Religious Hiring Rights Threatened

In May 2010, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), who has personally battled addiction and bipolar disorder, introduced a bill (H.R. 5466 — SAMHSA Modernization Act of 2010) that would amend Titles V and XIX of the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for the first time in 46 years — and to remove religious exemptions related to hiring for faith-based organizations that receive federal funding.

The bill would outlaw any government funds or contracts with religious organizations that do not agree to "refrain from considering religion or any profession of faith" when making employment decisions. According to the bill, it would affect "licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, pastoral counselors, psychosocial rehabilitation specialists, and any other individual determined to be appropriate by the Secretary."

A letter was sent to every member of Congress last week (Aug. 25) from several evangelical charities such as World Vision, the U.S. Catholic Bishops and Orthodox Jews that said the bill "would be catastrophic" to their religious freedom and to their missions to serve the needy. It asked lawmakers to reject any legislation that would "dilute the right of faith-based social service organizations to stay faith-based through their hiring."
"Stripping away the religious hiring rights of religious service providers violates the principle of religious freedom, and represents bad practice in the delivery of social services," said Anthony Picarello, general counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The religious leaders say the religious hiring rights can be traced to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and even to the First Amendment of the Constitution. A unanimous 1987 Supreme Court decision also upheld the right of religious organizations to hire people of the same faith, ruling that the practice does not violate the constitutional principle of separation of church and state.

Interestingly, on Monday, Aug. 23, a federal appeals court ruled that World Vision, the Christian humanitarian giant, who signed and released the Aug. 25 letter, can fire employees who do not share its theological tenets. (See article below)

Another open letter was sent to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder also urging him not to "dilute the right of faith-based" charities to "stay faith-based through their hiring." Many of the 100 signatories were presidents of small Christian colleges. [HuffingtonPost.com, CitizenLink.com, WashingtonWatch.com, Catholic News Service]


Court Rules in Favor of World Vision
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Monday of last week that World Vision, a faith-based relief organization, was free to hire and terminate based on its statement of faith. The case has been closely watched by religious organizations and nonprofits who receive federal funding. The ruling is a result of three World Vision employees who were found to have lied during the hiring process about specifics of their faith and were immediately released. The former employees are expected to appeal the decision. The 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits religious discriminations; however the court ruled that World Vision was exempt from Title VII of the Act for "a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, educational institution, or society of its activities."

Steve McFarland, chief legal officer for World Vision, was pleased with the ruling and said, "What's at stake is the religious freedom of every individual and church and para-church organization and faith-based organization in the country. Every member of Congress asks and discriminates against job applicants based on their political persuasion. Even Planned Parenthood asks where your politics are with respect to the sanctity of human life. You can call it the bad word 'discrimination,' but it's called 'free association.'" [CitizenLink.com]

(From FotF's Pastor's Weekly Briefing)

What's Next For Francis Chan?

When you put Francis Chan, Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris in a room together, you get one of the most interesting conversations I've ever been privileged to listen in on! Video of it below.


The Gospel Coalition Council members Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris ask Francis Chan why he stepped down as senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California, and what he plans to do next.

Building Blocks for Successful Church Planters

Mark Bjorlo of The Journey North Church shared the following on his Facebook page today:

1. Relationship with God
2. Emotional Health/Self Image
3. Relational Ability
4. Marriage/Family Relationships
5. Personal Integrity
6. Vision/Philosophy of Ministry
7. Evangelism
8. Leadership Gifts/Ability
9. Entrepreneurial Organizer
10. Public Ministry Skills
11. Enthusiasm/Energy
12. Faith
13. Productivity
14. Knowledge of Church Planting
15. Discipling
16. Ability to Motivate Others

Top Ten Most Stressful U.S. Cities

Las Vegas, Nev., topped Forbes "most stressful cities" list. Coming in order after Las Vegas are Los Angeles, Calif.; Houston, Texas; Tampa, Fla.; Riverside, Calif.; Miami, Fla.; Dallas, Texas; New York, N.Y.; Chicago, Ill.; and number 10 is Detroit, Mich. Factors that determined their placement were: high unemployment, long commute times, long work hours, limited access to health care, poor physical health and lack of exercise. Click here to read more about the top ten most stressful cities. [Forbes.com]

New Church Body for Lutherans

This week, Aug. 26-27, in Grove City, Ohio, more than 1,000 Lutherans from throughout North America will gather to form a new church body for confessional Lutherans. The annual Convocation of Lutheran CORE will adopt a constitution to create the North American Lutheran Church. Rev. Mark Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE, said, "The NALC will embody the center of Lutheranism in America. The NALC will uphold confessional principles dear to Lutherans including a commitment to the authority of the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions." Lutherans throughout the United States have been reacting to actions by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America which allows pastors to be in same-sex relationships and to officiate at same-sex union ceremonies. They also object to the ongoing movement away from the authority and teaching of the Bible throughout the ELCA. [ChristianNewsWire.com]

Why does the King James Version of the bible have different verses?

Justin Taylor has started to answer this question.  Below is a segment from his post.  I highly recommend clicking through to his original because there are video and resources he provides as well that are excellent.

_________________________________________________

Have you ever wondered why modern translations of the Bible don’t have certain verses found in the King James Bible? This can be a sensitive pastoral issue, especially in some regions of the United States.
I occasionally get requests for recommended resources on how to respond, and thought I’d pull together a few popular-level pieces in this post.

Here is New Testament scholar Daniel Wallace:

The Greek text which stands behind the King James Bible is demonstrably inferior in certain places. The man who edited the text was a Roman Catholic priest and humanist named Erasmus. He was under pressure to get it to the press as soon as possible since (a) no edition of the Greek New Testament had yet been published, and (b) he had heard that Cardinal Ximenes and his associates were just about to publish an edition of the Greek New Testament and he was in a race to beat them. Consequently, his edition has been called the most poorly edited volume in all of literature! It is filled with hundreds of typographical errors which even Erasmus would acknowledge.

Wallace highlights two examples, starting with Revelation 22:

In the last six verses of Revelation, Erasmus had no Greek manuscript (=MS) (he only used half a dozen, very late MSS for the whole New Testament any way). He was therefore forced to ‘back-translate’ the Latin into Greek and by so doing he created seventeen variants which have never been found in any other Greek MS of Revelation! He merely guessed at what the Greek might have been.

Then 1 John 5:7-8:

For 1 John 5:7-8, Erasmus followed the majority of MSS in reading “there are three witnesses in heaven, the Spirit and the water and the blood.” However, there was an uproar in some Roman Catholic circles because his text did not read “there are three witnesses in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit.” Erasmus said that he did not put that in the text because he found no Greek MSS which had that reading. This implicit challenge—viz., that if he found such a reading in any Greek MS, he would put it in his text—did not go unnoticed. In 1520, a scribe at Oxford named Roy made such a Greek MS (codex 61, now in Dublin). Erasmus’ third edition had the second reading because such a Greek MS was ‘made to order’ to fill the challenge! To date, only a handful of Greek MSS have been discovered which have the Trinitarian formula in 1 John 5:7-8, though none of them is demonstrably earlier than the sixteenth century.

