What we learn about Bible figures from the clothing they put on, take off, and tear apart. Storytellers know that the unfolding of dramatic events can be hard to follow. So to help their audiences make sense of what is happening, they often insert symbolic clues. In cartoons, the villains scowl and speak with gravelly …
A new biography helps us come to terms with the unsavory side of the great revivalist’s mission to America. On the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, there sits a statue of one of the school’s co-founders: George Whitefield, the 18th-century British evangelist and hero of the Great Awakening. Underneath it, one finds a quote …
Rural ministry is experiencing a resurgence in the US even as economic and demographic numbers continue their decline. These days, living in small-town America often means living with less. 2018 marked another year of decline in many rural and small towns: economies suffering; local residents aging or moving away; and many struggling with addiction, disillusionment, …
According to two researchers, the key to “sticky faith” is conversation. During a three-year longitudinal study launched by the Fuller Youth Institute, a parent with three post–high school kids reflected on the changes she’s witnessed over the years: “I think if I were to go back and re-parent, I actually would allow my kids more …
Christian leaders have their own reasons for not reading Scripture. It’s worth remembering that Augustine was “weeping, with agonizing anguish in [his] heart” over his inability to control himself before he read Romans 13:13–14. We tend to think that Scripture usually works the other direction. We read seeking instruction, wisdom, or intimacy and then read …
Muslims (and other minorities) shouldn’t have to elevate national ideals above faith commitments before gaining a seat at the table of citizenship. Eboo Patel’s latest book, Out of Many Faiths, explores the daunting challenges and encouraging possibilities at work amid America’s religious diversity. In what might be the book’s most important contribution, Patel explores the …
Jesus’ family tree offers more than a history lesson. We joke that most people fear public speaking more than death, but this has not been the case for me. I am frequently behind a microphone teaching the Bible to large groups with a healthy fear of the text but little fear of the audience. So …
Researcher Mary Lederleitner explores the confusions and frustrations they face. What distinctive gifts do women have for the global church? Is the church helping or hindering women leaders? In Women in God’s Mission: Accepting the Invitation to Serve and Lead, missions researcher Mary Lederleitner describes both the particular obstacles women leaders face and the unique …
Growing old is not what it used to be. For millions of retirees, that may actually be good news. Pat Poole felt a mix of relief and uncertainty once he decided to retire from his sales management job at Halliburton at the end of March. An Oklahoma Sooners football fan and an avid golfer, Poole …
This grain’s genome echoes of the strength found in the diversity of God’s people. Like many kids, I grew up picking wild grasses believing that they were wheat. I would pick one from the yard of my childhood home, believing the harvest I held in my hands could be transformed into food. As I grew …