‘Tis the season for giving…or not. Contrary to what many believe, it turns out that conservatives and not liberals are the most charitable givers. Nicholas Kristof at The New York Times has a really great op-ed on the subject. Here are a few surprising results from the research.

1. Red states are most likely to give to non-profits, and states in the Northeast are the least likely.

2. European countries give more humanitarian aid per capita than America, but they don’t give as much individually.

3. The least charitable are the French.

4. Gays are one of the most charitable groups in the US.

5. Some of the stingiest in the US are secular conservatives. (I guess they don’t love God or their neighbor.)

6. “If donations to all religious organizations are excluded, liberals give…

I’m in the midst of a freelance project editing and updating the questions for a new version of the NIV Quest Study Bible. I haven’t studied Leviticus this carefully since I was in seminary a decade ago. Of course Leviticus is where most religious conservatives find their justification for opposing same sex marriage (ssm)–specifically Leviticus 18:22.

Going through the Torah again has gotten me thinking about the current dialogue (if you can really use such a civil word to describe it) about same sex marriage. Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman in their book unChristian, have documented the widespread perception that Christians are homophobic due in no small measure to their very vocal opposition to ssm. And the passage of Proposition 8 in California last month putting a halt to…

Barna research now shows that the number of “unchurched” people in the United States has increased by 92 percent between 1991 and 2004. He defines “unchurched” as an adult that has not attended church in the previous six months other than a holiday or special event (funeral or wedding). Such a dramatic increase can only be accounted for by one thing-more people have quit going to church.

You might be one of them. And if you are, the Seventh Day Adventists want to know. Ken Wetmore, a Seventh Day Adventist pastor in Spokane, has launched the WhyIQuitChurch.com campaign. The site, which is being advertised on buses in Spokane, features a simple survey where people can explain their church background and why they’ve stopped attending.

At that address, respondents are faced…

The terrorist attack in Mumbai last month hit home for me. I saw the breaking news on CNN.com and immediately called my father. I have aunts, uncles, and cousins that live in Mumbai within walking distance of the Taj and Oberoi hotels. In fact, I’ve been to both hotels on numerous occasions. Thankfully, everyone I know was okay. But the shock, anger, and grief for the Indian people has not yet faded in the aftermath of their own 9/11. As more is learned about how the attack unfolded, where the terrorists came from, and the apparently inept intelligence and response by the Indian government, we can lose sight of the human stories within this tragedy.

Philip Yancey, one of the church’s most gifted writers, was in India during the…

The financial talking heads are attributing the current economic crisis to a number of things: lack of regulatory oversight, bad mortgage lending practices, and globalized market structures. But some of the more plainspoken pundits sum up the mess in a single word: Debt.

Simply put, for too long people have been spending more than they have. We have been purchasing homes we cannot afford, saving less than we should, and racking up debt at an unprecedented rate. The average American currently has a negative savings rate and over $8000 in credit card debt. As Dave Ramsey says, we are not “acting our wage.” On a national level, we have been importing more than we export and borrowing money from foreign governments to make up the difference.The picture is not…

Has anyone else noticed an increase in church advertising? I’m not opposed to getting the word out, but sometimes churches take it too far. They seem to believe that there really is no such thing as bad publicity. But at what point does the medium contradict, or even demean, the message?

Although some churches are developing much more sophisticated ways to market themselves–we’re working on an article for Leadership about churches using Google Adwords–I want to take a brief look at a much older, but still potent form of advertising…the billboard.

A reader recently sent in this photo. It comes from a church near Kansas City. It’s not unlike a church billboard in my areas that says “Kids love our church. It’s FUN!”, but it takes a much darker tone.…

Many people recall the flap caused when then Governor George W. Bush spoke at Bob Jones University during the South Carolina primary in 2000. The media latched on to the school’s no interracial dating policy as a remnant of racism in the South. Bush’s willingness to speak at a school with such an intolerant policy was a stain on his candidacy.

Shortly after the controversy hit the airwaves, the president of BJU announced the repeal of the no interracial dating policy on Larry King Live. Prior to the media firestorm, Bob Jones University had defended its no interracial dating policy with some wacky hermeneutics predating the Civil War. Essentially, they said the Bible condemned mixed marriage as an abomination. The repeal of the policy in 2000 after the bad…

Ronald Reagan famously said, “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours.” Over the last few decades the economy has had its ups and downs. And while some segments of the economy may have been rocked in any given recession, like the bursting of the dotcom bubble, the church could more or less ride out the downturn with little impact. It was always someone else’s recession. But that may not be the case anymore.

In the last few weeks I’ve spoken with a number of church leaders from across the country. They’re all saying the same thing: giving is down sharply, December probably won’t make up the shortfall, and they’re looking at cutting staff and ministries in 2009. As if this…

Arriving in the US in 2009 is the Nissan Cube. It’s been a big hit in Japan, and with Toyota’s Scion brand proving boxy can be popular, they’ve decided to import the Cube to our shores. The current Cube is powered by a 95-hp, 1.4 liter engine. As far as size, the Cube is about one inch longer than the Mini Cooper but 10 inches taller.

From Automobile Magazine:

“The first time you see a Nissan Cube, it’s hard to keep your mouth shut. A hundred lame (or is that square?) box-it-came-in jokes pop into your head, and resisting the urge to spit them out rapid-fire, like some coked-up Catskills comic, takes a will of steel. Especially if you find, as do most people, that the mere sight of a…

Many voters were not content with their choices for President. Thankfully, our democratic systems allow these free thinkers to write in their own choice. The write-in tally from Duval County, Florida reveals who was most popular. There are fictional characters and non-fictional, former candidates and current celebrities, religious figures and sports heroes.  Two surprises: Ron Paul beat out Jesus, and Donald Duck ties his long time rival Mickey Mouse. Something odd: four people wrote in Obama but his name was already on the ballot. My personal favorite, Weird Al Yankovic.

The overall write-in winner was Hillary Clinton- not a complete surprise given her strong showing during the primaries and her popularity with older Americans (a significant population in Florida). Joe the Plumber also made a showing…some are speculating he may run as…