Why Do Christians Have "Church Splits"? Not long ago, a traumatized local pastor (I'll call him "Rev. Jack") phoned me with the news that his congregation had just had a vicious "church split." For several weeks, two rival factions in his congregation had been feuding over the music program, when suddenly on Sunday morning a [...]
I Don't Want Him To Think I'm A Prude!" I read an article recently about a Christian girl who had a non-Christian boyfriend and – since she was a Christian – she wouldn't have sex with him. But that worried her. She said, "I don't want him to think I'm a prude." That statement saddened [...]
Should God's Name Have Been "Coincidence"? I knew a man in a small group who used to say that if God's name had been "Coincidence," there wouldn't be any atheists. He meant that when miracles happen, people often call them coincidences. Thus, if God's name had been "Coincidence," everybody would believe in Him. Of course, [...]
Is Happiness Inherited? I read an article recently in which a woman wrote that happiness is an inherited trait in people. She said that since happiness is inherited, "Either you're happy, or you're not."[1. News & Record newspaper (Greensboro, NC), June 8, 2014, D3.] This woman believes there are "haves" and "have-nots" when it comes [...]
Are Her Aunts The Only True Christians? I read an article this week by a woman who was upset because her two aunts had refused to attend a family wedding. The aunts had refused because the wedding was being held in a church building that was not part of their denomination.[1. News & Record (Greensboro, [...]
Why Did An Area Pastor Hang Himself? I was grieved recently when I read that the a local pastor in our area congregation committed suicide, leaving behind a wife and two young children. The police pronounced him dead by hanging in his home at 8:45 pm one evening. The newspaper said that the members of [...]
Will "Going Digital" Help The Denominations? I read an article this week that said the Christian denominations are starting to encourage their members to tweet, text, email, and surf the Internet during worship services.[1. News & Record (Greensboro, NC), June 29, 2014, A4.] The article said that one pastor announces from his pulpit at the [...]
Why Did They Protect A Child Molester? A pastor in the Washington, DC area recently admitted to a judge in court that he and his staff had protected a child molester on their team for three years.[1. The Christian Post (Washington, DC), May 16, 2014, page 11.] When the police started an investigation of accusations [...]