One of my favorite places in the world is Cape San Blas on the forgotten coast of Florida. This area of the Gulf is an uncrowded paradise of pristine beaches. A massive restoration project is underway, making the beaches that much better. The Cape is my destination for vacation, which starts tonight. Needless to say, I’ll be excited to head down to Florida tonight after our business meeting following the worship service. I’m sure the sermon will be shorter than usual… Read more [...]

New research from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life was released two days ago. They surveyed approximately 35,000 Americans for a comprehensive look at our country’s religious landscape. The report is a lot to digest, but you can access it here. Their findings are disappointing but not surprising: Most Americans agree with the statement that many religions - not just their own - can lead to eternal life. Among those who are affiliated with a religious tradition, seven-in-ten say many religions Read more [...]

The Wall Street Journal reported today that charitable giving hit a record in 2007, breaking through $300 billion for the first time. The story pulled from an annual study by the Giving USA Foundation, which scours census data to derive their conclusions. Despite the record in giving on an absolute basis, however, the growth in giving has slowed recently. This excerpt from the report: The relative slowdown in giving is attributable to increasing economic uncertainty that pervaded much of the back-end Read more [...]

The Christian Post recently reported on a study from the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion that revealed the “mortality rate” of religious congregations in the U.S. According to the study, religious congregations (various churches, synagogues, and mosques from a range denominations) have a mortality rate of 1 percent. This rate means that for every 1,000 congregations, about 10 die each year. When compared to the 5 percent average mortality rate of other volunteer-based organizations, Read more [...]

I returned yesterday from my denomination’s annual convention. More than anything, it was good to spend time with my father and to catch up with old friends. After reflecting upon the 2008 Southern Baptist Convention, I am pleased with the overall tone of the meeting. Granted, we Southern Baptists still have much work to do – baptisms have flatlined since 1950, and year-over-year growth has slowed to the point of decline. But my personal perspective of this year’s convention was one of unity. Read more [...]