Wallace explains that he and many other textual critics would personally prefer to retain these readings, but integrity demands that we go with the best available evidence:

It illustrates something quite significant with regard to the textual tradition which stands behind the King James. Probably most textual critics today fully embrace the doctrine of the Trinity (and, of course, all evangelical textual critics do). And most would like to see the Trinity explicitly taught in 1 John 5:7-8. But most reject this reading as an invention of some overly zealous scribe. The problem is that the King James Bible is filled with readings which have been created by overly zealous scribes! Very few of the distinctive King James readings are demonstrably ancient. And most textual critics just happen to embrace the reasonable proposition that the most ancient MSS tend to be more reliable since they stand closer to the date of the autographs. I myself would love to see many of the King James readings retained. . . . But when the textual evidence shows me both that scribes had a strong tendency to add, rather than subtract, and that most of these additions are found in the more recent MSS, rather than the more ancient, I find it difficult to accept intellectually the very passages which I have always embraced emotionally.

U.N. Children's Rights Treaty

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is concerned that, if the Senate gives President Obama his way and ratifies the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child, "This treaty would, in fact, establish a precedent that those rights have been given over to the international community." DeMint also stated, "If the government, or even the international community, tells you how to raise your children here in America, is there anything that's off limits?"

The U.N. adopted the UNCRC on Nov. 20, 1989. Twenty nations signed on to enforce the treaty by Sept 2, 1990. That number is currently 193 nations, with the exception of the United States and Somalia. Nations that ratify U.N. treaties are bound to adhere to them by international law. If the Senate approves of this treaty, the United States would fall under the jurisdiction of an 18-member panel that oversees children's rights in nations that are part of the treaty. Among rights threatened would be parents' ability to direct their children's spiritual upbringing, as well as what and when they learn about sexuality.

Sen. DeMint is in the forefront of opposition to the convention and has introduced a resolution (S.R. 519) that asks the Senate not to ratify the UNCRC, as it "undermines traditional principles of law in the United States regarding parents and children." Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is leading the charge for its adoption. So far, S.R. 519 has at least 30 co-sponsors. [CNSNews.com, CitizenLink.com]

The Exchange with Ed Stetzer - Notes from 8/10/10

Ed Stetzer – The Exchange
Church revitalization
8/10/10

It is easier to raise a baby than to raise the dead!

Comeback Churches
-many churches are flat to declining
-studied 324 churches

What principles from Comeback Churches could guide pastors and churches down the path of revitalization?


What are some barriers to spiritual growth?
-self-focused leaders and churches
-when it all about you it is hard to focus on Christ
-Experiencing God’s discipline
-past problems in the church keeping new people from coming
-Lack of radical faith/reliance
-can’t live off the faithfulness of people in the past
-Doing instead of being the church
-just going through the motions rather than living out faith
-Watering down the gospel/truth
-Distracted from our first love
-Ineffective disciple-making
-Irrelevant ministry
-if the 50’s come back, many of our churches are ready to go!
-Pride

Little Men Working Potty for Justice!

For Justice's birthday my parents got him the Little Men Working Potty.  Since he is only 1 and not yet in potty training, we haven't officially tried it out.  But we took it out of the box an played with it anyhow, and it is really cool!  There is a sensor in the bottom of the bowl that identifies when a child has peed into it, and it plays encouraging truck sounds when this happens!  There are also weight sensors under the bowl that set off sounds when the child makes a deposit in the bowl.  Very cool!  Hopefully it'll encourage our little man sooner rather than later to be potty trained.  In the mean time he has enjoyed opening it and closing it, climbing on it and pushing it around the house.  We'll have to limit those activities once we put it into active doody...err duty.

Product Features

• 3-in-1 potty, step stool and trainer seat
• Truck design made just for boys
• Rewards child with real truck sounds
• Bonus stickers included (to reward the child with!)

If you are looking for something a little less showy I'd also recommend the Baby Bjorn Potty Chairs - they come in a rainbow of colors to match any bathroom's decor!

2010 Leadership Summit Notes

If you are looking for notes for the 2010 Leadership Summit put on by the Willow Creek Association, check out Tim Schraeder's notes - they are as good as they get.

Google Wave is dead

From the Google announcement:

Wave has taught us a lot, and we are proud of the team for the ways in which they have pushed the boundaries of computer science. We are excited about what they will develop next as we continue to create innovations with the potential to advance technology and the wider web.

Yeah, it taught you people still care about their privacy.  It taught you that you are not the goose that lays golden eggs.  And it taught you how NOT to roll out a new product.  Google Wave fail.

Review: The Suburbs by Arcade Fire

Below is my review of Arcade Fire's new album The Suburbs.  It was released today at midnight and Amazon.com is offering it for only $3.99 on MP3 download at the moment.  Is it worth $3.99?  Barely.

This is the review I have posted at Amazon.com.

I really wanted to like this album. But I'm not an uncritical fanboy, so I can't. Sure, I don't hate it, it isn't bad. But it isn't special like some would have you believe. Don't drink that Kool Aid blindly.

My favorite part of the album as a whole is the overall ebb and flow of pace and style that keeps it at least interesting and listenable. It is music you can put on while driving down the road, and then tune out while you think of something else. But that isn't what I want in my music. I want it to grab me, to change me, to make me feel something, but mostly all I get from this is indifferent meh.

Some of the tracks really seem like they are trying to hard to be different. There is nothing wrong with different, but being different just to be different almost never works out unless your name is Beck.

1. The Suburbs - solid start, creative and catchy.
2. Ready to Start - R.E.M. does this better. So did The Cure.
3. Modern Man - It's like they stole it from 80's Devo and modernized it. Not bad!
4. Rococo - I like the rich musical sound, but the vocals don't add to it.
5. Empty Room - U2 meets Bjork. Not bad, but not great either.
6. City With No Children - U2 does this so much better.
7. Half Light I - Modern Pink Floyd - really good!
8. Half Light II (No Celebration) - Kinda Faith No More cross with INXS - and I really like it!
9. Suburban War - a modern take on acid rock? Wanted to like it, but can't.
10. Month of May - This one should be really high energy in concert, but doesn't seem to translate on the album.
11. Wasted Hours - Love it! Catchy, makes you want to air strum along.
12. Deep Blue - This is the rich sound like Rococo, but I like it much better. The vocals add to it here. Probably my favorite track.
13. We Used to Wait - Like the lyrics, you can keep the music.
14. Sprawl I (Flatland) - Good emotional "feeling" song. Easily blends into the background of life.
15. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) - Ace of Bass? ABBA? Really?
16. The Suburbs (continued) - Like Neil Young might sound today if he were 35 years younger. And that's a good thing. Great end to the album.

Cleargy need to take more time off, take care of themselves better

Original @ NY Times

Taking a Break From the Lord’s Work
By PAUL VITELLO
Published: August 1, 2010

The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could.

Public health experts who have led the studies caution that there is no simple explanation of why so many members of a profession once associated with rosy-cheeked longevity have become so unhealthy and unhappy.

But while research continues, a growing number of health care experts and religious leaders have settled on one simple remedy that has long been a touchy subject with many clerics: taking more time off.

“We had a pastor in our study group who hadn’t taken a vacation in 18 years,” said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, an assistant professor of health research at Duke University who directs one of the studies. “These people tend to be driven by a sense of a duty to God to answer every call for help from anybody, and they are virtually called upon all the time, 24/7.”

As cellphones and social media expose the clergy to new dimensions of stress, and as health care costs soar, some of the country’s largest religious denominations have begun wellness campaigns that preach the virtues of getting away. It has been described by some health experts as a sort of slow-food movement for the clerical soul.

