Culture &amp; Public Square

Culture & Public Square Reconciliation

How to Cope in the Radical Middle

By Ian DiOrio GoneÂ are the daysÂ in our society whenÂ Christians couldÂ hope to occupy aÂ “moral majority.” But two biblicalÂ qualities, modeledÂ by Jesus and taughtÂ by the apostles, offerÂ us strategies forÂ relating to thoseÂ unlike ourselves. “United” has become anÂ ironic descriptor for America, forÂ if the United States is anything duringÂ the 21st century, it is divided. Divided over power. Who should have it and how should they wield it? Is the shape of society better molded by the masses, or does history show us it best moves forward if a select few wield tremendous influence? Divided over ethics. Are moral truths merely personal restrictions of human activity, like

June 6, 2015

Culture & Public Square Reconciliation

Voices from the Middle

By Ben Cachiaras Contemporary examples to demonstrate the value of “and.” “¢ Jim Collins coined the phrase “embrace the and” in his 1994 book Built to Last. He and coauthor Jerry Porras reported on extensive studies at Stanford University School of Business revealing best practices of exceptional companies. One such trait among enduringly great companies was their ability to embrace the “and.” The authors” point was that choosing between seemingly contradictory concepts””focusing on this or that””leads to missed opportunities. Is the product low cost or high quality? Do I focus on short-term opportunities or long-term strategy? Should the company be

June 2, 2015

The Pew Report: What Should We Do?

By Mark A. Taylor In this space last week and the week before, I reported, evaluated, and shared comments about the Pew Research Center”s May 12 report on religion in America. It is a thorough and detailed study, full of implications for church leaders today. Especially interesting is the fact that Evangelicals are the only Christian group whose numbers grew between 2007 and 2014. The growth did not keep up with population growth, however, which means the influence of Evangelicals on the American scene is not growing. This is especially concerning when added to the fact that those claiming no

May 26, 2015

“Fewer Christians in the U.S.” Good News?

By Mark A. Taylor News outlets across the country reported the Pew Research Center”s findings that fewer Americans than ever are calling themselves Christians. Most secular reports led with the summary statistic, that only 70.6 percent of adults in the United States identified themselves as Christians in 2014, compared with 78.4 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, the “nones,” those who claim no religious affiliation, increased by about 19 million. The Pew study projects that 56 million American adults, almost 23 percent of the total adult population, say they have no religion. Christian writers tried to find a positive spin in the

May 19, 2015

Considering Ourselves Amid the Decline of Mainline Churches

My Mark A. TaylorÂ If you think religion in America is claiming less loyalty than ever, the latest data released by the Pew Research Center will affirm your concern. At the same time, it offers a few morsels of encouragement for Evangelicals, who seem not to be losing as much ground as mainline Protestants and Catholics. America”s Changing Religious Landscape, based on more than 35,000 extensive phone interviews with adults in all 50 states, summarizes the situation this way: “The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any

May 6, 2015

In All Things Love

By Jim Tune There”s a scene in Mark Twain”s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I will never forget. Huck Finn has helped hide Miss Watson”s runaway slave, Jim. But Huck was sure he was committing a grave sin in helping the fugitive. Huck had learned in Sunday school, “People that acts as I”d been acting . . . goes to everlasting fire.” Eventually Huck writes a note to Miss Watson as an act of repentance. Desperate to save his soul, he tells her where to find her runaway slave. Huck prays the “sinner”s prayer” and “gets saved.” Even though he

April 24, 2015

Released to Report

By Cathy Mogus I feel honored to know Stefan Petelycky. The first time I saw the elderly man he was wearing a white apron. I remember thinking he looked a bit out of place as he helped set the tables for an evangelism outreach dinner. Was it because I thought he was too old””or too good? I had heard bits of his unbelievable story. He wasn”t a big man, but there was something about the way he carried himself, the way his eyes sparkled when he spoke, that gave him stature. Maybe it was the tattoo on his left arm.

April 22, 2015

World on Trial

By Jim Tune Henri Nouwen tells about a doctor in Paraguay who spoke out against the oppressive tyranny of the government. The local police took revenge against him by arresting his teenage son and torturing the boy to death. It was a brutal and senseless murder. The boy”s courageous father responded with the most powerful protest imaginable. At the funeral, the father did not have his son”s body cleaned up and embalmed. Instead, he displayed it as he found it in the jail: naked, scarred, twisted, with open wounds from the beatings and burns from cigarette butts. All the villagers

March 29, 2015

A Platform of Power(lessness)

By Danielle Hance The world tends to idolize the rich and powerful. We look up to Donald Trump, Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber, and Oprah because they represent some aspect of success, accomplishment, fame””images we aspire to attain. Rarely do we look at a star and think, Wow, she is one of us! We are more likely to think, I could never be as beautiful as she is. I could never sing as well as he does. At some level, we cannot relate to stars. They belong to another class, another category of superior people. As much as we might relate

February 28, 2015

A Literary Conversation about Racial Prejudice

By LeRoy Lawson Thomas Jefferson:Â The Art of Power Jon Meacham New York: Random House, 2012 Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America Gilbert King New York: Harper Perennial, 2013 Trivial Pursuits: Why Your Real Life Is More than Media, Money and the Pursuit of Happiness Ian DiOrio Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2014 I often make my way through two or three books at a time, one on my Kindle, one for listening pleasure when grunting my way through morning exercises, and a “real book” with paper pages at the office or

February 25, 2015

A Little More Substance, Please!

