In what may be its most significant religious liberty decision in two decades, the Supreme Court on Wednesday for the first time recognized a “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws, saying that churches and other religious groups must be free to choose and dismiss their leaders without government interference. It was a unanimous decision.  The ruling means that churches and religious organizations are exempt from employee discrimination laws when hiring or firing their own employees and leaders. Many are heralding this decision as key in reinforcing the separation between...

From Shane Hipp’s blog… I learned when I become a pastor that it is a unique vocation.  Becoming a leader in any profession can be a lonely experience.  This isn’t always bad, in many ways it forces you to grow up fast.  In time you learn to allow the loneliness to become a divine ingredient in cultivating depth and resilience. Over the years I learned to befriend it as a teacher.  And as I’ve said here before, there is a difference between being alone, and being lonely. When I accepted the call to become the co-teacher with a beloved friend it was a strange experience.  We were...

According to the Christian Post, Elevation Church is kicking off a 12-day “Holy Ghost, old-school revival” on Wednesday in hopes of seeing God move in a big way this new year. Craig Groeshel, Pastor T. D. Jakes, and Christine Caine are the speakers – for what it is calling the “Code Orange” Revival. Code Orange is meant to imply a heightened sense of urgency. The website states: “Probably the most fitting example that relates to our revival is the description for the Code Orange stage of a volcano: Exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption, timeframe...

Here’s what the Bieb thinks about going to church: “A lot of people who are religious, I think they get lost. They go to church just to go to church. I’m not trying to disrespect them . but for me, I focus more on praying and talking to Him. I don’t have to go to church.” To tell the truth, this isn’t a real surprise coming from someone his age, is it? Do 17 year olds see the value in church? And if they don’t, what can we do to fix it? Is the solution in trying to get them to conform to our Sunday morning 11:00 format?  Or is there a better solution for the...

In case you didn’t hear, LifeChurch.tv has released their Church Online Platform to all churches… for free. It’s the same technology used by LifeChurch.tv for their online services. You can take the tour here. This is absolutely phenominal.  And it’s absolutely free if your church is interested! Thanks,...