The couple behind LA’s favorite cookbook store looks ahead to a big season in publishing.
The post Now Serving: Fall’s Best Cookbooks appeared first on TASTE.
Five Ways Churches Will Have Changed One Year From Now
I am not prophetic. And if I am prescient, it’s only because I have the incredible vantage point of hearing from tens of thousands of church leaders every year.
While it is admittedly difficult to project trends in typical times, it is exceedingly difficult to do so in a time of pandemic headed for, hopefully, a post-quarantine era. Because we hear from so many church leaders and church members, allow me to venture where local churches will be in one year.
- At least 20 percent of those who attended before the pandemic will not return to church. Of course, this number will vary from church to church, but early indicators point to this level of losses. Some of the former in-person attendees will become digital-only attendees. Most of this group, however, will not attend at all.
- More pastors will leave vocational ministry over the next twelve months than any time in recent history. Pastors suffer a death by a thousand cuts. It’s usually not just one or a few factors that push their limits, it’s the drip-by-drip effect of constant criticisms and conflicts they experience. That continuous pressure and discouragement has been exacerbated by the incredible pressures brought by the pandemic.
- Churches will move to a new emphasis on conversion growth. Churches have been quietly disobedient to the Great Commission for three decades. We are seeing signs of a new wake-up call. Church leaders are becoming increasingly convicted that they must lead their churches to reach those who are not…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.
This week in Christian history: John Bunyan preaches last sermon, Dallas Seminary president dies, Boxer Rebellion
Christianity is a faith with a long and detailed history, with numerous events of lasting significance occurring throughout the ages.
Each week brings the anniversaries of great milestones, horrid tragedies, amazing triumphs, and everything in between.
Here are three things that happened this week, Aug. 16-22, in Church history. They include the martyrdom of missionaries during the Boxer Rebellion, John Bunyan preaching his last sermon, and the death of the first president of Dallas Theological Seminary.
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.
Mission-oriented millennials, Gen Z object to words ‘convert’ and ‘winning souls’ in outreach
Teens and young adult Christians do not like to use certain words, including “converts” and “winning souls,” while talking about the reasons behind sharing their faith with others, a study has found.
Millennials and Gen Z teens are more cautious than older Christians about the words they use when they discuss missions, according to the evangelical Christian polling firm Barna Group, which looked at data from its The Future of Missions report which highlights the way different age groups talk about missions and why teens and young adults lean away from certain terminology.
For example, 35% of young adults and 38% of teens said the word “convert” tops the list of objectionable mission-related words for them. And 31% of young adults and 30% of teens also rejected the term “winning souls.”
It’s not due to embarrassment or shame, the study clarifies. “In some places in the world, calling oneself a missionary isn’t merely socially awkward; it’s a closed door. According to a seminary professor who trains aspiring missionaries, ‘There are places where you cannot get an entry visa to be a missionary. If…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.
Dr. Mark Sherwood says COVID-19 is here to stay, gives 5 health tips
Mark Sherwood, a popular naturopathic doctor from Tulsa, Oklahoma, shared his thoughts on the COVID-19 spread and offered practical tips for believers to hold on to.
Dr. Sherwood’s mission is to help his patients achieve “wellness in every area of your life” as shared on his website. He works alongside his wife, Michele L. Neil-Sherwood, a doctor of osteopathic medicine. They run a successful medical practice, Functional Medical Institute, where they see patients from all across the United States.
Along with their work in natural health, the couple have their own television and radio program and an Amazon bestseller, The Quest for Wellness.
Dr. Sherwood’s passion for wellness follows his past career in professional baseball and a decade in the SWAT Team working in the Tulsa Police Department. He now teaches several health courses to law enforcement professionals, corporations, and churches worldwide.
The following is an edited transcript of The Christian Post’s interview with Dr. Sherwood where he shares what he believes about the current pandemic and offers advice for Christians while providing five specific things people can do right now to help better…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.
‘Refreshingly normal’: My coronavirus vacation at a 5-star, family-friendly resort
With a couple of exceptions my late summer vacation was refreshingly normal.
Situated on the outskirts of Colorado Springs, once known as the Evangelical Vatican, The Broadmoor has welcomed guests to the foothills of Cheyenne Mountain since industrialist Spencer Penrose opened the iconic hotel in 1918.
This isn’t one of those hotels using coronavirus as an excuse to cut costs at the expense of guests. Bellmen carried bags, valets parked cars and housekeepers kept everything immaculately clean.
Penrose Room, which holds the distinction of being Colorado’s only AAA five-diamond restaurant, is sadly closed, though other food-and-beverage outlets are open.
