Some links that I found really interesting this week. Take a read.
Secret Fears of the Super-Rich
Does great wealth bring fulfillment? An ambitious study by Boston College suggests not. For the first time, researchers prompted the very rich–people with fortunes in excess of $25 million–to speak candidly about their lives. The result is a surprising litany of anxieties: their sense of isolation, their worries about work and love, and most of all, their fears for their children.
Michele Bachmann, evangelical feminist?
If Hillary Clinton, the woman who came closest to becoming a major party presidential nominee, is a feminist icon, could something similar be said of Michele Bachmann, who officially launched her presidential campaign on Monday?
STOP FUNDING CHURCH PLANTS and Start Funding Missionaries: A Plea to Denominations
STOP FUNDING TRADITIONAL CHURCH PLANTS and instead fund missionaries to inhabit contexts all across the new mission fields of N America.Ur Video: The Succession Dilemma
Ur Video: The Succession Dilemma
Tim Keller and John Piper both lead very large churches. But what happens when they eventually leave their posts? It’s a question that is facing many megachurches given that most were started by Baby Boomer leaders who are now entering their 60s.
Key vote for N.Y. gay marriage ‘not just Catholic’
Do you want your politicians to vote by their religion, your religion, no religion?
25 Things That Shouldn’t Scare Christians
Despite what some may say, these twenty-five things really shouldn’t scare Christians
Productivity–and the fine art of doing nothing
Church as Spectator Sport, or, How to State Old Obvious News as if it’s Newsworthy
Please note this post is from a skeptic, agnostic, aethist type. It has some language that might offend some.
The latest church report is out, a collaboration between Scott Thumma and Warren Bird, compiled in a book called The Other 80 Percent. The report emphasizes some findings that I think I’ve mentioned before, and that was in 2005. The important point to highlight is that they discovered that roughly 80 percent of the congregation functioned as spectators when they bothered to show up at all. (Folks, the 80/20 principle has been well-known in churches since before I started in ministry in 1992. This is not new news.)
Pollo Asado
Pollo Asado is marinated Mexican (or Cuban, depending on your perspective) grilled chicken, seasoned in any number of ways.
Republican mayor in the South becomes unlikely advocate for immigrants
The 58-year-old native Southerner describes himself as a conservative Republican. For years, he knew little about immigrants but didn’t lack strong opinions about them: “They were just low-class people,” he recalled. “They weren’t even able to speak English.” Now he counts immigrants among his closest friends.
Why I’m raising my son to be a nerd
I used to beam with pride watching my son rack up the trophies as he bounced from soccer to hockey to tae kwon do. Over the past couple of years, track has been his focus, as he crushed several school records during citywide meets.
But one thing I’ve noticed over the years is that while everyone from his coaches to other parents and even family members are quick to point out his potential to earn a college scholarship, they do so with all of the emphasis on his athletic prowess.
No one — and I mean, no one — ever brings up his grades, a shame considering he has a 3.86 in an international baccalaureate program, studies Chinese, currently is in debate camp and has wanted to go to Stanford since the fifth grade.
Mormon church bars senior leaders from politics
The Mormon church is reminding its senior leaders that they should steer clear of politics as a campaign season ramps up and two of the faith’s own compete for the GOP presidential nomination.
How Can Authors Benefit From Using YouTube to Get Traffic?
According to Alexa (http://www.alexa.com/), YouTube is the third most visited website in the world (at the time of writing), and you can quite easily harness this advertising power as long as you know what you are doing.
Aside from all of the common ways to get people to visit your website like search engine optimization, mailing lists, and affiliate programs there is a way for you to boost the traffic to your website — use YouTube.
Homeless turn to Twitter for food, shelter
Blogging and tweeting might be among the last hobbies you’d list for a homeless person, but some down-and-out people have embraced social media in such a way that it’s actually garnered them needed assistance — everything from food and diapers for children to counseling and housing.
Gay Marriage in New York
From J.R. Daniel Kirk: “As long as the state is in the marriage business, Christians should support gay marriage as an embodiment of our calling to love our neighbor as ourselves.”
New monastics share community, offer hope
They aren’t a commune, but they live in community. They are motivated by faith, but they attend different churches. They want to help the homeless, so they bought an apartment complex.