A core story for all people
More Stories from this Author
Iran, Russia and the end times
Film in review: “Undefeated”
As a documentary, "Undefeated" is compelling because it seems so honest and down-to-earth. Bill Courtney, a successful small-business owner in North Memphis, has a wife and four kids and lives in an affluent (white) suburb. Nothing unusual there.
Film in review: “In Darkness”
This one was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign film. It’s “Schindler’s List” in the sewer. Literally. A Polish sewer maintenance man hides some Jews in the sewer underneath the city of Lvov while it was occupied by the Nazis during World War II.
Presbyterian leader George Telford dies at 78; Pastor, theologian was active in Presbyterian reunion efforts
The Rev. George B. Telford, a leader in the Presbyterian Church before and after reunion, died Feb. 28 after a battle with pancreatic metastatic cancer. He was 78.
The changing face of camp & conference ministry
Camp and conference centers in the PC(USA) continue to play a vital and expanding role in the denomination. They provide and support Christian education, disciple-making, young adult leadership, congregational support, retreats of all varieties, evangelism and outreach.
Conference center doubles as animal rescue facility
W ith dollars being hard to come by and congregations and presbyteries feeling the pinch, many Presbyterian camps and conference centers are in a season of re-evaluation. Some have closed, and some are reconfiguring to diversify and firm up their financial base.
Beyond the box
T
he book was published 10 years ago. The traveling show — presenting full-day seminars on the subject by the authors Bill Easum and Dave Travis — circled the country around that time, too. And a big impact was made, if only by putting the title in front of the church: “Beyond the Box.”
Compass Points certification program for camp and conference leaders
The Compass Points Certification Program was developed by the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association (PCCCA) in partnership with Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga.
Proposal would ‘hit the reset button,’ allow non-geographic presbyteries
DALLAS
The General Assembly Mid-Councils Commission has voted 15-5 to permit non-geographic, “provisional presbyteries” as part of a “designated season of reflective experimentation” in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
MCC calls for initiatives on agencies, ethnic ministry
The General Assembly Mid-Councils Commission is calling for reviews of the denomination’s top-level agencies and its racial ethnic ministry.
Work all four doors
You know about the front door, the one painted red. But you have three other doors as well. If you work all four doors, your church will grow and thrive.
Let’s take these doors one by one:
The Other 80 Percent: Turning Your Church’s Spectators Into Active Participants
The Other 80 Percent: Turning Your Church’s Spectators Into Active Participants
by Scott Thumma and Warren Bird
Jossey-Bass (a Leadership Network publication). 256 pages
reviewed by ANDREW PLOUCHER
What about the inactive members? Where’d they go? If you’ve ever asked this question, deflected it during a tense session meeting or been frustrated with the challenges of developing a more active church membership, “The Other 80 Percent” is a must read.
Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help
Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help
by Robert Lupton
HarperOne, San Francisco. 208 pages
reviewed by MIKE LITTLE
Can our charitable efforts to help the poor actually harm the very people we set out to help? In his most recent book, “Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help,” Robert Lupton contends the answer is unequivocally “yes.” In fact, he believes the harmful consequences of our charitable work are a national scandal.
What happened to PUP?
Faith leaders slam bid for Christian state
(ENInews) In Monrovia, Liberia's capital city, hundreds of civilians have been signing a petition that is seeking to make the West African country a Christian nation.
Board of Pensions approves benefits for same-gender domestic partners
Starting in 2013, the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will begin offering benefits to same-gender domestic partners of those who are members of the board’s pension and other benefits plans.
Janet Edwards to stand for moderator
A fifth candidate has emerged to stand for moderator of the 2012 General Assembly. Janet Edwards, co-moderator of More Light Presbyterians
from 2008-2011 and a Presbyterian minister for 35 years, has announced that she will stand for moderator, even though Pittsburgh Presbytery voted on Feb. 2 not to endorse her.
Edwards is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and earned a doctorate from Duquesne University. She currently is involved with Community of Reconciliation Church, a multi-denominational congregation in Pittsburgh, although she is not the pastor there. Edwards and her husband, Alvise, have been married for more than 30 years and have two sons.
Reyes-Chow launches church on-line
Here’s the idea: start a new Presbyterian church. Progressive. Online.
Former General Assembly moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow and a small group of Presbyterian leaders from across the country have announced plans to plant a new church that would connect people primarily through social media.
Forged by war: A pastor’s calling, a father’s journey
Downey, Calif. (Special to the Presbyterian News Service) The Rev. Candie Blankman, pastor of the multi-cultural urban First Presbyterian Church of Downey, admits that her Midwestern, suburban and fairly homogenous small town upbringing might seem a world away from her current call.
Top European official urges Iran to halt execution of Christian pastor
Geneva (ENInews) The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, urged Iran to release a Christian pastor sentenced to death for apostasy amid reports his execution may be imminent.
“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”
Despite the fact that this movie is really bad, there are some decidedly religious themes, which make it at least an idle curiosity.
“The Secret World of Arriety”
“The Borrowers” was originally written in 1952, and there have been many literary and cinematic adaptations ever since, but the concept is a timeless one: the reason things keep disappearing around the house is that there are little people who live under the floor and “borrow” them. They don’t mean anyone any harm, they just take what they need and try to keep a low profile, so you never see them.
Film in review: “There Be Dragons”
It’s the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The entire country is in chaos. What began as a kind of populist “occupy movement” turned into a full-blown revolution, where family members took up arms against each other. After the fighting started there was no stopping it until the bitter end, and in that war there were many bitter endings.
Film in review: “Safe House”
Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is one of those patriotic young Americans who think they're doing everything they're supposed to do.