration problem—it has a crime problem." I suspect he's largely right. Not that this solves anything. In fact, it leaves us with a bigger and more challenging question: What is going on in American society that so many people, especially minorities, turn to crime rather than legitimate enterprise to make their way through life?

Missionary Spies While we're pondering bad news, I would be remiss if I didn't make my Christian readers aware of this awful story: "The Pentagon's Missionary Spies: U.S. Military Used Christian NGO as Front for North Korea Espionage." I grant that it is tempting for missionaries to work with the U.S. military when they see rampant injustice and oppression in the country they serve. The irony is that when exposed, such efforts hamper the work of the U.S. as well as missionaries and the people they seek to serve. (I apologize to busy readers, because this is another long read.)

The Art of Pumpkin Carving As a public service to the readers of this venerable newsletter, I point you to "Life as a Professional Pumpkin Carver." It shows how the prosaic pumpkin can become a work of art. May you be inspired tomorrow!

Grace and peace,

Mark Galli Editor, Christianity Today

Day of the Dead matters so much to Mexicans

Former Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook sentenced to seven years in drunk-driving death of cyclist
Baltimore Sun: The sentence came at the end of a two-hour hearing in which the wife, mother and sisters-in-law of Thomas Palermo directed their grief and anger at the disgraced clergywoman.

Chik-fil-A challenged for sponsoring LGBT-themed film festival
Baptist News Global: Three years after evangelical Christians designated a day in support of Chik-fil-A’s defense of traditional marriage, the Southern Baptist-owned fast food chain is taking heat online for sponsoring what is billed as the world’s first faith-based LGBT film festival.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: Confronting the roots of violence
Religion News Service: The former chief rabbi of Great Britain discusses his new book, “Not in God’s Name.” In it he says, “The greatest threat to freedom in the post-modern world is radical, politicized religion.”

Pastor spends 30 days living with the ‘hungry, homeless and destitute’
Christian Examiner: Bishop Jerry L. Pierce Sr. answered God's call to minister to the homeless by living among them in a tent outside for a month. Pierce has befriended his new neighbors but worries about them with the onset of winter weather.

Why the Day of the Dead matters so much to Mexicans
Fox News Latino: Monica Serrano says that observing the Day of the Dead felt like a tradition she was outgrowing. But when her grandmother died, Serrano took part in building a traditional altar, topped with her grandmother’s picture. “This is what Dia de Muertos teaches us Mexicans; it’s about remembering the dead and doing so with joy.”

Clear your mind and the cash will flow

Survivors of clergy sexual abuse discuss how “Spotlight” portrayed their trauma
Boston Globe: “Spotlight” hits theaters nationwide Nov. 6. In Boston, where the scandal broke, some survivors are anxious about how the movie portrays their story. Even so, many victims hope the film’s release will shine a light on the problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi wins EU’s Sakharov rights prize
Reuters: A Jeddah court handed Badawi his sentence in 2012 after he criticized the Saudi clergy in a blog and called for changes in the way religion is practiced in Saudi Arabia.

Catholic theologians ask New York Times to stop letting Ross Douthat write about theology
Think Progress: A group of Catholic theologians published an open letter challenging Douthat. The signers took particular umbrage with his most recent article, but also appeared to decry Douthat’s larger body of work on Catholicism.

Daily Theology: To the editor of the New York Times

Low-tech innovation
Inside Higher Ed: When we restrict the conversation about innovation to technology, whether consciously or not, we lose some possibilities. And we exclude folks who just don’t “do” technology, but who can be engaged in other ways.

Clear your mind and the cash will flow
Comstock’s: Nearly 47 percent of our waking hours is spent thinking about something other than what we’re doing in the moment. Is there any cure? New research, thankfully, suggests an antidote for all this digital dizziness: meditation.

We Should Expect Non-Christians to Share Our Morals

Ponder Christian Soldiers
A new web series on the experience of Christian soldiers.
Logan Isaac
What does it mean to be a Christian soldier? Some consider Christian and soldier to be nearly synonymous. Insofar as both the church and the military are engaged in bringing good news, justice, and democracy to the farthest reaches of the globe, the distinction between the two is permeable. To others, "Christian soldier" is an oxymoron. To be one is to violate the requirements of the other. To be a good Christian, I must cease... continue reading >>

Movie Review Rock the Kasbah Getting Bill Murray a few laughs is the wrong way to use privilege to broadcast a cultural message. Jessica Gibson

