Congregationalism & Churches
No other created object tells us more about the real God. I have never been able to understand why anyone would worship a wooden statue. Or a tree or an Asherah pole, a cow or an elephant, or a god who looks like a frog. I think I get it at an intellectual level—they represent… Read More
The Bible in a Year and The Bible Recap started 2022 as the most popular podcasts and have held onto listeners verse by verse. The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, but in a new technological era, podcasts about the Bible are topping charts as well. Two podcasts geared toward reading the Bible… Read More
Putin’s war on Ukraine has thrown the world into economic crisis. How should Christians lament the financial fallout? War is upon the world. But videos of tanks, airplanes, and explosions are not all that fill social media timelines. Many are worried about the stock market. Brokerage accounts, 401(k)s, and 529 plans have endured the twists… Read More
Christian tradition diverges on the nature and meaning of the Lord’s Supper. Lent is a season of preparation in which Christians get ready to celebrate the momentous events of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. Some use this season as an opportunity to draw near to God by engaging in confession, fasting, and meditation on Scripture.… Read More
As both a writer and a scholar, his work hearkened back to a “slow, contemplative, symphonic world.” In the prologue to The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien tells us two things about his beloved hobbits that identify them as medieval in their thinking and their behavior. First, their relationship to technology is… Read More
New breakaway denomination moves up its launch as the United Methodist Church announces it’ll be two more years before voting on a split over LGBT stances. The United Methodist Church has delayed its General Conference meeting for a third time due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. In response, some conservative United Methodists have announced they… Read More
My Russian-born son enlisting reminded me of my identity in Christ. “He’s like a little soldier!” Those were among the first words my wife, Maria, and I spoke when meeting a little baby in a Russian orphanage almost 20 years ago. As we walked into the room, this tiny-but-scrappy fellow climbed up against the slats… Read More
The neighboring country focuses on hospitality while hoping Russian violence doesn’t cross its border. Eugen Cozonac has spent the past week focused on refugees. More than 112,000 have crossed Ukraine’s southwestern border into his home country of Moldova, a landlocked nation that’s not much bigger than the state of Maryland. As a cabinet-level director within… Read More