"In God We Trust" Is Constitutional

(from FotF's Pastor's Weekly Briefing)

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Washington, D.C., ruled that printing the national motto, "In God We Trust," on U.S. currency is constitutional and does not violate the Establishment Clause. Self-avowed atheist Carlos Kidd claimed U.S. currency violated the separation of church and state. Kidd demanded that the government "destroy or recycle all circulating currency, and replace it with new currency without religious inscription." The court wrote, "It is quite obvious that the national motto and slogan on coinage and currency 'In God We Trust' has nothing whatsoever to do with the establishment of religion." [Liberty Counsel]

Impact of Long-Term Unemployment

According to a new Pew Research Center survey, long-term unemployment takes a much greater toll on a person's emotional state, finances and career prospects as compared to short-term unemployment.

For the study, 2,967 adults were interviewed in May of this year. Of that group, 810 were either currently unemployed, or were jobless for at least some period of time since December of 2007. Those who had been unemployed for at least six months had experienced higher levels of "major change" in their lives as a result of the recession than those who had been unemployed for less than six months.

The study showed several areas of life that are impacted by a long period of joblessness.

* Family finances: Not surprisingly, those who had been unemployed longer (six months or more) saw more of a decline in their family income, with 56 percent seeing a decline compared to 42 percent who had been unemployed for less than three months. Even those who had not had any break in their employment reported a 26 percent drop in their household income in the past 18 months.

* Relationships: Strained family relations and loss of contact with close friends were reported at a higher rate by those who had been jobless for six months or more.

* Career goals: Over four-in-ten (43%) of the long-term unemployed said the recession has had a "big impact" on their ability to achieve their long-term career goals.

* Emotional impact: Those who had been unemployed for longer periods of time were more likely to report that they were struggling with such issues as loss of self respect, doubt about being in the right career, lowered expectations and feeling pessimistic about the future.

For the complete report visit Pew Research Center.

Tolerence = we'll accept what you believe as long as it isn't Christianity?

Student Pressured to Change Christian Beliefs

Jen Keeton

Georgia native Jennifer Keeton, an Augusta State University student getting her master's degree in counseling, was threatened with expulsion for sharing her faith publicly and for not agreeing to attend and complete a re-education program.
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit against the university on Keeton's behalf on First Amendment grounds. ADF is litigating a similar case at Eastern Michigan University and has successfully resolved a case at Missouri State University.
According to ADF, university faculty said Keeton's beliefs are unethical and incompatible with the counseling profession, saying it would hinder her "ability to be a multi-culturally competent counselor, particularly with regard to working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning populations." According to court papers, when Keeton asked why her biblical ethical views would disqualify her competence as a counselor, and how her Christian convictions were any less acceptable than those of a Buddhist or Muslim student, Mary Jane Anderson-Wiley, an associate professor who oversees the school's student education and discipline, responded, "Christians see this population as sinners."

According to the filed complaint, "She has stated that she believes sexual behavior is the result of accountable personal choice rather than an inevitability deriving from deterministic forces. She has also affirmed binary male-female gender, with one or the other being fixed in each person at their creation, and not a social construct or individual choice subject to alteration by the person so created. Further, she has expressed her view that homosexuality is a 'lifestyle,' not a 'state of being.'"

The Remediation Plan required that Keeton attend "diversity sensitivity training" toward working with GLBTQ populations, plus the faculty sought to change her beliefs by assigning her remedial assignments to increase her exposure and interaction with gay populations by attending such events as the Augusta Gay Pride parade, then writing about her feelings after being there.

"A public university student shouldn't be threatened with expulsion for being a Christian and refusing to publicly renounce her faith, but that's exactly what's happening here. Simply put, the university is imposing thought reform," said ADF senior counsel David French. "Abandoning one's own religious beliefs should not be a precondition at a public university for obtaining a degree. This type of leftist, zero-tolerance policy is in place at far too many universities, and it must stop. Jennifer's only crime was to have the beliefs that she does."

Anderson-Wiley told Keeton that she had a choice of standing by the Bible or by the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics. Keeton chose the Bible. [CitizenLink.com, American Family Association, The Washington Times, ChristianPost.com, WorldNetDaily.com, Family Research Council]

Lessons from the Compost Heap - by Pastor Chris Meirose

Yesterday I had an article published in our local newspaper - The Waseca County News - http://www.wasecacountynews.com/news.php?viewStory=6014  Below is that article.  Credit to Shanon O'Dell's book "Transforming Church in Rural America" for the genesis of this article's main idea.

Garden season is in full bloom.  Any gardener worth their petunias knows the secret to good growth is the right fertilizer.  Water is just H20, and the Sun provides its energy, but fertilizer turns plain dirt into something special where life can grow.

One of the most common sources for this black gold comes from a compost heap.  If you aren’t familiar with the composting process, you take all your organic scraps and pile them together, and then wait for them to rot and decay.  The smell of a compost site can be stomach churning in its stench.  Sometimes I think marriages are a lot like a compost heap.

Most marriages accumulate a lot of stinking, rotting junk from the past - broken promises, unfulfilled expectations, cutting words, acts of betrayal.  A marriage is the perfect location to build a compost pile of pain, anger and frustration.  We bring up the old smells, and as they age, they stink worse.  We hold onto past hurts and dwell on injustices.  You don’t want to get down wind of a lot of marriages!

Do you believe in miracles?  I do.  And I think there is a miracles waiting to happen in all those compost pile marriages.  No matter how bad they smell.  If you handle your compost pile properly, you know they can produce some of the richest, most fertile soils and fertilizers on the planet.  You take something that was dead and to be discarded and watch God give life to it, using it to grow something new and beautiful.

Everyone who has been hurt in a relationship needs to take those pains to the compost heap, especially those of us who are married.  Bring it to God, and watch Him heal, liberate, and breathe new life into something that was once a stinking decaying mess.

Colossians 2:13-14 says:  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.  He forgave all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.

If you are a Christ follower, He has done that for us, and if your spouse is a believer He has done it for him or her as well.  But if we are to turn our compost pile of a relationship into fertilizer for something far greater, we must allow that same forgiveness to flow through us into the other person as well.  We must take our pains, the offenses, and dig them up with a shovel and spread them at the feet of the cross.  Leaving them there for God to work as only He can.  He is in the business of taking things that are dead and giving them new life.

If you would like to know more about First Congregational Church you can visit us on the web at http://WasecaChurch.org or join us for worship at 10 a.m.  each Sunday, visitors are always welcome!

Adoptions Increase

Bethany Christian Services — the nation's largest adoption agency — reports that international and domestic adoptions have increased by 26 percent over last year. Bethany has also seen a 19 percent increase in families stepping forward to begin the adoption process this year. Bethany has partnered with many organizations to promote adoptions, including Focus on the Family and the MTV reality show "16 and Pregnant." One of the most watched episodes for MTV in 2009 featured a Bethany birth mother who decided to place her baby with a family in North Carolina. [CitizenLink.com]

All the way my Savior leads me - Lyrics

Lyrics by Fanny Crosby.  My favorite version was sung by Rich Mullins.

Fanny Crosby was one of the most prolific hymnists in history, writing over 8,000 despite being blind since her infancy.  She wrote so many hymns that she would often publish under pseudonyms because some publishers didn't want too many of her songs in one hymnal.