The Exchange That Stat That Says Pastors Are All Miserable and Want to Quit (Part 2) Stop spreading statistics that, if they were right in the first place, are over 20 years old—even the man who did the study agrees! Ed Stetzer

Speaking Out We Should Expect Non-Christians to Share Our Morals Both natural and civil law, as God designed, tell us why. Daniel Darling and Andrew T. Walker

The career-reviving power of a sabbatical

Church leaders ‘expected more of a response’ to spate of fires near Ferguson
The Guardian: Several weeks after a spate of fires at churches in north St. Louis and with no known suspects, the Rev. Rodrick Burton sensed “lethargy” in his community.
Pew Research Center: Half of all church fires in past 20 years were arsons
The Huffington Post: Why forgiveness is at the center of faith for this black pastor

The nonprofit leadership development deficit
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Succession planning is the No. 1 organizational concern of U.S. nonprofits, but they are failing to develop their most promising pool of talent: homegrown leaders.

Strategic opportunities
America magazine: This November, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will set forth a new strategic plan. Here are eight collective, achievable and useful goals to strengthen the church.

Ben Carson puts spotlight on Seventh-Day Adventists
The New York Times: In an election season where religion and politics have collided frequently, Mr. Carson’s faith remains a mystery to some and is something that could prove to be a strength and a liability.

Religion News Service: GOP 2016 contenders sling God talk, prep for debate

The career-reviving power of a sabbatical
Fast Company: Sailing through snowstorms and squalls, James Green also deepened his relationship with his family and returned more employable than ever.

Prison: Breaking the cycle

Prison: Breaking the cycle

Why do so many prisoners reoffend as soon as they are released?

The first film in our new "Global Compass" series examines two very different approaches to helping ex-cons make a new start.

Find out more about Economist Films via: http://econ.st/1jNSKpA

Posted by The Economist on Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Strategic Church Planting: Your Master Plan

Speaking Out

We Should Expect Non-Christians to Share Our Morals
Both natural and civil law, as God designed, tell us why.
Daniel Darling and Andrew T. Walker
A common reaction among evangelicals to the June Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage has been deflection from controversy. This laissez-faire approach has been most commonly expressed by closely connected beliefs about Christianity and morality... continue reading >>

Her.meneutics Overcoming the Old Divide When loving your neighbor means loving the church. Amber Haines, guest writer

The Exchange Strategic Church Planting: Your Master Plan Ron Sylvia stops by the blog to share his insight on the important task of church plant planning. Ed Stetzer

Sister Joan Chittister, the dissident nun, shares her secret life

Catholic Church leaders issue appeal on climate change
The New York Times: Roman Catholic cardinals, patriarchs and bishops from around the world on Monday appealed to climate-change negotiators to approve a “fair, legally binding and truly transformational climate agreement” when they meet at a widely anticipated United Nations conference in Paris next month.

REI shocks retail world by closing for Black Friday, paying 12,000 employees to ‘opt outside’
Forbes: What REI is doing here is well aligned with some important trends among customers today: a desire for authenticity and search for attached meaning.

How Emory University is getting students to ask the big questions
The Huffington Post: Professors aim not only to equip students with the right credits for a degree and skills for the workplace, but also to help them ask and think about the cosmic questions any emerging adult encounters. What is a life well-lived? What is purpose? How do you define success, joy and happiness?

Nobody cares how hard you work
99U: We chronically confuse the feeling of effort with the reality of results -- and for anyone working in a creative field, that means the constant risk of frittering time and energy on busywork, instead of the work that counts.

Sister Joan Chittister, the dissident nun, shares her secret life
Religion News Service: Veteran Catholic writer Tom Roberts thought he knew Sister Joan Chittister -- the maverick Benedictine nun who dares speak her mind to her church. He didn’t.

Protestant Pastor at Catholic Confession

Rachel Triska has been confessing her sins all of her life. But her confessions have always been personal, Protestant–just between her and God. Then last year she spent time at a Jesuit retreat center and decided to confess her sins to a Catholic priest:

"So there I was, a Protestant pastor sitting across from a Jesuit priest. And I laid my soul bare before him. I confessed that my relationship with the Lord had devolved into a work relationship. I confessed to showing favoritism among members of my congregation. I confessed to struggles with pride and selfishness, to sinning in anger and causing others grief. All this and more I said in halting sentences."

She shares how the experience changed her life and ministry in Why I Confessed My Sins to a Jesuit Priest.

Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

What happens when you write a book called Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? Philip Yancey tells us:

"I receive letters and emails from readers who give wrenching accounts of unanswered prayers. A man quit his job at a printing plant when it began printing pornography and, despite his urgent prayers, never landed another job. A couple desperately wanted a child and found themselves infertile. Another woman got her wish for a child, only to have her daughter die of a rare disease before reaching the age of two.

"I wrote two chapters on unanswered prayer, but frankly, all words seem impotent against the mystery of why such prayers go unanswered. When prayer seems more like struggle than relationship, when I find myself repeating the same requests over and over and wonder, 'Is anyone really listening?' I take some comfort in remembering that Jesus, too, had unanswered prayers. Four come to mind."

For the rest of the story, go here.

Do science and religion conflict?

Do science and religion conflict? It's all in how you 'see' it

  

By Cathy Lynn Grossman, Religion News Service   
  
Most Americans see a conflict between the findings of science and the teachings of religion.

But "see" is the operative word in a new Pew Research Center report issued Oct. 22. Examining perceptions leads to some unexpected findings.

 

Read More

Or paste this link into your browser:
http://ncronline.org/node/112786

Singapore Convicts Megachurch Leaders of Fraudulently Funding Evangelism

Excerpt

Preaching That Unleashes the Bible's Power
Why expository sermons should make up your church's main diet.
Timothy Keller
There are two basic forms of preaching: expository and topical. Hughes Oliphant Old defines expository preaching as "the systematic explanation of Scripture done on a week-by-week...basis at the regular meeting of the congregation." Expository preaching grounds the message in the text so that all the sermon's points are points in the... continue reading >>

Her.meneutics The Grief, Happiness, and Hope of Late-in-Life Singleness What I learned from decades of asking, "Why am I still alone?" Hope E. Ferguson, guest writer

Gleanings Singapore Convicts Megachurch Leaders of Fraudulently Funding Evangelism During Sunday service, pastor apologizes after court rejects how building funds were diverted to wife's pop music career. Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

The Exchange What Is the Missional Church? (Part 3)—God-Empowered Love The world should be able to recognize the Church in an instant because of how the Church loves people as they have been loved by God. Ed Stetzer

The Exchange Let's Rediscover Discipleship I recently had the opportunity to write the foreword for Robby Gallaty's newest book on discipleship. Ed Stetzer

'The Armor of Light' and Inflaming the Conscience: A Conversation with Abigail Disney and Rob Schenck We spoke with the documentary's director and subject about gun policy, the ways fear manipulates Christians, and why the choice to befriend someone else is vital to peace in public life. Alissa Wilkinson

Gleanings First Day of Prayer Draws Debate in One of Africa's Christian Nations President of Zambia seeks solution to economic problems. Christians debate whether motive matters. Morgan Lee

The Exchange Saturday is for Seminars: Off to Montreal! We are releasing a sneak peek of some new research on church planting in Canada. Ed Stetzer

From myths to ministry

Who won? Who lost? 5 points on the contentious Vatican summit
Religion News Service: While the delegates made hundreds of suggestions on a host of issues, two took center stage, in part because they represented a barometer for the whole question of change: Could the church be more welcoming to gays, and was there a way divorced and remarried Catholics could receive Communion without an annulment?
The Guardian: Pope Francis warns Catholic bishops against sticking too rigidly to doctrine
America magazine: The Pope’s strong words for those who seek to block change in the church

From myths to ministry
The Lutheran: Here are five myths about young adults and giving, and suggested ways to engage in ministry with them.

‘Disruptive innovation’ theory comes under scrutiny
The Boston Globe: Some of Clay Christensen’s findings and conclusions have been questioned in both popular and academic publications, most recently the MIT Sloan Management Review.

Questions linger over how UNC chose Spellings
The Chronicle of Higher Education: After Friday’s selection of the former U.S. secretary of education Margaret Spellings as the new president of the University of North Carolina system, some faculty members and students expressed guarded hope for her leadership. But many remained concerned over what had been a messy and divisive search process.
Inside Higher Ed: The political pick

A 'family-friendly' shift in debate over work-life balance
NPR: This past week, two of this country's most powerful men -- who work in a city where power is everything and work is king -- both made career decisions with personal and family needs at the center.

Destination Rome - Bikers on a Pilgrimage

The Church Program | Faith Matters | DW | 03.10.15 | DW.COM

Destination Rome - Bikers on a Pilgrimage

29-year-old Janina is the youngest, 72-year-old Gerd the eldest. The two
bikers were among a group of Christian motorcyclists, who made a
pilgrimage to Rome this summer. Driving from Berlin mainly on secondary
roads and travelling no faster than 90 km per hour, they took ten days
to reach the Eternal City. Always exploring a new topic, the group
undertakes this pilgrimage each year. More than an adventure, the
journey is a way of increasing their knowledge. This time they set out
to explore the relationship between Church and State. With all the
contemporary controversy about establishing Islamic theocracies in the
Middle East, they wanted to learn more about the centuries-old struggle
between the State and the Christian Church in Europe.