This includes the Grille with its old-school decor reminiscent of Ralph Lauren style. The gorgeous leather banquettes might be preferable to outside tables overlooking the golf course. Another option is Ristorante Del Lago, which as its name suggests serves Italian fayre.
Besides the nearly universal wearing of masks by guests and staff inside buildings the most noticeable difference was a change to pool operations.
To comply with social distancing and government-imposed capacity restrictions the hotel is requiring guests wanting to use the pool to reserve either a morning or afternoon block of time. While seemingly reasonable this didn’t work when I stayed.
On days with high occupancy rates the pool may be fully booked. Also, guests booking the morning block of time are required to…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.
John MacArthur’s church can worship Sunday with singing, no attendance cap: judge
Pastor John MacArthur, whose Grace Community Church had been holding in-person services in violation of the state’s COVID-19 lockdown orders, is celebrating a California court’s vindication of their right to hold indoor worship with no cap on attendance or a ban on singing.
While Los Angeles County was seeking a restraining order to stop the pastor from holding any in-person services, Judge James Chalfant of Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday agreed with MacArthur and his church that it is the county’s burden to show why they should be permitted to infringe on the constitutionally protected rights of churches to freely exercise religion, the Thomas More Society said in a statement.
Attorney Jenna Ellis, who is also a Trump campaign adviser and lawyer, called the ruling a “historic win.”
“FIRST CA Court to recognize #ChurchIsEssential!” Ellis tweeted.
The church’s attorneys argued that the county’s demands to comply with COVID-19 restrictions were…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.
So. Baptist agency seeks rehearing of termination case in light of Supreme Court ruling
The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board is asking for a rehearing of an employment termination lawsuit by a federal appeals court and claims that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision contradicts an earlier ruling against the agency.
Attorneys representing NAMB, SBC’s domestic missions agency, filed a petition Thursday for a rehearing en banc at the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after a three-judge panel earlier this year overturned a lower court’s dismissal of a complaint filed by the former executive director of Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware.
The former executive director, Will McRaney, filed a lawsuit in 2017 alleging that NAMB, which works with state SBC conventions and other partners to plant new churches, defamed him through false statements and influenced the convention’s decision in 2015 to terminate him after a dispute about a partnership agreement.
McRaney’s lawsuit further claimed that NAMB sought to prevent McRaney from speaking at conferences and that his…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.
Abortions Are Tax Deductible? 100 Legislators Urge IRS to Change Tax Code – ‘Abortion Is Not Health Care’
More than 100 U.S. senators and representatives have signed a letter urging the Department of the Treasury to change IRS code so that abortion expenses are no longer tax deductible.
Under current IRS code, money paid for any legal abortion is tax-deductible as “medical care.”
The letter, signed by Sens. James Lankford (Okla.), Mike Braun (Ind.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Joni Ernst (Iowa) and others, was dated Aug. 12 and says the IRS “must cease considering abortions (except in the case of physical endangerment to the life of the mother) to be medical care” under IRS code. It was sent to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
“Abortion is not health care,” the letter says.
The letter asserts that “when the deduction for medical care was first enacted in the Revenue Act of 1942,” abortion “was a crime in virtually every state.”
“However, shortly after Roe v. Wade, the IRS imposed on the then-three-decade-old statute a meaning of ‘medical care’ that would have been unthinkable” to the “Congress that enacted it,” the letter states.
“Any procedure for which a successful outcome depends on the death of a living human being, born or unborn, cannot be considered health care,” the senators and representatives say in the letter. “For this reason, the willful killing of an unborn child has for over two millennia been…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.
‘Hands Off of Our Daughters’: Appeals Court Upholds Male-Only Draft
A federal appeals court on Thursday declared the male-only draft constitutional, overturning a lower court ruling from 2019 that had sparked an outcry from social conservatives and Christian leaders.
At issue is the requirement by the Selective Service System that men, upon reaching age 18, register with the agency within 30 days. Selective Service keeps a list of all men ages 18-25 eligible for the draft.
The lawsuit was brought by the National Coalition For Men, which argued that permitting women to avoid Selective Service violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Gray Miller sided with the organization, but on Thursday, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Miller and said they were bound by Supreme Court precedent. The high court upheld a male-only draft as constitutional in a 1981 case, Rostker v. Goldberg.
“Only the Supreme Court may revise its precedent,” the Fifth Circuit ruled.
The 3-0 unanimous decision was issued by Judges Jacques Loeb Wiener Jr. (nominated by George W. Bush), Carl E. Stewart (President Clinton) and Don Willett (President Trump). Miller, who was nominated by George W. Bush, argued that since “women are now eligible for and have been integrated into combat units,” they also can be drafted. When the Supreme Court ruled in 1981, women were not eligible for combat.
In 2016, when the issue was…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.
