Cutting edge for pastors and ministry leaders.

Author Archive

5 Important Lessons on Handling Donations

By: Raul Rivera  April 21, 2016 In September of 2014, amidst internal controversy involving his leadership, Mark Driscoll resigned as founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. One month later, it was announced that the mega-church would dissolve effective January 1, 2015. Fast forward 18 months from his resignation, and Mark Driscoll is […]

Read more

Charismatic Movement Gains as Church of England Sputters

By Trevor Grundy Pentecostalism is one of the fastest-growing movements in world Christendom, with an estimated 500 million followers. “A century ago the face of European Christianity could have been labeled as white, but now it is increasingly becoming multicolored,” said Israel Olofinjana, a Nigerian-born minister in London told the Times. While aging Church of […]

Read more

Big Brother Bullies Little Sisters at the Supreme Court

By: Hans von Spakovsky and Tiffany Bates The plaza of the U.S. Supreme Court and the courtroom itself were full of people you don’t normally see at the court—priests, ministers, and nuns of various religious orders. They were there Wednesday to hear the U.S. government argue that the Little Sisters of the Poor—an order of Catholic […]

Read more

More Money? More. . .

By Kent Woodyard “If your church isn’t strapped for cash, your vision isn’t big enough.” I heard this quote at a church planters conference in California last fall, and I’ve been repeating it ever since. Budget shortfalls and tightened purse strings are the source of much consternation and hand wringing in church offices around the […]

Read more

Counting the Offering Without Embezzling

By: Raul Rivera  March 17, 2016 The sound of Pastor Fred’s voice over the phone was heartbreaking as he reported the embezzlement crime to the local police. Only days before, the church had announced that the fundraising for its building campaign had successfully raised $500,000 to construct the church’s new sanctuary and children’s wing. They […]

Read more

A Whopping Majority of Christians Cannot Talk to These People

Released by Barna Research 11:30AM EDT 3/16/2016, © 2016 by Barna Group. The United States is in a cultural crisis. There are gaping fissures between the rich and poor, growing tensions between races, disunity among faith groups, increasing resentment between genders, and a vast and expanding gap between liberals and conservatives. Generation, gender, socioeconomics, ethnicity, faith, […]

Read more

Christianity in Iran Growing Despite Persecution

BY: Amanda Casanova / Religion Today Contributing Writer Watchdog groups are reporting that as many as one million Muslim converts are risking prison or death in Iran by worshiping as part of a house church movement. Open Doors USA estimates there are about 450,000 practicing Christians in Iran. Others estimate more than 1 million. According to Fox News, […]

Read more

Court Rules Church Has Right to Hire, Fire Employees Based on Religious Beliefs

BY: Amanda Casanova | Religion Today Contributing Writer  A Missouri court has ruled in favor of a Catholic diocese’s decision to fire employees that violate the diocese’s religious beliefs. According to ChristianToday.com, the Missouri court ruled that the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph had the right to fire Colleen Simon from her role as director for social ministries at […]

Read more

Top