Yes, the day is here! My book, “The Work of the Associate Pastor” (part of Judson Press’ vocational ministry series) is on sale. There are a number of options:
Consider this your invitation to buy a copy. Look for more shameless promotion in the future.
With the selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney‘s running mate, religious history was made. Some historians believe this is the first presidential major party ticket that does not feature a protestant running for president or vice-president. Romney is Mormon and Ryan is Catholic. Other historians have made the case that Eisenhower and Lincoln did not officially belong to a protestant church when they ran. Regardless of how candidates affiliated themselves with a religion, the 2012 election is different.
Could we have the first non-protestant president since John F. Kennedy?
Even though our Constitution specially outlaws religious affiliation as a qualifier for elected office, Americans generally like a president that invokes God, prays, receives counsel from religious leaders, and has a faith in the God of the Bible. A 2012 Pew Poll found that 67% of respondents believe it is important for the president to have strong religious beliefs. If religious beliefs play a factor in voting for a president, then Gallup’s discovery of 41% of voters claiming to be “very religious” plays a significant role in selecting a president. Back in the spring of 2012, Gallup also found that, “Highly religious Americans, particularly those who are white and Protestant, disproportionately support presumptive Republican presidential candidate Romney…This reinforces a basic pattern in American voting behavior that has been evident for decades.”
It seems that Americans generally like a president with a faith, but how religious does the candidate need to be?
Check this Religion News Service article on the lack of social media mention of faith communities:
According to a recent Pew survey, one-third of adults who use the Internet do not use social networking sites. And a significant minority of Americans do not access the Internet. The survey also found half of Facebook users didn’t list their religious affiliation on their profile. The Rev. Alan Rudnick, pastor of First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa in upstate New York, considers Facebook and Twitter essential for reaching out to his congregation and local community, but said Americans may be reluctant to label themselves for personal spiritual reasons or out of fear of being ostracized.
Even though about half of all Americans use Facebook once a week,only 40% of people report that their church has an active Facebook page. Only 14% of Catholic Churches have a Facebook presence. And, only about 10% of people post or update their status with something about their church.
These statistics are from a new report from Public Religion Research Institute. The study reveals some insightful trends on social media and church. For instance, only 5% of respondents reported following a pastor or other spiritual leader.
It seems there are two things happening here. First, there is a disconnect between churches and their adherents with regard to connecting through social media. Second, a minority of churches actively use social media to communicate their ministries. I truly believe a lot of churches try “social media” and become frustrated with websites, Facebook pages, or other social medium. Here is why:
We had a lively debate on my post “Are you supporting Chick-fil-A day?” Click and read the Facebook comments.
However, there were other people weighing in that I think you should read. These are not endorsements, but are comments that you should read to consider in order to be informed:
“Palin: Chick-fil-A owner “getting crucified” CBS News, Sarah Palin.
I am speaking up for him, and his First Amendment rights, and anybody else who would wish to express their not anti-gay people sentiment, but their support for traditional marriage, which President Obama and Joe Biden they both supported the exact same thing until just a few months ago when Obama had to flip flop to shore up the homosexual voter base.”
“Some words for Christians on both sides of the Chick-fil-A war” by Rachel Held Evans, RachelHeldEvans.com
You will not find me eating a Chick-fil-A sandwich in a Chick-fil-A restaurant today.
Why? Am I supporting gay marriage by boycotting Chick-fil-A? No.
The comments from Chick-fil-A’s president, Dan Cathy affirming traditional marriage has set off an ugly firestorm. “Guilty as charged,” was his smug response in a Baptist Press interview on the corporation’s support of the traditional view of biblical marriage: “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit.” Then mayors, governors, politicians, religious leaders, and radio personalities blasted Cathy. In return, even more mayors, politicians, and religious leaders responded to critics of Cathy. Then, the pro-gay marriage folks call for a boycott of Chick-fil-A. In return, pro-traditional marriage people created “Support Chick-fil-A day” and I’m not going.
I’ve never been a fan of business boycotts that involve entertainment or eating. Years ago, many conservative Christians boycotted buy anything Disney related because of Disney’s pro-gay employee practices. I went to see Disney made movies.
Both pro-Chick-fil-A and anti-Chick-fil-A people have really upset me. One group supports Chick-fil-A and says, “Look at our support and piety!” The other side yells, “That company is made up of bigots! If you buy their stuff it makes you one too!” Both reactions are Pharisaic.
“You don’t understand Penn State! This has nothing to do with football” Is an angry response I heard to my 2011 blog post, Sins of Omission, Paterno & Penn State.
This child abuse scandal has everything to do with football and you do not have to be a Penn State student or alumni to understand it.
By now, the country has heard of the NCAA sanctions Penn State received and the fall out from investigations resulting from school leadership failing to respond to child abuse resulting from coach, Jerry Sandusky.
Understandably, many Penn State students, fans, and alumni are upset at yet another blow to the school’s and the football program’s reputation. Basically, the school’s team will not be able to really come back to full strength till 2020. To add to their lament, the school took down Joe Paterno‘s statute because the school felt it became it became “a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our university and beyond”.
