How I Escaped From The Shiny Happy People, But Still Had Survivor’s Guilt

(PERSONAL ESSAY) How did I — a child raised into that organization — break free? How can anyone break free of misguided, fundamentalist religious movements or cult-like organizations and, yet, still retain any kind of religious belief?

End of an Era? The King’s College Halts Courses, Lays Off Faculty

The King’s College in New York City is no longer offering courses in the upcoming fall semester, laid off its entire faculty and is nearing closure according to an email from its board of trustees and updates from its accreditor.

The ‘Religiosity Gap’ Remains an Important Force in Elections

(ANALYSIS) This “religiosity gap” remains relevant. A new Pew Research Center analysis noted that, in the 2022 midterms, “The gap in voting preferences by religious attendance was as wide as it's been in any of the last several elections.”

Uganda’s High Court Paves Way For Watoto Church To Construct Modern Complex

The High Court in Uganda overturned a decision by the government to categorize the Watoto Church property in Kampala as a heritage site, which had blocked the owners from redeveloping it into a modern church complex.

Revisiting Martin Luther King's 'Where Do We Go from Here?’ After Half A Century

(OPINION) On Aug. 16, 1967, in Atlanta during his annual report to the 11th Convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Martin Luther King Jr. entitled his speech “Where Do We Go From Here?” and thus the question I have for ministers, Black and White today.

Analysis, Christianity, Conflict, Evangelicals, Justice, North America, Opinion, Religious EqualityHamil R. HarrisJuly 19, 2023Martin Luther King Jr., Hamil Harris, Al Sharpton, Rev. Jamal Bryant, New Birth Baptist Church, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Rev. Raphael Warnock, Brent Leatherwood, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Lorie Smith, Malcolm X, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Grainger Browning, Ebenezer African Methodist Church, Rev. Gerald Durley, Rev. Barbara Williams Skinner, Community or Chaos, Faith United to Save Democracy, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Where Do We Go from Here?, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Christine King Farris, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Comment

Alliance University’s Closure Is A Major Loss For Minority Students In New York

Alliance University, a Christian college in lower Manhattan that primarily served minority students, announced it will close this year after losing its accreditation amid other hurdles.

Two Documentaries Portray Religious Groups Capitalizing On Fear And Shame

(OPINION) Two recent documentary series offer distressing portraits of Christian organizations that, although unrelated, appear eerily similar. Both movements gained prominence in part by instilling fear and shame in their members. Both have reaped abuse, scandal and decline.

A Tale of Two New Yorks: Secularism and Spirituality in the Big Apple

(OPINION) It's hard to consider the Big Apple a truly "secular city" when considering the rising number of New Yorkers who are Muslim, Orthodox Jewish, Hindu and evangelical and Pentecostal in Latino, Black, Asian, White and interracial flocks.

Analysis, Christianity, Culture, Evangelicals, North America, TERRY MATTINGLY, The State of ReligionTerry MattinglyJune 29, 2023Terry Mattingly, Rev. Tim Keller, Presbyterian Church in America, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Tony Carnes, Harvard Divinity School historian Harvey Cox, Mayor Eric AdamsComment

How Are Houses of Worship Like Retail Stores? Changing Channels Of Distribution

(OPINION) Houses of worship are in decline. One reason is Americans’ waning interest in religious institutions. Another may be the change in consumer behavior away from the “average” and toward the large, the online and the small but specialized. Houses of worship can develop hope by learning from the experiences of the retail, financial-services and health care industries.

5 Powerful Tributes To The Late Pastor Timothy Keller

We’ve compiled a list of some of the top five tributes written since Tim Keller’s death, highlighting the influence and incredible legacy he left on individuals, New York City and the Christian sphere.

Behind the Duggar Smile: Family’s Troubling Connection to Bill Gothard’s IBLP Uncovered

(REVIEW) “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” is the latest docuseries from Amazon Prime that focuses on the family and their connections to the nonprofit organization Institute in Basic Life Principles, created by an unordained teacher named Bill Gothard, who was based in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, Ill.

What Has Changed In The DNA Of The Southern Baptist Convention?

(OPINION) The issue isn’t who is a Baptist and who is not. Church historians struggle to count the number of organized Baptist groups, and thousands of Baptist churches are totally independent. The question is whether the SBC’s DNA has changed in ways that will affect local churches, as well as agencies, boards and seminaries at the state and national levels.

‘Between Mercy And Me’ Models Truth And Grace For Resolving Racial Conflict

(REVIEW) The film “Between Mercy and Me” centers on Hugo and Mercy, a Black man and White women who bond over their love for music, but find themselves drawn into conflict over the racial division in their city that threatens to divide them as well.

