Within  our Christian brotherhood we have both liberals and conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians.  Many of them are active in the political sphere. In this essay, the dangers that can befall all groups are highlighted. 

http://essaysonchristianity.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-siren-allure-of-political-activism.html

"Diversity" is a word charged with meaning in our world.  It usually provokes strong emotions from both proponents and antagonists.  In the secular world arguments for diversity rest upon two postulates: 1) Racial discrimination in the past necessitates positive inclusion of minority groups in decisions in order to "make up" for past discrimination in organizations 2)  "Studies show how diversity improves academic performance, reduces prejudice, lowers stress and psychological…

As I detailed in a recent post, our church has adopted a local elementary school. While the children in schools are often adopted, the teachers often are left out. So our church decided to help the teachers--who are underpaid and understaffed--in many ways, including providing them school supplies.

After the church delivered a ton of…

One of the primary challenges that the church and Christians have in the US is bad PR. Amongst non-Christians and non-church going folk, churches and Christians are unfortunately often portrayed and viewed as intolerant, bigoted, and self-serving.

Some of the primary challenges of public schools and school administrators are:…

http://devanandmedapaty.wix.com/icoc#!projects/c21kz

In our fellowship, there has been a lot of debate about how to read Scripture (our hermeneutic). But while the traditional hermeneutic of "command, approved example, and necessary inference" is never laid out like this in Scripture, Jesus does give us an approved hermeuetic--himself.

On resurrection day in Luke 24, two disciples are walking on the road to Emmaus, They are depressed because Jesus had been killed, and they had put their hope in him.…

Wow. This Vanity Fair article reports that there are now laws in China requiring people to visit their parents. Laws are rarely effective in forcing people to practice these types of "moral issues." At best, it breeds legalistic, bare minimum compliance. Would it not be better to instill love and…

Here is the next generation--Gen X--in the Generations series.

Generation X (1965-1980)

- 46 million (added to with immigration) as opposed to 80 million Boomers, 78 million Millennials

- Parents: Silent and Boomer

- Children - Millennial and Digitals

1. Well-Known/Significant Gen Xers

• President - Barak Obama*   *(Note - President Obama was actually born in 1961; however, some generational studies start Gen X at 1961,…

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,     

I am sorry to say about the loss by the unprecedented flash floods in the state of Uttarkhand, one of Indian states. There are thousands of people were dead and many are missing.

The tragedy in Uttarakhand is slated to worsen with the death toll expected to cross…

Today, there are numerous, endless really, debates about "worship" (not only in Churches of Christ, but in other fellowships as well, though our debates seem to be of a different nature, perhaps). Still, these debates seem to miss the most fundamental issue in the Scriptures about the nature of worship today, which is this. Worship in the New Testament is not limited to a time or place, but is a constant, continual…

Fathers Are Important!

Sadly, our society has devalued the importance of fathers for a long time. At one time, one of the most popular shows on television was “Father Knows Best.” Can you imagine such a show today? Any show titled in this way would have to be an ironic, smirking view meant to show that fathers do not know much. Even I grew up with Alan Thicke as a…

Today I was struck by this news story - Transgender Student Suit Goes to Maine High Court. It is about a lawsuit filed against a Maine school due to their child's being sent to his/her own bathroom due to being "transgender."

As…

Here is a very helpful article on churches and social media.

----------------------------------------------------

Top 5 Churches That Use Social Media Best

By Alex…

Below are some of the characteristics and values of the Boomer generation.

Boomer Generation (1945-1964) 

- 79 million! (10% immigrant)

- Parents: GI and Silent

- Children - Gen X and Millennial

- Grandchildren - Digitals

- Can be sub-divided into Leading Edge Boomers (1946-1955)…

The Generation after the Senior/GI Generation is the "Silent Generation." Here are the characteristics, shaping events, values, etc. of the Silent Generation. Source Material: Generations  by William Strauss & Neil Howe

“Silent” Generation (1925-1945)

- 49 million Born/Immigrated (9% immigrant)

- Children - Boomer and Gen X

-…

Here is Wikipedia's entry on the new movie, "The Purge."  

"In 2022, the United States has become a single state party ruled by the New Founding Fathers of America, which has instituted through the 28th Amendment an annual twelve-hour period called "The Purge" during which all criminal activity becomes legal, including…