All the way my Savior leads me

1. All the way my Savior leads me,
   What have I to ask beside?
   Can I doubt His tender mercy,
   Who through life has been my Guide?
   Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
   Here by faith in Him to dwell!
   For I know, whate’er befall me,
   Jesus doeth all things well;
   For I know, whate’er befall me,
   Jesus doeth all things well.
2. All the way my Savior leads me,
   Cheers each winding path I tread,
   Gives me grace for every trial,
   Feeds me with the living Bread.
   Though my weary steps may falter
   And my soul athirst may be,
   Gushing from the Rock before me,
   Lo! A spring of joy I see;
   Gushing from the Rock before me,
   Lo! A spring of joy I see.
3. All the way my Savior leads me,
   Oh, the fullness of His love!
   Perfect rest to me is promised
   In my Father’s house above.
   When my spirit, clothed immortal,
   Wings its flight to realms of day
   This my song through endless ages:
   Jesus led me all the way;
   This my song through endless ages:
   Jesus led me all the way.

A must read book for rural pastors

I just wrote a review over on Amazon.com for what I am comfortable in saying will be one of my top 3 books for 2010 - Transforming Church in Rural America by Pastor Shannon O'Dell.  Below is that review, and I would highly recommend you give this book a read, even if you aren't a pastor, even if you aren't in a rural church.  Really clear insight into transforming the church to better share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know I'll be purchasing a few extra copies and sending them to some friends (like to Brenton Balvin)

Review:
I pastor a small church in a small town in Southern, MN, and this book spoke to me like few others have. My summary of it would be "He's saying everything I've experience, only far better than I could've said it."

From first page to last, Shannon O'Dell writes in a compelling way, challenging all rural pastors to aspire for something great. To not let the fact that because you are in a rural area to limit your creativity and passion for spreading the news about Jesus.

The first attraction of the book is simply that you have someone else who has been there and can relate to your experience as a rural pastor. But the book moves you far beyond this with some excellent ideas on how to push through the "traditional" way of thinking.

From the book:
Four Most Difficult Decisions for a Rural Pastor (pg 38):
1. To pastor in rural America...with low incomes, low resources, and low expectations
2. To reach the lost and unchurched (Most people say they want to reach the lost...until they do and the church starts changing!)
3. To equip the church with accurate and healthy structure...changing laws, constitutions, and church policy as necessary
4. To remove "Holy Cows" to be more effective...such as pews, property, and people

Pastor O'Dell gives ideas on tackling all four of these issues, as well as many others, and does so in a readable non-Scorched Earth kind of way.

Any pastor can benefit from this book, but especially pastors of smaller and more rural churches.

Reading this book was like finding a kindred spirit to minister with, event though we are separated by many hundreds of miles. It was refreshing, a fresh wind in my ministry sails.

Try to come to Church?

Below is the first segment of a post by Pastor Chris Elrod.  Love his words!

Yoda was right - "Do or do not....there is no try!"

July 13, 2010
by Chris Elrod

There are very few phrases that get my blood boiling more than someone saying they will try to come to church.  It especially puts me in “punch you in the face” mode when it comes from a person that is an occasional church attender.  They might as well just say, “I’m a big wussy that would rather feed my immaturity than to give God any kind of quality time.  I have not grown up…I am a child…and you should spank my bottom like a toddler!”   Try is such a stupid word.  Anyone can try…at anything.  Try is the word of a loser that has no intention of giving it their best shot and pulling out all of the stops to make it happen.  Try is a word that appeases a tense conversation with no real commitment attached to it.  When you use the word try in connection with church attendance…you just sound like an idiot.  Either you will come to church or not….there’s no try.   It’s not like you are fighting off terrorists, rabid badgers and 30-foot tidal waves to make it to church.

Let’s be honest…going to church in the United States in the 21st Century is not a real difficult task.

Click here for the rest of the article on Chris Elrod's site.

Justice and daddy fun

Ten Questions to Ask to Turn a Conversation Toward the Gospel

Many Christians suffer with unnecessary fears about sharing their faith. Once they finally get a conversation turned to the subject of the Gospel, however, most believers find that they're able to manage quite well. Much of the time the biggest problem is simply moving a conversation from small talk to "big" talk, the biggest subject of all—the Gospel. Here's a list of questions that can help. Some of them aren't original with me, though I don't recall where years ago I first heard the ones I've borrowed. I've found that the last one opens more doors for the Gospel in the widest variety of situations.

1. When you die, if God says to you, "Why should I let you into Heaven?", what would you say? Are you interested in what the Bible says about your answer?
2. If you were to die tonight, where do you think you would spend eternity? Why? Are you interested in what the Bible says about this?
3. Do you think much about spiritual things?
4. How is God involved in your life?
5. How important is your faith to you?
6. What has been your most meaningful spiritual experience?
7. Do you find that your religious heritage answers your questions about life?
8. Do you have any kind of spiritual beliefs? If what you believe were not true, would you want to know it? Well, the Bible says . . . .
9. To you, who is Jesus?
10. I often like to pray for people I meet; how can I pray for you?

(HT: Don Whitney)

Yes, I know I'm fat, thank you.

An annual obesity report by two public health groups has more bad news — obesity rates increased in 28 states last year. Though the survey shows an increasing awareness of obesity and its threat to public health, that knowledge has yet to translate into results. The report showed that Colorado ranks as the leanest state in the country with an adult obesity rate of 19.1 percent. Last year, four states — Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and West Virginia — had obesity rates of over 30 percent. The new results show that Mississippi continued its six-year reign as the country's fattest state. And four more states have joined the over 30 percent rate — Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Obesity in adults is defined as a body mass index of 30 or more, while overweight is a body mass index between 25 and 30. [CNSNews.com]

Court Rules in Favor of Marriage

On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously rejected a challenge to the state's 2006 marriage amendment. Julaine Appling, president of the Wisconsin Family Council, said, "When Wisconsin voters passed the marriage amendment in 2006 by almost 60 percent, they recognized the purpose of the amendment was clear and simple: to protect the institution of marriage. The Wisconsin Supreme Court reinforced that purpose in their decision." People for the American Way and gay-activist groups vowed to challenge Wednesday's decision, claiming the amendment was unconstitutional. [CitizenLink.com]


I'm inclined to day that the SCOTUS won't hear this and will leave it as a state issue.  But I've been surprised before. What do you think?

Proud to be an American

A new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press^®, conducted June 24-27 among 1,001 adults, finds that more than eight-in-ten (83%) say they are either extremely proud (52%) or very proud (31%) to be an American. Just 14 percent say they are moderately proud (8%) or have little or no pride (6%) in being an American. People younger than 30 are less likely than older Americans to say they are extremely proud of being an American. [PewResearch.org]

Should church leaders drink?

My thoughts - it is permissible, but we must be responsible with it - with the who, what when and where of drinking alcoholic beverages.  I drink (in a good year) a handful of beers and about 4 glasses of wine (generally holiday wine - Thanksgiving, Christmas times).  There have been years I have haven't drank.  I do enjoy beer and wine, but it is quite rare when I drink them.

According to a monthly poll released this week, 40 percent of evangelical leaders said they "socially drink alcohol." Many of them added that they only drink "in moderation," "on special occasions," or "infrequently." And they noted that they do so only with those who share similar views on alcohol consumption.
The poll was based on responses from the Board of Directors of the National Association of Evangelicals, including the CEOs of denominations and representatives of a broad array of evangelical organizations.
Among the majority who said they did not consume alcohol, the common reason for abstinence was not because they believe it is sinful to drink. "Even though there is no prohibition on moderate alcohol consumption in Scripture, due to the many implications as an example to family and those I serve, I like Paul's words 'it is better not to' (Romans 14:21)," said Gary Benedict, president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, according to the NAE poll.

