church

A leaked Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) training video instructs staff to confirm that men can get pregnant and encourages them to refer to a pre-born baby as an “embryo” or “fetus,” to a “fetal heartbeat” as “embryonic or fetal cardiac activity,” and to a “mother” as a “veteran” or “person.”

When I saw the story, I then checked some other taxpayer-funded agencies for similar language. I found this statement on the National Institutes of Health website: “The term chestfeeding or bodyfeeding can be used alongside breastfeeding to be more inclusive” for “nonbinary or trans people.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website similarly includes COVID-19-related information for “pregnant and recently pregnant people” (not “women”). The website later refers to “people who are pregnant,” presumably in deference to pregnant biological women who do not identify as women.

The VA training video correctly states, “Language has a profound impact on what people hear and learn.” Therein lies my point today.

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.

Although the Episcopal Church lost 90,000 members in 2022, the mainline denomination also saw a rise in Sunday worship attendance.

Multiple-time Grammy nominee artist Tauren Wells says he will continue to write, sing and tour even after he launches a new church in 2024 with his wife Lorna, saying that singing is part of who he is.

A group of former Navy SEALs and technology experts are working to develop artificial intelligence that would protect people from mass shootings, especially in churches.

California-based Pastor Jack Hibbs said the "silent" Church is at fault for America's "post-Christian" beliefs.

At least 282 people were reportedly recently baptized in a single day at a North Carolina multisite megachurch.

An upcoming conference hosted by Andy Stanley’s church for ministry leaders and parents of LGBTQ children is being called a “clear and tragic departure from Biblical Christianity” by a prominent evangelical leader, who says the lineup of speakers reveals the event’s theological position.

Recently, I was in a church environment that triggered many of my wounds from past spiritual abuse. The sermon was guilt-driven, and I felt a sense of stuck-ness that I hadn't felt since leaving my past church. But a beautiful thing happened, too, because those from my current church were also there. And I was able to look around the room and feel a sense of peace and awe that God had me right where I needed to be.

As I reflect on this moment, three things come to mind that led me to feel confident that I'm in the right church for me:

Pastor Kevin Smith has been unanimously elected as the chairperson for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention.