LifeWay Research studies how churches can help pastors last longer.
CHR Comment: The study involved former senior pastors from four American Protestant denominations who retired early rather than stay in parish ministry. The report provides suggestions to congregations who plan to retain their pastors.
(UPDATED) Larycia Hawkins ‘flummoxed and flabbergasted’ by decision; Chicago Tribune had praised ‘remarkable tolerance’ of both sides.
CHR Comment: College leadership has asked Prof. Hawkins to explain her understanding of the college’s statement of faith four times and on a variety of issues including: theology proper, liberation theology, and sexuality. It seems clear that Prof. Hawkins is pushing the boundaries of her institution’s understanding of the Christian faith. The article explains that her views are minority positions held among American Evangelicals. Her tenure with the college is terminated for two years but may be restored.
Source: Wheaton College Recommends Terminating Tenured Professor over… | Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com
In the age of the megachurch, meet some very small congregations that defy the odds for survival and thrive by “being all you can be in a religious setting.”
CHR Comment: In 2010, 49% of congregations had 100 or fewer members. That figure rose to 58% in the last five years. 90% of American congregations are Protestant and the majority of them fit into the smaller churches category. The article explains a study of changes in American religious life and how some congregations are finding ways to thrive.
Source: Tiny churches, big hopes: Why some thrive despite the odds – Religion News Service
Arne Duncan did not go quietly. In his final speech as U. S. Education Secretary, Duncan on Wednesday delivered a blunt, wide-ranging, sometimes unsparing address.
CHR Comment: Duncan spoke from the basement of Saint Sabina Catholic Church, on the south side of Chicago. The church is home to a private school, Saint Sabina Academy, for grades K through 8. His comments focused on improving safety and conditions for students.
Source: In farewell, Duncan chides ‘collective failure’ to protect kids
I’m adding a more personal post during the Christmas season to share a little about how our family celebrates. We put our tree up a little before Christmas and will keep it up through the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 5). This year we used dried flowers and leaves for decorating. Here is a description of our tree, which was fun to put together.
Angel. Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to the holy child, Jesus, our Savior (Luke 1:26-38). An angel announced to Joseph that Mary’s firstborn son was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). Angels also announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds (Luke 2:8-21). We love to place our angel figure atop the tree to remember these truths of Christmas.
White Flowers. Our daughter, Gretchen, clipped white snakeroot blossoms in late fall, bound them together, and hung them to dry in our garage. The blossoms turn a soft gray when they are completely dry. They are delicate so we had to handle them gently or else the petals would separate from the flower heads and drift about.
Purple Flowers. In November Gretchen clipped two types of purple mums (one variety is a bit darker than the other). She hung these also to dry in the garage. Mums are very sturdy dried flowers and retain their color well.
Yellow Flowers. We feel that the yellow mums really make the tree beautiful since they show up so well against the evergreen foliage and their color is a compliment to the purple mums. You can see them looking fairly fresh in Gretchen’s photo above. The dark purple mums are drier in the photo.
Leaves. We used two types of dried leaves. The yellow leaves are from a gingko tree. Most leaves look bright when they first fall but fade to dull browns and grays when they are fully dry. I noticed this year, however, that gingko leaves retain their color. So we collected them and strung them together in short chains connected with hot glue.
The other leaves are from a tree in our wood lot. I don’t know the species but it produces large, lobe-shaped leaves. They were also bright yellow when they first fell and I gathered them up with enthusiasm. However, as they fully dried, they lost that bright yellow color. They turned a nice butterscotch brown so I decided that we might still find a place for them in the decorating. I found that by tying six leaves together, you can create a nice, large flower-shape (you can see one just behind Susan’s head in the photo above).
Lights. Susan loves a tree with lights! So we included a few strands of simple white lights. They really help brighten the tree and look great when we turn down the other lights in the room.
In this Christmas season, we pray that the Lord would bless your household with the light of Christ our Savior!
The Sanctuary Movement made headlines in January by providing refuge in Philadelphia to a Honduran woman whose two children were born in the United States.
CHR Comment: The article provides two very different figures for the number of churches participating in the Sanctuary Movement. One pastor says 50, another mentions 300. Since persons from Central America may be eligible for asylum, the churches offer them a place to stay until their status is confirmed.
Source: Churches Offer Refuge For Central Americans Facing US Deportation
(RNS) The “Harvard of evangelicalism” penalizes a professor for saying Muslims and Christians worship the “same God.”
CHR Comment: Professor Larycia Hawkins raised concerns as she sought to show solidarity with Muslims by wearing a hijab and stating that Christians and Muslims have the same God. Hawkins, an Episcopalian who teaches political science at Wheaton College, made statements that are viewed as incompatible with the Evangelical school’s statement of faith.
Source: Wheaton College must decide hijab-wearing prof’s future – and its own – Religion News Service
One Sunday two years ago, Pastor Rob McCoy, who believes in banning abortion and gay marriage and putting prayer back in schools, stood at the pulpit of his California mega church and announced he was endorsing a political candidate: himself.
CHR Comment: The American Renewal Project, organized by David Lane, seeks to have 1,000 conservative, evangelical pastors run for local political offices. The goal is to support a local, grass roots effort to change the cultural and political direction of the United States toward more conservative, traditional, and Christian values. However, the movement may face the risk of having churches lose their tax exempt status, according to reporter Michelle Conlin.
Source: For God and country: more U.S. pastors seek political office in 2016 | Reuters
Several Chicago pastors held a press conference this morning, demanding that footage depicting another white police officer shooting an unarmed black teenager be released to the public.
CHR Comment: Three pastors are circulating a petition to remove Mayor Emanuel from office due to the handling of an investigation into a police shooting. While the pastors express concern for social justice, the mayor is likely concerned to keep civil order in a tense situation.
Source: Why Chicago pastors reject Mayor Emanuel’s ‘olive branch of peace’ – CSMonitor.com
Muslims, like Catholics and Mormons, fall victim to our persistent fear of those who worship differently.
CHR Comment: Professor Stephen Prothero of Boston University gives his views on the role that religion has played in American life and politics. He mentions the suspicions Protestants had about Roman Catholics and Mormons as a lens through which to see how conservative Christians are speaking about Islam today.
Source: Trump’s religious bigotry is as American as apple pie: Column
church history review 