Some denominations, however, do not allow leaders to drink. "[W]hile we understand one cannot defend [abstinence from alcohol] biblically, we have chosen to raise the standard for leadership in our movement," said Jeff Farmer of Open Bible Churches.

Others said they abstain from drinking because of alcoholism in the family, a desire to be an example to younger generations, or the affect alcohol addiction has on society. "Alcohol and its effects have been a major challenge in American society," said Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals.
According to earlier LifeWay Research, 29 percent of lay people and 24 percent of senior pastors agreed that people should never drink alcohol. But, while 68 percent of pastors said reasonable consumption of alcohol is a "biblical liberty," just over half (54%) of lay people agreed. And, at the same time, 90 percent of clergy said a Christian drinking alcohol could cause other believers to stumble or be confused.[ChristianPost.com]

Justice is getting close to walking

Successfully Handle Behavior Problems in Children

Shana Schutte has put together a great resource over at Focus on the Family dealing with how to Successfully Handle Behavior Problems.  Below is a most of the opening article with links to plans for each age group of children.  A worthwhile read for all parents.

______________________________________

Dr. Leman is the author of numerous books including Have a New Kid by Friday. In this book, Dr. Leman gives humorous, insightful and effective advice on many behavioral problems for every childhood age and stage. If potty training is driving you crazy, he's got it covered. If you need help teaching your kids to become more respectful of one another, he can help. And if you want to prevent your teens from lighting up, Dr. Leman addresses that, too. In this module we'll share Dr. Leman's expert advice on these and many other parenting challenges, including eating and undereating challenges, wardrobe issues, tattling and put-downs.

Before we begin, Dr. Leman has a few reminders for parents to keep in mind when dolling out discipline.

Remember that your child wants to please you

During my fourth year as a teacher, I taught art to high-energy, hormonal sixth-graders. By March of the school year, I was convinced that although I enjoyed teaching, it wasn't God's calling for my life. So, one week before school ended, I announced that I would be moving on. I wasn't surprised that some of my students weren't sad that I was leaving, but I was surprised that one student in particular cried when I announced my departure.

Babies are Born With Morals?

In an article for The New York Times, Paul Bloom with the Infant Cognition Center at Yale University said a growing body of evidence suggests “...that humans do have a rudimentary moral sense from the very start of life. With the help of well-designed experiments, you can see glimmers of moral thought, moral judgment and moral feeling even in the first year of life.” He tells of an example of one experiment among many where infants up to one-year-old were placed in front of two puppets, one displaying traditionally “moral,” helpful behavior and the other engaging in more “naughty,” hindering behavior, and the infants would overwhelmingly show a preference for the “good guy” and would even “punish” the naughty puppet in some cases. Bloom also says conventional science has said human babies take a long time to learn basic facts about the physical world and about people, much less about morality, but Bloom says modern psychology has discovered this view to be wrong—that infants react to objects as if they understand them to have certain physical properties, and they treat people differently from inanimate objects. This offers even more hope that babies develop the complex understanding of morality much sooner in their development than previously thought.
(5/3/10 NY Times)

Why do you do it?

Sometimes, it helps to reflect on why you do what you do.

• Because Jesus Christ changed your life.
• Because you have a profound and divine calling.
• Because you see hopeless people all around you.
• Because you love people and care about their destiny.
• Because you love people and care about their journey.
• Because you believe in the truth of Scripture.
• Because you actually believe eternity is real.
• Because you know that people (including you) are God’s choice tools.
• Because you are uniquely built for what you do.
• Because your part in the Kingdom of God matters.

Why do you do what you do? Please share your reasons.

(HT - Kerry Bural)

Worry, Prayer or Planning?

Mark Beeson answers this question with a few thoughts you might find interesting and helpful as you plan your week today...

Worry hurts you. Prayer inspires you. Planning prepares you.
Worry is natural. Prayer is supernatural. Planning intertwines the natural (the world as it is) with the supernatural (the world as it could be and should be).
Worry drains you. Prayer fills you. Planning fulfills you.
Worry isolates you. Prayer connects you. Planning integrates you.
Worry shrinks your vision. Prayer expands your vision. Planning enables your vision to come true.
Marks has a couple of other interesting thoughts on Worry, Prayer, and Planning here.
So... what will it be for you today?  Worry?  Prayer?  Planning?

(HT Todd Rhodes)

WasecaVBS.org - Vacation Bible School in Waseca!

If you are in the Waseca metro area, allow me to extend an invitation to you and your children to join us at First Congregational Church for Vacation Bible School!  Our theme is called Baobab Blast and our camp will run from 5:30-8:30PM July 26-30th.  For more information check out our website - WasecaVBS.org. 


From the web site:

Baobab Blast is an open invitation to be a part of God’s Great Get-Together. Set under the impressive baobab tree, kids will have the opportunity to hear the Word, be amazed at God’s wildlife creations, and be a part of a supportive community.

This will be a life-changing experience for your kids as you gather together as a community and grow in faith in Christ. As the sun rises and sets on the savannah, so, too, will faith and relationships grow as kids explore connections with God, family, friends, and others around the world. Get ready to experience the most amazing community get-together under the sun.

Tim Keller on church size and how it impacts your leadership style

I love Tim Keller.  He writes such great stuff - outstanding clarity and conviction.  Below is the first part of an article he recent wrote on SermonCentral.com.  Click through at the end for a lot more of the article (like 5x's as much more!).

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CONCEPT

One of the most common reasons for pastoral leadership mistakes and missteps is blindness to the significance of church size. Size has an enormous impact on how a church functions; that being said, the “size-culture” profoundly affects how decisions are made, how relationships flow, how effectiveness is evaluated, and how its staff operates. We tend to think of the primary differences between churches in strictly denominational or theological terms, but that underestimates the impact of size on how a church operates. The difference between how two Presbyterian churches, one of 100 people and one of 2,000 members, function may be greater than the difference between a Presbyterian and a Pentecostal church of the same size. The staff person who goes from a church of 400 to a church of 2,000 is making a far greater change than if he or she moved from one denomination to another.
When Lyle Schaller gives names to the different church-size categories, he deliberately chooses completely different “orders of being.” He calls a church of less than 35 members a “cat,” a church of 100-175 a “garden,” and a church of 225-450 a “mansion.” Why? Because a larger church is not simply a larger version of a smaller church. The differences in communication, community formation, and decision-making processes are so great that the leadership skills required in each are almost of a completely different order.

II. A BALANCED VIEW OF A CHURCH’S SIZE

Every church size presents the pastor with particular obstacles and opportunities for biblical functioning peculiar to the category. For example, smaller church sizes make discipline and accountability far easier than it is in larger churches. However, it is easier to practice lay ministry and the priesthood of all believers in larger churches, where pastoral care must be done on a large scale by lay leaders. Smaller churches tend to acquiesce to clericalism. To use another example, larger churches in general have something of an advantage in evangelism; they can provide more “doors” into the church through their numerous programs. Also, many (not all!) non-Christians feel too visible to visit smaller churches.
A. Every church has a “size-culture,” which must be accepted. Most people probably have a size-culture they prefer. However, many people moralize their favorite size-culture and treat other size categories as spiritually or morally inferior. They may insist that the only biblical way to do church is to practice a different size-culture, despite the fact that the church itself is much bigger or smaller than they desire it to be.