Review, North America, Film & TV, Evangelicals, Entertainment, Christianity, AnalysisJoseph HolmesJune 16, 2023Between Mercy and Me, Joseph Holmes, Craig Lamar Brown, Dr. George Yancy, Damien Chazelle, Whiplash, Babylon, racial discourse, artsComment

A Modest Alternative To Posting The Ten Commandments In Public Schools

(OPINION) There’s no evidence that hanging the Ten Commandments on school walls curbs rowdy youthful hormones. As a tool for improving schoolkids’ behavior, that’s a zero. If you absolutely felt compelled to post something Christian, why wouldn’t you post something straight from the lips of Jesus himself?

Opinion, Analysis, Christianity, Education, Evangelicals, North AmericaPaul PratherJune 14, 2023Paul Prather, Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, Separation of church and state, Christian nationalism, Prayer in school, Texas, Freedom of religion, Freedom from religion, 10 CommandmentsComment

Some Notes On The Great Southern California Mass Baptism of 2023

(ANALYSIS) On the Sunday before Memorial Day, which was also the day of Pentecost, Christians inspired by “Jesus Revolution” decided that they ought to do a mass baptism at Pirates Cove, the same place a lot of the baptisms had taken place in the Jesus movement 50 years before.

Pastor Rick Warren Tackles Southern Baptist Church’s Mass Decline in New Video Series

Warren’s video series, named “SBC at the Crossroads,” aims to state the problems plaguing the Baptist denomination and examine a biblical path to revive and revitalize the hearts of Baptist Church congregants, and thereby the entire denomination.

Hulu Series Shows The Gravity Of Hillsong’s High And Low Notes

(REVIEW) “The Secrets of Hillsong” uncovers Hillsong culture, abuse and Carl Lentz. The four-part documentary dropped on May 19th. Since Carl Lentz’s fall from grace due to his affair with Ranin Karim, many celebrity gossip and media voices have chimed in to tell Lentz’s story. For the first time since the scandals, both Carl and Laura Lentz tell their own stories in the documentary.

Tim Keller: A Witty Outsider Who Came To New York To Stay

(OPINION) Only 1% of New York City was “evangelical” when Keller arrived in 1989, and homicides hit 2,245 during his first full year of ministry in the tense city. Yet there was a “cracking in the ice” as immigrants from a variety of faiths poured into the city’s boroughs. Soon, many new churches were born.

Analysis, Christianity, Evangelicals, Opinion, TERRY MATTINGLYTerry MattinglyMay 25, 2023Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Hunger College, Rev. Tim Keller, pancreatic cancer, Westminster Theological Seminary, Presbyterian Church in America, Tony Carnes, Redeemer City to City, Terry MattinglyComment

Pastor And Bestselling Author Dr. Timothy Keller Dies At 72

Once a seminary professor, Pastor Tim Keller planted Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City in the early 1990s and ministered to the, arguably, unchurched elite of Manhattan in New York City. In rented auditoriums, Keller preached in professorial style to thousands of young professionals and families.

The Inside Story Of The King’s College Death Spiral Of 2023

The perilous state of The King’s College in New York City developed over decades, hit turbulence in the past two years, then turned into a stunning death spiral in the spring 2023 semester.

Christianity, Education, Evangelicals, North America, Religion News, NewsMelinda Huspen, Mandie-Beth Chau and Joshua StoryMay 12, 2023The King's College, The King's College NYC, David Bahnsen, Richard and Helen DeVos, Peter Chung, Primacorp Ventures Inc., Primacorp, Stockwell Day, Dr. Percy Crawford, Bible Institute of Los Angeles, BIOLA, Wheaton College, Westminster Theological Seminary, Young People’s Association for the Propagation of the Gospel, Marconi Hotel, Camp Evans, Robert Cook, Walk with the King, Friedhelm Radandt, The King’s Hour, Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Campus Crusade for Christ, Bill Bright, CRU, Northeastern Bible College, Politics, Philosophy and Economics, J. Stanley Oakes Jr., Dinesh D’Souza, Warren Smith, Marvin Olasky, Gregory Thornbury, Dr. Russell Moore, Dr. David S. Dockery, Rebecca Mercer, General Tim Gibson, Riff Hotel, Tim Dunn, Rodney Bergen, Jim Cunningham, Soon Chung, Burnaby Investments, LLC, Mattilyn Winburn, CDI College, Wheaton University, Biola University, Messiah University, Andrew “Andy” Mills, John Beckett, John Urban, Matt Dieterle, Steve French, Bethany Pickett Shah, Alexandra Harrison Gaiser, Christopher Ross, Henry G. Morriello, Primary feature, recharge, Secondary Feature, secondary feature, Secondary feature Comments

Address

Contact

Information