By Jim Tune We cannot cry over a story we don”t know. That much I”m sure of. Events in Ferguson, Missouri, the Eric Garner tragedy in New York City, and other controversial stories divide and confuse. I often wish I had more of the facts behind these tragedies. Something tells me I would respond more appropriately if I knew the people””the victims, the police officers, the circumstances. Even then, as a white male and beneficiary of a host of advantages since birth, there are gaps in my experience that cannot be easily closed. Empathy is in short supply in the

February 19, 2015

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty

By Jennifer Johnson Emmanuel House originally began as a simple effort to help a few Afghani refugees resettle near Aurora, IL. Rick and Hayley Meksi, in partnership with Community 4:12 and Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL, launched the organization in 2007 after realizing how difficult it was for these refugee families to “break into” the housing market. The concept expanded, and the ministry now helps families from a variety of backgrounds struggling with similar issues. “We realized there were a number of people caught in the cycle of generational poverty,” says Hayley. “A lack of stability in the family,

January 20, 2015

After Selma

By Mark A. Taylor About 100 people were at the 7:05 p.m. showing of Selma in the theater where my wife and I sat last Saturday night. Of that number, we were two of about 10 white folks in the house. Everyone else was African-American. This was something different from the typical weekend movies crowd. Whole families were there. And senior citizens; I saw at least two on walkers labor to their seats on the handicapped row. It would be much more than two hours of entertainment for them. We were about to see a depiction of history these folks

December 18, 2014

Breaking the Link from Poverty to Prison

By T.R. Robertson Prison life is easier than life on the street for many in our country”s poor population. By understanding and taking effective measures to address poverty, we are helping to solve the crime problem as well. Here are some basic understandings and ideas. Until she went to prison, Janie said, she had never in her young life been sure she would get to eat three meals in any one day and have a bed to sleep on at night. Born into the make-do culture of generational poverty, the only “meals” she”d ever known consisted of whatever food could

December 13, 2014

A Biblical View of Poverty

By Mark W. Hamilton A paradox confronting modern Western Christians is this: we who are rich serve a Lord who was poor. At the first Christmas, Jesus and his family did not hang their stockings by the chimney with care. Instead, they haunted stables and fled their home as refugees. Nor did things improve for the adult Jesus, who survived on the generosity of women who embraced his message of the kingdom.Â Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor” (Luke 6:20); “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or your body, what you will wear” (Matthew

December 12, 2014

Uneasy with the Times

By Neal Windham When I grow weary with the poverty that surrounds us, I remember one fact about the One whose birth we celebrate: When Jesus came to earth, he chose to be poor. Defining moments often arrive without warning. Back in my college days, somewhere around 1977, I was returning from work during a pelting thunderstorm when I came across a man who was wandering around in a ditch near the road. He had no raincoat or umbrella, and his hat and clothes were drenched, head to toe. I pulled over, invited him into the car, and asked what

December 10, 2014

Culture & Public Square Politics & Government

Power, Politics, and the Kingdom

By Jim Tune There seems to be a set of unwritten rules and preferences concerning which political party one must belong to in order to be considered a Christian of good standing among many Evangelicals. I have heard such things as, “I am sorry, but I really have to question your faith if you”re a Democrat.” Of course, the left can serve up remarkably similar disdain by inferring that no real thinking person could possibly vote Republican. Both sides claim to cherish freedom, democracy, and the American way. Political differences are so polarizing that they can readily turn friends and

December 8, 2014

Culture & Public Square Technology

Your Privacy Policy

By Chris Jefferson Almost every church and parachurch ministry has a website, and many collect data from those who visit their site.Â To manage this information well, the first step””too often overlooked””is a privacy policy. At no time since the Pax Romana have ministries been better equipped to share the gospel and fulfill their mission than in this digital age. Back in the first and second centuries, the intricate road systems of the Romans allowed missionaries””gifted with common Greek and ease of worldwide travel””to connect with cultures far and wide to spread the gospel. Today, digital connectivity provides a new

November 16, 2014

Culture & Public Square Politics & Government

India at a Crossroads

By Abhineeta Matney An April election raises pressing questions, especially for the Christian minority in one of the world”s largest nations. Until a few months ago, the U.S. government boycotted Narendra Modi, the former head of the government in the Indian state of Gujarat. Modi was blacklisted and shunned for his questionably reticent political tactics. He was denied a visa to the U.S. for almost a decade because he allegedly encouraged and/or did nothing to stop the violence that erupted against minorities in Gujarat in 2002. Today Modi is the prime minister of the world”s largest electorate. Hours after this

November 4, 2014