• For example, if some members of a church of 800 feel they should be able to get the senior pastor personally on the phone without much difficulty, they are insisting on getting the kind of pastoral care that an under 200 size-culture provides. Of course, the pastor will soon be overwhelmed. The members may insist, however, that if he can’t be reached, he is failing in his biblical duty to be their shepherd, though there is a lack of biblical warrant for this claim.
• Another example is that of a new senior pastor of a 1,000-member church insisting that virtually all decisions be made by consensus of the whole Session and staff. Soon the elders are meeting every week for six hours each time! But the pastor may insist that for staff members to be making their own decisions means they are acting without accountability or that the staff lacks community. But to impose a size-culture practice on a church that does not have that size will wreak havoc on it and eventually force the church back into the size with which the practices are compatible.
• Another example is that of new members who have just joined a smaller church after years of attending a much larger church. They may begin complaining about the lack of professional quality in the church ministries and insisting that this shows a lack of spiritual excellence. The real problem is that in the smaller church things are done by volunteers that in the larger church are done by full-time staff. Also, the members might complain that the pastor’s sermons are not as polished and well-researched as they have come to expect from that of a larger church. But while a large-church pastor with multiple staff can afford to put 20 hours a week into sermon preparation, the solo pastor of a smaller church can devote less than half of that time each week.

From later in the article:

The smaller church by its nature gives immature, outspoken, opinionated, and broken members far more power over the whole body. Since everyone knows everyone else, when a family or small group of members expresses strong opposition to the direction set by the pastor and leaders, that small group’s misery can hold the whole congregation hostage. If they threaten to leave, the majority of people will urge the leaders to desist in their project. It is extremely difficult to get complete consensus from a group of 50-150 people about program and direction, especially in today’s diverse, fragmented society. Yet in smaller churches there is an unwritten rule that almost everyone must be happy with any new initiative in order for it to be implemented. Leaders of small churches must be brave enough to lead and to confront immature members in spite of its unpleasantness.

For the full article click here.

Dr. Timothy Keller is founder and senior pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. He is The New York Times bestselling author of The Reason for God,The Prodigal God, and Counterfeit Gods.

Is your church dying?

Top 10 signs of...

10.    There’s plenty of parking near the building for weekend services. 

  

9.      You can always get your favorite seat, or simply ask who is sitting in it to move.

  

8.      The music is always familiar, and never too loud.

   

7.      The pastor has been in everyone’s home, and knows everybody’s name.

  

6.      You are never asked for money.

  

5.      Phrases like, “We’ve never done it that way before,” “I’m not being faithless, just realistic,” “Why pray? God’s gonna do what God’s gonna do,” “If God wants His church to grow it will grow – we don’t have to do anything,” and “They really should do something about that” are common refrains.

  

4.      You can be confident that whatever change there is will be incremental, insignificant, and will only happen with your direct input and approval.

  

3.      There aren’t any of those left-leaning, evolution-believing, gay-marriage supporting, Harry Potter reading pagans daring to attend; just the pro-family, Christian-radio listening, fish-sticker wearing, big-Bible carrying types.

  

2.      The Bible is seldom taught in ways that are uncomfortable or challenging.

  

1.      It is always about you – getting fed, getting ministered to, with services evaluated by what you get out of it.

  

Yep, there you have it. The top ten signs of

  

...a dying church.

  

James Emery White 

(click above to see original)

Methodist Seminary to Add Muslim, Hindu and Jewish Curriculum

Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, California, plans to launch a new program this fall called The University Project " as a means to rethink classical models of theological education in an effort to promote inter-religious cooperation and ethical integrity in the training of religious leaders for a variety of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others." The new approach is intended to create leaders who not only preach tolerance, but have lived it themselves by interacting with those of other faiths. [FoxNews.com]

Apostasy or good idea?

Too many pastors?

While it's been hard to fill a pulpit during the last 10 years, Christian denominations are now experiencing a clergy glut — with some denominations reporting that they have two ministers for every vacant pulpit.

Marcia Myers, director of the vocation office for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which has four ministers for every opening, commented, "We have a serious surplus of ministers and candidates seeking calls." According to their data, PCUSA has 532 vacancies and 2,271 ministers seeking positions.

The Assemblies of God, United Methodist Church and the Church of the Nazarene have reported significant surpluses, as well. "There is just no place to go," said Patricia M.Y. Chang, an associate professor of sociology at Stanford University, who has studied clergy supply and demand for more than a decade. In the 1950s, there were roughly the same number of ministers as there were U.S. churches. But, now there are almost two ministers for every church, according to the latest Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches (607,944 ministers and 338,713 congregations).

This shift within denominations — which, not long ago, actively recruited pastors to fill their pulpits — reflects the impact of an ailing economy. Staff have been cut in churches where struggling parishioners are giving less, and older clergy are delaying their retirement because of their decreasing retirement funds. This leaves fewer positions available to younger ministers in a highly competitive job market where a "jack-of-all-trades" is expected to fill an opening.

Small congregations, however — those with 100 members or fewer — make up the majority of U.S. Protestant churches, but, in those pulpits, there's also a shortage of ministers. According to a 2008 study of the PCUSA, 71 percent of churches with fewer than 100 members had no permanent pastor. [ChristianCentury.org]

Protest Against Mosque by Ground Zero

Thousands of protesters gathered around the corner of Liberty and Church Streets in New York City last Sunday to voice their opposition to a proposed "mega mosque" near Ground Zero. A New York community board had voted 29-1 last month in favor of the plans to build the center. Opponents of the Muslim-led project say building an Islamic center so close to Ground Zero would be demeaning to the 2,976 victims and offensive to their family members of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The new Islamic mosque plans to open its doors on Sept. 11, 2011 — the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center attack. [WorldNetDaily.com, OneNewsNow.com]

What do you think about this?  Interesting dilemma, freedom of religion, or just say no?

Do Children Make Parents More Active Churchgoers?

A new research study by Barna Group, conducted among nearly 700 parents of children under the age of 18, asked respondents to describe how having children affected their connection to a church or faith community. The following are essentially five ways these parents describe how having children influenced their involvement with a church:

• No influence. The largest share of parents (50%) reported that having children did not influence their connection to a church. This perspective was most common among parents in the Northeast and West and among college graduates. Nine out of 10 atheists and agnostics said it made no influence, along with nearly seven out of 10 adults associated with a faith other than Christianity. Among Christian parents, 47 percent said that having children did not change their church life.
• Reconnected. About 17 percent said that having a child helped them reconnect with church after a long absence. Lower income homes and Hispanic parents were most likely to identify with this group.
• More active. Twenty percent of parents said they were already active, but became more involved after having children.
• Less active. Four percent of parents said that having children actually decreased their involvement with a church, this being most common among single parents and Asians.
• New commitment. Only one out of every 20 parents said that having a child helped them become active in a church for the first time. Midwest parents were among the most likely to express this view, as were Catholics and Hispanics.

To view the full report, click here.

Moving toward a light brown world - interracial marriage

I love this trend.  I miss the ethnic diversity of the neighborhood we lived in East St. Paul.  Why does color still matter to some in this day and age?  I reject that kind of thinking.

From FOTF's Pastor's Weekly Briefing:

A dramatic increase in "marrying out" has taken place in the United States, according to analysis by the Pew Research Center and the new U.S. Census Bureau data. In 2008, a record 14.6 percent of all new marriages were between spouses of a different race or ethnicity from each other — an estimated six times the intermarriage rate among newlyweds in 1960 and more than double the rate in 1980.

