by Mark Tidsworth | May 26, 2016 | Opinion
The word “member” was, in its original biblical usage, a very healthy, organic term. It’s found 45 times in the New Testament, with only nine instances in the gospels. Paul uses “member” in his use of the body metaphor in 1 Corinthians...
by Mark Tidsworth | May 28, 2015 | Opinion
I was nearly done, making me almost a “done” (previously very active church leaders who quit church in frustration). Between 2005 and 2006, our family experienced the perfect storm of trying circumstances. Chronic illness, extended family changes, my...
by Michael Cheuk | Sep 19, 2013 | General
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va. September 8, 2013. Luke 14:25-33 Most of us have heard of Dale Carnegie’s famous book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, written in 1936. In that book, Carnegie offered pointers...
by Martin Marty | Jun 28, 2013 | Opinion
Demography, “the science of vital and social statistics,” can help trend-spotters discern and explain many trends in American religion. A rule of concerned participants in religious groups where trends are more often “downward-” than...
by Bill Wilson | Jun 14, 2013 | Opinion
Are you tired of the doomsday rhetoric about the church in America? Have you noticed that the bandwagon of those predicting the imminent demise of congregational life is filled to capacity? Are you ready to tune out another diatribe proclaiming that the church’s...