Study: American Youth and Religious Affiliation

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The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released the results of a new study that looked at the religious affiliation and devotion of “The Millennials” or those born since 1981. This feature takes a look at what they found.  Guests include:

• Allison Pond, Research Associate for the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
• C. Britt Beemer, Chairman of America’s Research Group and co-author of Already Gone: Why Your Children will Quit Church and What you can Do About It (Master Books, 2009)
• Carl Kerby, Apologist, Youth Speaker and writer for Answers in Genesis.

The complete report is available here.
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Theology: The Gospel is for the Broken

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What should the church do with those who see themselves as “alumni” of the Christian faith—those who once professed Christ but for a variety of reasons have left it behind? This feature takes a look at this difficult question with Dr. Rod Rosenbladt, Professor of Theology at Concordia University, Irvine, and co-host of the White Horse Inn radio broadcast.

Dr. Rosenbladt has spoken at length about this topic and the audio (and transcript) of that lecture is available  from New Reformation Press.

A shorter version of that article is available from Table Talk Magazine (Nov. 2009).

Memoir: The Life of Oral Roberts

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Yesterday, evangelist, educator and Christian Television pioneer Oral Roberts died at age 91 from complications of pneumonia in Newport Beach, California. This feature takes a brief look at his life and his unique impact on the Evangelical church worldwide.

Today’s guests include:

Dr. Larry Eskridge, Associate Director for the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals
Dr. Phil Cooke, President and Creative Director of Cooke Pictures

Phil Cooke is the author of: Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Non-Profits Impact Culture and Others Don’t and his blog is The Change Revolution.

Monday’s memorial service in Tulsa, OK, can be watched live online at 2pm.  For more information, visit: www.goldeneagle.tv

Analysis: Church Growth Models?

Pastor Dan Willis

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An important impulse for believers is looking for ways to increase the ministry impact of the local church. This report looks at a couple churches with two very different approaches to outreach and what we might learn from them.

Guests include:

Dr. John Koessler, Chair of the Pastoral Department at the Moody Bible Institute
Rev. Tom Eggebeen, Interim Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, CA
Rev. Dan Willis, Senior Pastor of Lighthouse Church of All Nations in Alsip, IL

Dr. Koessler has edited a book entitled: The Moody Handbook of Preaching (Moody Press, 2008).  It’s available through CBD or Amazon.com.

He’s also the author of: A Stranger in the House of God: From Doubt to Faith and Everywhere in Between (Zondervan, 2007).

Books: The Overload Syndrome and Margin

 

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During this time of year we often experience higher levels of stress due to the increased demands on our time and resources. But for most of us, even without the holiday pressures, we tend to be overloaded with activities and commitments.

This features looks at some of the ways we can bring margin into our lives and avoid some of the pressures that so easily rob us of joy.

Dr. Richard Swenson is a physician, educator and author of: The Overload Syndrome (1998) and Margin (1992, 2004) both published by NavPress.

Today’s feature is based on an interview with Dr. Swenson conducted in 1998 for Moody Radio’s Open Line program.  If you’d like to hear the complete 40:00 conversation click here:

Round Table: Christian Scholarship

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In 1963 Harry Blamires published his classic book entitled: The Christian Mind. His opening words are memorable, he writes: “There is no longer a Christian Mind.”

In the 46 years since, Christian philosophers, theologians and scholars have fought to recapture lost ground. I recently had an opportunity to sit down with three theology professors from the Moody Bible Institute to talk about the issue of “Christian scholarship.”

Guests include:

Bryan Oneal, Assistant Professor of Theology
Marcus Johnson, Assistant Professor of Theology
Dr. David Finkbeiner, Professor of Theology

Follow this link if you’d like to read Alvin Plantinga’s article: Advice for Christian Philosophers.

Life as an Itinerant Bible Teacher

Dr. Jerry Benjamin

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Throughout the history of the Christianity, God has uniquely gifted his people to build His church.  This conversation with Dr. Jerry Benjamin takes a look at the challenges and blessings of living the life of an itinerant Bible teacher.

Click here if you’d like to hear the entire sermon excerpted in today’s piece:

Understanding Baha’i from a Christian Perspective

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Today is a holy day for the nearly 6 million adherents to the Baha’i faith, a religion that began about 150 years ago.  Over the last centry and a half, it has spread from Iran to almost every country in the world. 

This feature takes a look at the faith system as well as how we as Christians can reach out and share the Gospel in a meaningful way with those who follow Baha’u’llah.  Guests include Dr. Ron Rhodes, author of The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions (available through his website) as well as Dr. Cky Carrigan, Assistant Professor of Evangelism at Southwestern Theological Seminary.

For a helpful article on Baha’i by Dr. Carrigan, click here.

The Song of Solomon

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Many Christians participate in some sort of “read through the Bible” program.  Some passages are more difficult to read than others–whether unfamiliar names, lengthy genealogies, or messages that make us just a little uncomfortable.  Song of Solomon is one book that is often skipped over during family devotions or personal study, but Tim Sigler of the Moody Bible Institute recommends that we not overlook the many important messages found within its 8 chapters.

Faith and Politics

Political Convention, courtesy of the Library of Congress

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With the recent Civil Forum at Saddleback Church and the Democratic and Republican Conventions being in the news, faith and politics has once again become a popular topic of discussion.  Dr. Barry Hankins and Steven Waldman are the featured guests.