This record rate includes marriages between a Hispanic and non-Hispanic (Hispanics are an ethnic group, not a race), as well as marriages between spouses of different races — be they white, black, Asian, American Indian or those who identify as being of multiple races or "some other" race. However, different groups experienced different trends: rates more than doubled among whites and nearly tripled among blacks; but, for both Hispanics and Asians, rates were nearly identical in 2008 and 1980.

But, this attitudinal and behavioral change did not come overnight. As of 1987 — two decades after the Supreme Court ruled anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional — just 48 percent of the public said it was "OK for whites and blacks to date each other." By 2009, that share had grown to 83 percent. Acceptance is highest among young adults. Among adults ages 18 to 32, 93 percent approve; among adults ages 64 and older, 68 percent approve.

The Pew Research survey in 2009 posed the question: "How do you think you would react if a member of your family told you they were going to marry a [white American/African-American/Hispanic-American/Asian-American]? Would you be fine with it, would it bother you but you would come to accept it, or would you not be able to accept it?" When respondents revealed their attitudes about interracial marriage, 63 percent said it would be fine with them if a family member married "out" to all three other major racial and ethnic groups tested in the survey, and 80 percent said they would be fine with a new member of their family who came from at least one of the "out" groups. In fact, according to the census data, more than a third of adults (35%) say they have a family member who is married to someone of a different race.

This 2009 survey found that acceptance of out-marriage to whites (81%) is somewhat higher than is acceptance of out-marriage to Asians (75%), Hispanics (73%) or blacks (66%). The survey also showed the flip side of the same coin: Black respondents are somewhat more accepting of all forms of intermarriage than are white or Hispanic respondents. Visit the Pew Research site or click here for the full report.

A farewell song to all those who leave church for the summer

(HT: Brenton Balvin)

I haven't forgotten about this blog

I was just here (click on the photo to see full size):

and I was busy with a paddle in my hands and trying to not drown and hoping to connect with 5 other great guys.  I was successful on both fronts.

I went to the BWCA for the first time of my life last week.  We put in on #27 Snowbank Lake and ended up staying on an island in the middle of Disappointment Lake at camp # 1386.

Originally we thought we'd push through to the Jordan Lake area, but the weather had different plans.  We got some significant wind - far greater than we wanted to paddle through - so instead we were lazy.  We sat around camp and fished (I watched) and ate fish.  Life was good, very good.  Nice and relaxing.  And I didn't get a single bug bite until the day we left.  Then I got TORE UP by the little flying demons while portaging a canoe with my backpack on my back.  Hard to fight back with a canoe over your head.

So now I am itching and scratching something like 40 bites that run from my ankles to my thumbs, but it was worth it.

Some other time I'll regale you with the adventure we had paddling out.  We went out through Parent Lake, and that was a mistake.  Big Mistake.  BIG.

Motherhood statistics

According to results from a new report released last week, the face of motherhood has shifted significantly during the past two decades. Today's mothers of newborns are older and better educated, they are less likely to be white, and less likely to be married. Among the key findings of this report:

• Age: Mothers of newborns are older now than their counterparts were two decades ago. In 1990, teens had a higher share of all births (13%) than did women ages 35 and older (9%). In 2008, the reverse was true — 10 percent of births were to teens, compared with 14 percent to women ages 35 and older.

• Marital Status: A record four-in-ten births (41%) were to unmarried women in 2008, including most births to women in their early 20s. In 1990, 28 percent of births were to unmarried women. The unmarried-mother share of births has increased most sharply for whites and Hispanics, although the highest share is for black women.

• Race and Ethnicity: White women made up 53 percent of mothers of newborns in 2008, down from 65 percent in 1990. The share of births to Hispanic women has grown dramatically to one-in-four.

• Education: Most mothers of newborns (54%) had at least some college education in 2006, an increase from 41 percent in 1990. Among mothers of newborns who were ages 35 and older, 71 percent had at least some college education.

• Attitudes About Parenthood: When asked why they decided to have their first (or only) child, the overwhelming majority of parents (87%) answer, "The joy of having children." But, nearly half (47%) also say, "There wasn't a reason; it just happened."

All the trends above reflect a complex mix of demographic and behavioral factors. For example, the higher share of college-educated mothers stems both from their rising birth rates and from women's increasing educational attainment. The rise in births to unmarried women reflects both their rising birth rates and the shrinking share of adults who are married.

This report examined the changing demographic characteristics of U.S. mothers by comparing women who gave birth in 2008 with those who gave birth in 1990 and is based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Census Bureau, as well as results of a nationwide Pew Research Center survey. [PewResearch.org]

Amazing Indian food at Chapati in Northfield, MN

I have only eaten one meal today, and that was lunch at Chapati in Northfield, MN.  Chapati is an Indian restaurant, and is honestly the best Indian food I've ever had.  Best by a long way.  If you are looking for some great eats, it is right downtown on the North end of Division Street on the West side of the street.  Big red building, you can't miss it!  I will definitely eat there again!  They had a curry beef that was melt in your mouth tender and perfect seasoned.

Owning books increases the odds of your child graduating from college

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2010) — Whether rich or poor, residents of the United States or China, illiterate or college graduates, parents who have books in the home increase the level of education their children will attain, according to a 20-year study led by Mariah Evans, University of Nevada, Reno associate professor of sociology and resource economics.

For years, educators have thought the strongest predictor of attaining high levels of education was having parents who were highly educated. But, strikingly, this massive study showed that the difference between being raised in a bookless home compared to being raised in a home with a 500-book library has as great an effect on the level of education a child will attain as having parents who are barely literate (3 years of education) compared to having parents who have a university education (15 or 16 years of education). Both factors, having a 500-book library or having university-educated parents, propel a child 3.2 years further in education, on average.

More Americans Are Pro-Life

A year ago, Gallup^® discovered that Americans' views on abortion are turning more conservative. According to a May 3-6 Gallup poll, this view has carried over to 2010 with slightly more Americans calling themselves "pro-life" than "pro-choice" (47% vs. 45%). Last July, the percentage was 47 percent pro-life and 46 percent pro-choice, following a more strongly pro-life advantage of 51% to 42% last May. [Gallup.com]

High Court Says "Yes" to Library Filters

The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 in favor of the North Central Regional Library, which had been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union because it had installed filters on public library computers so pornography could not be accessed. The majority wrote in its opinion: "A public library has never been required to include all constitutionally protected speech in its collection and has traditionally had the authority, for example, to legitimately decline to include adult-oriented material such as pornography in its collections. This same discretion continues to exist with respect to Internet materials." [OneNewsNow.com, CitizenLink.com]

Happiness Increases and Stress Decreases After 50

According to results from newly published research, after age 50, daily stress and worry take a dive and daily happiness increases. The results were based on a Gallup phone survey of 340,847 adults, and published online in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Research shows that young adults experience more negative emotions more frequently than those who are older. Negative emotions, such as stress and anger, are similar in that they consistently decline with age, but worry holds steady until around 50, when it sharply drops.

This Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index was compiled in 2008 as the first year of a 25-year effort to measure well-being in the U.S.A. It asked adult respondents about various emotions, such as enjoyment, happiness, stress, worry, anger and sadness, and asked them to describe how they felt "yesterday."

