Free Republic

By Ethan Cole Christian Post Reporter Sun, Mar. 25 2007 11:42 AM ET The Holy Bible has undergone a major cosmetic change including glossy pages and a seductive cover rivaling contemporary fashion magazines.“Bible Illuminated, Gamla Testament: The Book” takes on the format of a magazine and was designed by former Swedish advertiser Dag Söderberg, who is now project leader for the new Swedish publication, according to an article featured on Sweden’s official website.“Most people have issues with the Bible,” Söderberg said in the article posted in Sweden.se. “They have never gotten into it. They don’t find it accessible. But it’s...

Are there any Jewish Rick Warrens? That’s not a fair question. There are few people of any faith like Warren. As I sat listening to him speak at Sinai Temple’s Friday Night Live Shabbat services last week, I thought of the only other person I’d met with Warren’s eloquence, charisma, and passion — but Bill Clinton carries a certain amount of baggage that Warren doesn’t. Warren spoke at Sinai as part of the Synagogue 3000 program, which aims to revitalize Jewish worship. The program’s leader, Rabbi Ron Wolfson, met Warren a decade ago and was influenced by the pastor’s first...

Christian Men Seek Lost Masculinity By Lillian Kwon Christian Post Reporter Tue, Mar. 20 2007 06:32 PM ET A new men's movement is burgeoning into the Christian scene, picking up men bored in the pews and toughening them up with the other side of Jesus' image - the table-tipping side. "Men are a punchline in America," said comedian Brad Stine, founder of GodMen, on ABC News. "Anything that's masculine is considered misogynistic, suspect, trying to be oppressive. We're none of those things."GodMen brings hundreds of Christian men together to do "guy stuff," things they normally would not do in the...

What’s Wrong with "User Friendly"? Recently, the 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary was published. The reprint included 10,000 new words–words that will bring us all up to date. Words like "phat" (excellent), "dead presidents" (paper currency), and "McJob" (low paying, dead-end job) are among the entries that will finally help us communicate with our teenagers. How did those words make it into the updated dictionary? There is one criterion: usage. A word qualifies for the new edition based on how widespread its usage has become. While I can’t imagine how phat, McJob, and dead presidents will find a...

We are living in a society permeated with the concept of self-esteem. The gurus of humanistic psychology have convinced us that feeling good about ourselves is one of our basic felt needs. A positive self-image has become the sine qua non of human growth and success. Many evangelical churches, including many who find their roots in the Reformation, have attempted to Christianize such thought. They have adopted the concept of seeker sensitivity in the desire to grow their churches. The gurus of the Church Growth movement have convinced many pastors and church leaders that we must be sensitive to the...

Monday, Aug. 22, 2005 Warren clarifies SBC ties By Greg Warner Associated Baptist Press LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Saddleback Community Church is the largest congregation in the Southern Baptist Convention. But is it really Southern Baptist? Pastor Rick Warren told a group of high-profile journalists in May that the 40,000-member church no longer is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. But he retracted that statement Aug. 20, saying he misspoke. A "transcript" of the interview, which was posted on the website of the widely respected Pew Forum for Religion and Public Life in May, was altered to delete the...

Top 50 Most Influential Churches The 2005 survey was sent to 2,000 church leaders with the goal of ranking the nation’s fastest growing churches and churches with more than 2,000 weekend attendance. The 127 churches nominated for the 50 Most Influential Churches survey were located in 32 states and represented 27 affiliation groups and/or denominations. The term affiliation is used to include networks of unaffiliated, independent churches.

by Johan D.TangelderApril 2005 One of North America's most prominent religious movements in the last two decades of the 20th century was “effective evangelism.” It seeks “to grow” churches by using tools from the fields of management, marketing, psychology, and communications. Its reliance on business methods was lifted to great heights by the “church growth” school movement. Theology gave way to technique. The concern “Will it work?” began to overshadow the question “Is it true?” CHURCH GROWTH MOVEMENT Many people identify this movement with the late Donald McGavran, a missionary to India, who coined the term “church growth.” In 1959...

MEDIA MATTERS'Focus on the Family' too political?Radio station manager complains show makes some uncomfortable Posted: December 18, 20031:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Producers of the widely popular daily radio program "Focus on the Family" have pulled the show from a Columbia, S.C., Christian station after its general manager refused to air an episode he thought was too political. After airing on WMHK-FM for 24 years, the radio program hosted by author and psychologist Dr. James Dobson has been pulled effective Jan. 2, reports the Columbia State newspaper. "'Focus on the Family' seems to think the political agenda is intertwined with the...