Eric Metaxas’s latest work, Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World, is presently a best seller. This year we mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, and a fresh examination of the life and significance of Martin Luther is appropriate.
Read MoreAn opinion column by Dr. Clay Routledge in The New York Times claims Millennials are increasingly skeptical of freedom. Why?
According to Routledge, polling data shows decreased confidence in democracy and an openness to curbing free speech.
Read MoreHow stressed are millennials, and why?
The American Psychological Association conducts ongoing surveys on stress levels in America. Their most recent studies examined how Americans are coping with change and technology.
Read MoreWhat is a “None?” And where did they come from?
Read MoreSocial media networking can’t replace the connections and spiritual growth that our culture provides, but it can, and does, accentuate it. As conversations about politics, social justice, religion, sports, entertainment, and the mundane continue to grow online, every outward detail of our lives can find a place in social networking.
Read MoreIf you are a church leader trying to reach millennials, you are training for a marathon. The statistics show that millennials are less interested in church then any previous generation (for a lot of good reasons, frankly), and that, combined with a number of other factors, makes reaching millennials a challenge.
But I love a challenge. And, hopefully, you do too.
Read MoreFacebook’s Mark Zuckerberg knows that his social network is an avenue for human connection. He also knows that traditional means of social capital are on the decline, which means more fragmentation and weaker communities. Facebook has surpassed 2 billion online users worldwide, and Zuckerberg believes his platform can be a solution to our trend of coming apart.
Read MoreIt has been widely reported that the religiously unaffiliated are on the rise, especially among younger generations. Fewer and fewer people are choosing a traditional or organized form of religion, though some consider themselves spiritual. Correlatively, measures of loneliness and isolation are up. This makes sense. As people disengage from a proven means of social connection, a void opens.
Read MoreGo to school. Get married. Have children.
This is known as the “success sequence.” But among younger generations, who often meander along the path to full adulthood, this notion has fallen on hard times. Is a winding path to career and family a generational trend charting a different path to well-being? Or is the ancient path wiser?
Read MoreWe have just passed high school graduation season, and several young friends of mine have now doffed cap and gown and processed to “Pomp and Circumstance.”
Graduation parties have also taken place. While attending a celebration for a former student, Oliver and I discussed Snapchat. Very casually, this eighteen-year-old told me, “Yea, I don’t even really check Snapchat anymore.” I wondered why, so he enlightened me.
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