My New Article at HuffPost: When Something’s Lost.
When has there ever been such a world-wide concern and fascination with something lost as there with Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370? I cannot remember a time or anything quite the same as this. Maybe the last time were those minutes following the news of JFK’s assassination and the immediate manhunt that ensued for his assailant. Read the full story at HuffPost.
My Newest Book Just Showed Up at Barnes & Noble!
Dropped by Barnes & Noble in Tampa after lunch yesterday and found that my newest book, THE ONE JESUS LOVES, was displayed on their “New Arrivals” table in the middle of the store! That was a moment I have not experienced before. So, Pamela took this picture. The book was just released five days ago!
Does God Have Favorites?
Jesus seemed to favor John. Somehow God playing favorites, however, doesn’t quite jibe with the theology I was raised on. The God I learned about in Sunday School is the one who shows absolute equality in his expressions of love towards all people. He doesn’t have “favorites.” God loves everyone the same. Right? The Jesus I learned about on the front pew is one who would never think of playing favorites. “Jesus loves the sinner on skid row just as much as he loves the pastor. He loves us all the same.” At least, that’s what I was told.
Still, it appears the Jesus I read about in the Bible did have a favorite, a favorite disciple, or should I say favored? If nowhere else, it shows up in John’s Gospel. On no less than five occasions, John described himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7 & 20).
My New Article at Outreach Mag: Megachurch Megatrends.
Today, megachurches (with attendance of 2,000 or more) are not only growing, they are growing in certain notable ways. To start, they are getting younger and more ethnically diverse, and they’re attracting more singles.
Not only are they growing numerically, but the combined number of them in America is growing as well; from 150 in 1980, 350 in 1990, 600 in 2000 and about 1,600 today. Fifty percent of churchgoers attend one, though megachurches account for only 10 percent of American congregations. The latest research by The Hartford Institute and Leadership Network reports that “the stated average attendance for these churches grew from 2,604 in 2005 to 3,597 in 2010.” Big churches are getting even bigger.
