I returned home from my hiking trip at the Grand Canyon to a bundle of unread emails and Google Reader items. I tried in vain to get cell phone and Internet/email reception in the backcountry, but God has preserved the canyon from these mind-zapping communication trinkets. Perhaps like many of you, I was disheartened to find several commentaries on the declines in the SBC. For those of you who don’t know much about the Southern Baptist Convention, click here for some information. It is the denomination Read more [...]

My wife and I head off to the Grand Canyon early tomorrow morning. I’ve hiked the backcountry out there twice before, but this will be the first time that Erin accompanies me. We’re both excited to get away and see one of the most majestic scenes in all of God’s creation – gazing at a sunset and sunrise from the bottom of the canyon up. The Grand Canyon is special to me beyond reasons of sheer beauty. It was at the canyon a few years back that God finalized his call on my heart to become Read more [...]

From the Pew Forum on Religion: One-quarter of all adult Americans under age 30 (25%) are not affiliated with any particular religion, which is more than three times the number of unaffiliated adults who are age 70 and older (8%). Overall, younger Americans tend to be considerably less Protestant and far less religiously affiliated than older Americans. Taking into account current census data (as of today), the number of under-30 Americans unaffiliated with any particular religion is 31,375,207. Read more [...]

When we walk with the Lord, the path that He leads us on is better than any path we would have found on our own. Our church is on a path - a path leading us forward in a great adventure with our God. And we have already seen God do many great things through us. While I could add more items to this list, let me share with you ten things that I have rejoiced over at my church this past year: Baptizing people of all ages (from children to senior adults) Seeing members weep over a need for even more Read more [...]

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a study of 4,000 Americans by academics Daniel Kahneman, Alan Krueger, David Schkade, Norbert Schwarz, and Arthur Stone. The survey focused on the reasons why the sharp rise in our standard of living in recent decades has not resulted in a corresponding rise in levels of happiness among people when compared to earlier generations. The article postulates why this stagnant state may exist among Americans: The standout cluster was what the authors label Read more [...]