Ignatius Press discussion of Laudato Si'

Published on Jun 18, 2015

New Encyclical by Pope Francis - http://www.ignatius.com/Products/PBTY....
Ignatius Press president Mark Brumley is joined by Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., founder of Ignatius Press,
editor Vivian Dudro, and John Herreid for a discussion of the new encyclical Laudato Si'.

Why Linger in the Land of the Dying?

Chuck Colson Was Not a Culture Warrior
And anyway, he stopped "winning" his battles a long time ago.
Owen Strachan
"Winning," football coach Vince Lombardi once said, "is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing." Chuck Colson was not much good at football, but he was good at winning. He puckishly turned down... continue reading >>

Excerpt Billy Graham: Why Linger in the Land of the Dying? An excerpt from "Where I Am: Heaven, Eternity, and Our Life Beyond." Billy Graham

Hermeneutics Your Husband's Infidelity Is Not Your Fault Adultery comes from a greedy heart, not an insufficient wife. Julie Roys, guest writer

Gleanings 66 Missionaries Must Leave UK after Operation Mobilization Loses License Same visa problem almost led YWAM to lose hundreds of workers last year. Morgan Lee

Gleanings 20 Questions: What Evangelicals Think of GMOs, Genetics, Fracking, and More New Pew survey explores attitudes on science, including experimental drugs, animal testing, and space exploration. Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

The Exchange Weekend Edition: October 23, 2015 Motherly leadership, Evangelicals on the death penalty, and more. Ed Stetzer

How friendships change in adulthood

Religion and science
Pew Research Center: Highly religious Americans are less likely than others to see conflict between faith and science.

Calling all mystics: Clergy psychedelic study aims to awaken spiritual experiences
Religion News Service: Researchers investigating beneficial new uses for psychedelic drugs have set their sights on what may seem an unlikely group of volunteer subjects -- your local priest, minister or rabbi.

Are smartphones making Christianity too convenient?
Christianity Today's Her.meneutics: Innovation has come through again and again on its promise to make our lives more efficient. But with our high-tech expectations, has convenience become an idol?

How friendships change in adulthood
The Atlantic: The voluntary nature of friendship makes it subject to life’s whims in a way more formal relationships aren’t. In adulthood, as people grow up and go away, friendships are the relationships most likely to take a hit.

Don’t believe the hype about finding ‘one cool trick’ to productivity
The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Vitae: Except believe this one: Limit the number of things you have “in flight” at any given moment.

Are Smartphones Making Christianity Too Convenient?

Speaking Out

David Was a Rapist, Abraham Was a Sex Trafficker
What we miss when we downgrade Old Testament abuse stories to sexual peccadilloes.
David T. Lamb
My family and I were driving to the movie theater recently and Game of Thrones came up in our conversation. Having never read the book or seen the HBO show, but figuring reviews and trailers gave me all I needed to know, I pontificated, "Game of Thrones is popular only because it's about sex and violence." To which my son Noah responded, "Sex and violence—sounds like your books, Dad." The reason I write about sex and violence is that the Bible... continue reading >>

Gleanings Treasures on Earth: How Religion Is Redistributing the World's Wealth What economic and demographic data suggest about 2050. Morgan Lee

Hermeneutics Are Smartphones Making Christianity Too Convenient? When there's an app for everything, practicing my faith doesn't feel like a sacrifice. Kaitlyn Schiess, guest writer

Gleanings Pew: Churchgoers Least Likely to See Science and Religion in Conflict Survey finds 'surprising number of topics' where faith does not influence views on science. Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

The Exchange I Want My Promised Land We must consider whether or not we have reached the "Promised Land" Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned. Ed Stetzer

News When Churches Get Burnt by the Offering Should ministries return stolen donations? Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

Speaking Out Not Just Jobs, Not Just Bibles: The Future of Fighting Extreme Poverty After a generation of massive global progress, aid and mission efforts are pointing the same direction. Richard Stearns

Gleanings Burning Black Churches Rekindle Old Fears (UPDATED) Arson suspected in spate of six St. Louis church fires in nine days. Morgan Lee and Sarah Eekoff Zylstra