It is clear from the Freeh report, there was a weak system of accountability for Penn State football. Administrators, school officials, trustees, and coaches feared to bring anything forward that would tarnish the football program. A former administrator, responsible for student discipline experienced this system of suppression for negative attention for Penn State football. CNN recounted Vicky Triponey’s employment at Penn State:
In perhaps the most shocking development to come out of the Trayvon Martin shooting, since George Zimmerman‘s alleged plans to flee the country, occurred in an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity. During the interview, Zimmerman discussed a number of topics, but the one that caught my attention the most was his comment about God in relation to the shooting:
I feel like it was all God’s plan and for me to second guess it or judge it…
Later in the interview, Zimmerman said that he prays for Martin’s parent’s daily.
So let’s take a step back here. We have to ask, “What’s really behind Zimmerman’s comment that the shooting was, “God’s plan”? Why does he pull out the God card? According to George Zimmerman, God works through a plan in which he orders shootings and people are devoid of responsibility?
Trayvon Martin’s father, said later in an interview with the Associated Press:
We must worship a different God. There is no way that my God wanted George Zimmerman to murder my teenage son.
It appears that George Zimmerman sees God has a divine force that causes both good and evil. In addition, it appears that Zimmerman believes that God causes people to die a horrible death (e.g. dying from a gunshot). Seeing God through these lenses forces us to believe that there is no cause and effect to our actions. If we bring a gun to a conflict and shoot someone, then we are responsible (though, legally we may not be liable for punishment). Often, people think that the Bible answers the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people.” The Bible holds no such answer because it is an epic story of God’s people living in relationship with their Creator. Scholar N.T. Wright help us to understand God’s involvement in evil and suffering:
A minister, an IT consultant, and a small business owner walk into an auditorium…
No, no. It’s not the start of a joke, but what really what happened at the 6th annual smAlbany expo for Capital Area Small businesses. Every year hundreds of business minded folks gather to hear speakers, pick up tips, check out vendors, and connect with new businesses. So you might be wondering, does a pastor have any business being a business expo?
The answer is a resounding, yes!
This year the key-note speaker was Google’s Joe DeMike. Joe is a great presenter and has a really interesting background as a West Point grad and tech guy with Google. I have always known of Google’s importance since it’s inception in 1998, but yesterday I really saw the impact that Google has on business. If you want to move your product, business, or idea forward you need to be using Google. The tools, tricks, SEO, social media and apps really do rule the way we search for things. Check out the Times Union social media panel reflection on Twitter.
A few weeks ago, I was sitting and eating lunch at Chicago O’Hare Airport, when a very polite gentlemen asked if he could sit next to me. I said, “Sure.” and we starting talking. I discovered he worked for Google, in some sort of sales. I started to tell him my woes of my church‘s Google search engine results and mapping. He quickly helped me correct a few problems.
Google’s motto is “Don’t be evil.” It makes sense. Since Google is so powerful, they don’t want to end up as a big-bad tech company. Their employees live by that motto and it shows. Google wants to help you.
According to DeMike, 97% of people search online for a product or service online before buying it. And, most use Google to find what they are looking for. Hearing all the facts about how Google is used in business made me a believer in how much churches and faith communities are missing out on the power of Google.
Here’s what I learned from Google’s presentation that churches need to implement now: Continue Reading…
If it is anything Americans love it is watching a good dramatic celebrity break up. Although, if you are a DirectTV customer, it’s lights out for you if you want to watch all the drama of the Tom Cruise and Katie Homes divorce saga. It is really sad that more Americans tune into or log on to TMZ than reading the daily newspaper.
It is never a happy thing when a marriage fails, but if the reports are true it was wise of Katie Homes to get out of crazy Cruiseville. There is a lot of speculation swirling around why Katie Homes called it quits on Tom Cruise. Apparently, it totally took Maverick off guard as Katie used a disposable cell phone to plan the divorce while Tom was in Iceland (of all places) filming a movie.
No matter what the rumors say about why the marriage failed, we can learn three things from TomKat‘s divorce that give us a glimpse into some revealing trends and realities in our culture:
A 100 year-old plus-mainline-congregation closes its doors. The church dies. What’s left? An empty shell of a building and a disbanded group of church members. Many have predicted the death of mainline churches for the last 20 years. People have “headed to the hills” or more accurately, to less connectional churches or no churches at all.
I keep a pulse on my denomination, the American Baptist Churches USA, as it appears in the news. One “dead” congregation caught my attention. It is a New England American Baptist congregational and it died. After 163 years, the Massachusetts church closed its doors. Usually, that would be the end of the story, but it was not. The MetroWest Daily News tells the story: Continue Reading…
Let me tell you a great story: A husband and wife adopt an impoverish teen who grows up to become a college football player and goes on to the NFL. Except, if you walk into a store of one of the largest Christian publishers, you will not be able buy the movie.
“The Blind Side“, a movie based on a book by the same name, stars Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw and apparently is deemed too dangerous with its PG-13 rating (because of a racial slur and a few minor curse words) by LifeWay Christian Resources, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
A Southern Baptist pastor successfully fought to have the movie dropped from LifeWay. Rodney Baker, pastor of Hopeful Baptist Church in Lake City, submitted a resolution to the SBC Resolution Committee. According to the Associated Baptist Press, Baker was able to push for a similar resolution to pass in the Florida Baptist Convention.
I asked Ed Stezter, President of LifeWay Research, for a response: Continue Reading…
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