"After 50 is when things start dropping off dramatically in terms of worry and stress. That's the turning point in some ways, but it's not a magic number in terms of everything that's better," says study co-author Arthur Stone, a professor of psychiatry and psychology at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y. He is also a senior scientist with Gallup. Stress is "constantly dropping, but the curve gets much steeper after age 50," he says.

The study also found that women reported greater stress, worry and sadness than men, at all ages. [USAToday.com]

Mondays can be rough in ministry

On many Mondays, myself as well as many of the other preachers around the world are pretty wiped out.  And I honestly don't know how some survive preaching 4+ times.  Monday usually means being tired, groggy, and irritable.  Some call it the holy hangover.  That's about right in my estimation.  Things just move more slowly for me on Monday.

But today was different.  Today was excellent!  The weather is perfect to start with.  So to take full advantage of that I rode my motorcycle to lunch.  Drinking in the sun, the sounds, and the smells while on the cycle is truly one of the great joys of life.  A solid power-to-weight ratio of a motorcycle never hurt either!

Add to that this week is the conclusion of our school year programming and I really feel like I will have some time now to catch my breath.  I feel like I have been running non-stop since Christmas. 

In a couple of weeks I will be heading up to the BWCA for a few days and am praying that brings some much needed de-stressing.  And the when we get to July and my wife's schedule slows down we might actually find some time to do nothing, and to do it well!

Life is good!

Guests at church next week

Invite your friend and family to come hear Pastor Tony Rambo share his vision for the church plant he has started in Stillwater, MN called The River Community Church.

I believe in God, but I don't trust Him with my money

Great morning of worship today!

It was a great morning of worship at First Congregational Church of Waseca, MN. You can download the sermon audio and video at http://WasecaChurch.org.  Today was week 3 of our Practical Atheists series titled:  I believe in God, but I don't trust Him with my money with Matthew 19:16-22 as one of the core verses we looked at.

Social media in our world today

Originally posted HERE - and if you click through there is more detail as well as info on the sources for the statistics.





Stats from Video (sources listed below by corresponding #)

1. Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30-years-old
2. 96% of them have joined a social network
3. Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the U.S.
4. Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web
5. 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
6. Years to Reach 50 millions Users:  Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…
7. Facebook added over 200 million users in less than a year
8. iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.
9. We don’t have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it.”
10. If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 3rd largest ahead of the United States and only behind China and India
11. Yet, QQ and Renren dominate China
12. 2009 US Department of Education study revealed that on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction
13. 80% of companies use social media for recruitment; % of these using LinkedIn 95%
14. The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females
15. Ashton Kutcher and Ellen Degeneres (combined) have more Twitter followers than the  populations of Ireland, Norway, or Panama.  Note I have adjusted the language here after someone pointed out the way it is phrased in the video was difficult to determine if it was combined.
16. 50% of the mobile Internet traffic in the UK is for Facebook…people update anywhere, anytime…imagine what that means for bad customer experiences?
17. Generation Y and Z consider e-mail passé – some universities have stopped distributing e-mail accounts
18. Instead they are distributing: eReaders + iPads + Tablets
19. What happens in Vegas stays on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook…
20. The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube
21. While you watch this 100+ hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube
22. Wikipedia has over 15 million articles…studies show it’s more accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica…78% of these articles are non-English
23. There are over 200,000,000 Blogs
24. Because of the speed in which social media enables communication, word of mouth now becomes world of mouth
25. If you were paid a $1 for every time an article was posted on Wikipedia you would earn $156.23 per hour
26. 25% of search results for the World’s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content
27. 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands
28. Do you like what they are saying about your brand? You better.
29. People care more about how their social graph ranks products and services  than how Google ranks them
30. 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations
31. Only 14% trust advertisements
32. Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI
33. 90% of people that can TiVo ads do
34. Kindle eBooks Outsold Paper Books on Christmas
35. 24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation
36. 60 millions status updates happen on Facebook daily
37. We no longer search for the news, the news finds us.
38. We will non longer search for products and services, they will find us via social media
39. Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate
40. Successful companies in social media act more like Dale Carnegie and less like Mad Men Listening first, selling second
41. The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years
42. Bonus: comScore indicates that Russia has the most engage social media audience with visitors spending 6.6 hours and viewing 1,307 pages per visitor per month – Vkontakte.ru is the #1 social network

Fewer Young Adults Attending Church

According to a new survey by a Christian research firm, a majority of young adults, age 18 to 29, don't pray, don't worship and don't read the Bible.
The research, conducted by LifeWay Christian Resources, revealed that:

• Sixty-five percent identify themselves as Christian, while 14 percent say they are atheist or agnostic, 14 percent list no religious preference, and 8 percent claim other religions.
• Sixty-five percent rarely or never pray with others, and 38 percent almost never pray by themselves either.
• Sixty-five percent rarely or never attend worship services.
• Sixty-seven percent don't read the Bible or sacred texts.
• Seventy-two percent say they're "really more spiritual than religious."
• Many are unsure Jesus is the only path to heaven: Half say, yes — half say, no.

"We have dumbed down what it means to be part of the church so much that it means almost nothing, even to people who already say they are part of the church," says Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources.

The survey was based on telephone interviews in August 2009 with 1,200 18-to-29-year-olds. The study forms the basis for the upcoming book, "The Millennials: Connecting to America's Largest Generation," by Dr. Thom Rainer and Jess Rainer. For further details about the results of the survey go to LifeWay Research.
Focus on the Family Action has a new outreach to 20-somethings which encourages Millennials to live out their faith by getting involved in issues they care about. It can be found at RisingVoice.com.

Jesus speaking to you?

Jesus Speaks Back

A majority of Americans believe that Jesus speaks back to them in two-way communication, according to results from a new Barna Group^® survey. The study was conducted among a random sample of 2,002 U.S. adults.

While an overwhelming majority of Americans claim to pray during a typical week (more than 80%), the results point out that a majority also believes that Jesus speaks back to them. Overall, 38 percent said they are "completely certain" that Jesus speaks to them in ways that are personal and relevant to their circumstances. An additional 21 percent said they are "somewhat certain" that He does so, while 10 percent contend that Jesus speaks to them, but they were not as sure about that communication. Eight percent did not know if Jesus Christ speaks to them. In total, less than one-quarter of all adults (23%) stated that Jesus does not speak to them.

According to Americans, Jesus speaks to them in multi-faceted ways. At least one out of every six adults contends that He communicates with them in the following manner:

• By influencing or connecting directly with their mind, emotions or feelings (52%).
• Through the content of a Bible passage they read or which was read to them (41%).
• By providing a sign (36%).
• Through sermon or teaching content concerning their immediate situation or need (34%).
• Through miraculous or inexplicable circumstances or outcomes (31%).
• Through words spoken to them by someone else who was speaking for God (31%).
• Through a passage they read in a book other than the Bible (18%).
• Through an audible voice or whisper that they could hear (16%).

Click here to view the full report from Barna.

Pray for awakening in your church

From Justin Taylor's blog:

You can pray that God would move in way that results in:

• hundreds of people coming to Christ,
• old animosities being removed,
• marriages being reconciled and renewed,
• wayward children coming home,
• long-standing slavery to sin being conquered,
• spiritual dullness being replaced by vibrant joy,
• weak faith being replaced by bold witness,
• disinterest in prayer being replaced by fervent intercession,
• boring Bible reading being replaced by passion for the Word,
• disinterest in global missions being replaced by energy for Christ’s name among the nations, and
• lukewarm worship being replaced by zeal for the greatness of God’s glory.