Here are seven ways Disney changed the contemporary church—and for the better.
Dr. James Emery White
Understanding Israel Part 2
So what is the story of the modern state of Israel, and why is there so much tension in the Middle East surrounding its existence? As Richard Haass writes in The World: A Brief Introduction, the history of the Middle East since World War II is more often described in terms of various wars than anything else.
Understanding Israel Part 1
It seems as if the nation of Israel is always in the news, but with the recent conflict with Hamas resulting in the worst violence in nearly a decade they are front and center as never before. Many Christians don’t know what to think about Israel. Few have more than a superficial understanding of the Israel of the Old Testament, and how that nation and people factored into things. After that, they really don’t know what became of it.
The Need for Pracademics
I once had someone refer to me, a bit condescendingly, as a “scholar” instead of an “academic.” They acknowledged my earned Ph.D., with academic work at such institutions as Vanderbilt in the U.S. and Oxford in the U.K., along with many years of serving as an adjunct and visiting professor at various institutions yet felt the need to point out that I had not devoted my life to the academy.
The State of the Post-Pandemic Church
A yearlong study of more than 1,000 pastors and leaders, conducted by ChurchSalary and the Arbor Research Group on the impact of COVID-19 on the American church, has been completed and the results released.
Prepare the Millstones
According to a study carried out by Edinburgh University’s Childlight unit, a research center that investigates the risk of sexual exploitation of children and young people, and the University of New South Wales, Australia, one in 10 British men have carried out sexual offenses against children. This was the number who admitted as much in a survey; one can only imagine the number who denied doing so but lied.
Weather or Not
It’s not exactly groundbreaking, but it does support conventional wisdom. A study of U.S. churchgoers examined reasons some give for skipping church services. Whether or not they attend is based on… well, whether there’s weather or not.
The Late Great Planet Church
It’s not exactly news, but there are fewer people attending church now than before the pandemic. What we’re finding out now is just how big of a drop it was. According to a survey by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, the percentage of people ages 39 to 57 who attended a worship service during the week, either in person or online, fell to 28% in 2023. That is down from 41% in 2020.
Video Stats You Should Know
TechReport recently released a set of video statistics for 2023. Fifty, to be exact. Here are the ones that stood out to me.
