“Scholar and progressive activist Cornel West, who earlier this year announced he would be resigning from Harvard University’s divinity school, released a June 30 letter to the school’s dean outlining his reasons for leaving … . ‘spiritual rot’ ” - RNS

“Nations around the globe are pushing bans on conversion therapy, some without defining what it is.” - C.Today

“In the midst of his tension-filled mission and outbreaks of combat, Commander George Krause prays, reads his Bible, and employs Luther’s devotions. As we go inside his mind and point of view, we find that Scripture verses are always popping up in his head, and that he is constantly struggling with the sense of his sinfulness and his limits over against his faith.” - Veith

“Religious freedom advocates praised a federal appeals court opinion that protects the freedom of churches and other religious groups in the face of government interference in employment decisions.” - BPNews

“the end of the matter, when all else has been heard, is that we are to simply fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the sacred duty of every man, the kind expectation of a loving God.” - Challies

“Every measure of anxiety increased a bit between June 2020 and January 2021 in the study. Christians who regularly turn to the Bible were not immune. … ‘A strong relationship to the Bible often coexists with—and could even be compelled by—the hardships of life.’” - C.Today

“The Christian answer to the question “What does it mean to be human?” is different from the answer you get from atheistic naturalism, or from Eastern pantheism, or from the postmodern philosophy currently characterizing life here in the West.” - Breakpoint

“God invented taste buds, and 10 million different flavors to go with them. The incredible pleasure of taste bears witness both that God is and that he is good (Acts 14:17).” - TGC

“1 Timothy 3:1-10 makes the high standards of leadership clear. The long list included in this passage can be overwhelming, so I find it helpful to start by simplifying it into categories. I see seven important standards” - C.Leaders

“Unfortunately, many leaders have sound doctrine on paper, but fail to live it out—to the peril of their church and their church’s gospel witness. In the oft-neglected letter of 3 John, we hear about Diotrephes, a leader causing great harm for the church he serves.” - Kevin Halloran

“A bipartisan three-day summit of persecuted religious minorities, advocates and politicians kicks off Tuesday in Washington, D.C., seeking to continue the momentum established by the U.S. State Department’s two ministerials promoting religious freedom worldwide.” - C.Post

“Children in poor families tend to have better outcomes than children raised in foster homes, as I noted in a piece for Psychology Today. This is striking because when it comes to important outcomes like graduation rates, drug use, future earnings, and criminal behavior, much of our focus is on economic factors.” - IFS

I am posting first drafts from my future book, The Words of the Covenant, Vol. 2 – NT Continuity.

“On the fifth anniversary of the Ark Encounter, which features a 510-foot-long wooden Noah’s ark, founder Ken Ham has announced the expansion of the Bible-themed attraction in Kentucky by building a Tower of Babel attraction on the park’s grounds.” - C.Post

Also at CT: The Latest Biblical Attraction: The Tower of Babel

“The story goes that during the Civil War he was tapped to run a town meeting in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he’d been sent to manage construction of naval defenses against possible Confederate attack. Embarrassed that he had no idea how to run such a meeting, he undertook the study of parliamentary procedure that became his enduring passion.” - RNS

The idea “that our universe of things points to God and proclaims his glory, is the foundational thesis for Andrew Wilson’s book…. [which] poses the question why God created things—after all, he could have created only a spiritual world without physical substance.” - TGC

“Mark Dever’s church has its legal fees covered in the latest legal victory among congregations who sued over worship service limits during lockdown.” - C.Today

“56% of Americans believe hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever. Belief in the biblical place of judgment has been steady since 2014 in the biennial study.” - Lifeway

The Grahams lived in the cottage during Billy Graham’s rise to fame in the 1940s. - RNS

Acts 1:12-26 is a challenge for a preacher. It seems like a transition piece―filler. We wouldn’t want to call it that, but we might think it. What is the passage about? What should pastors do with it?

“… among churches that posted their sermons, homilies or worship services online between Aug. 31 and Nov. 8, 2020, two-thirds posted at least one message from the pulpit mentioning the election. But these rates varied considerably among the four major Christian groups” - Pew

Related at CT: How Thousands of Sermons Addressed the Crises of 2020

5 Ways to Encourage Discouraged Parents

“The more pronounced the division between the platform and the congregation, the weaker the singing…. The congregation should not feel like their contribution is meaningless. Just the opposite.” - C.Leaders

“In various forms and in various expressions, the perpetual myth repeated in each chapter of the sexual revolution (as each new extreme becomes a norm in our culture) is this phrase: The kids will be fine.” - Breakpoint

“his meek, pastorally intuitive use of a face covering in an unusual situation to aid God’s people in remaining under the ministry of His Word serves as a reasonable Scriptural example for church leadership to emulate and expect.” - Ref21

“The fact that there is a ‘generation gap’ within biblical fundamentalism should not be a surprise to anyone. This is what generations do: gap. The main issue is to determine the best way to bridge the gap. Humility must be exhibited by both the ‘younger’ as well as the ‘older’ ” - P&D

During the week of June 28 to July 2, I attended the annual convention of the IFCA International, where I oversaw the exhibit for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.

“As a result, our culture values fragility over strength, and embellishes a constant good-versus-evil conflict, even over the smallest of issues. From elections to Facebook posts to hygiene practices — almost everything takes on the emotional temperature of a religion.” - Stonestreet

“A new study conducted by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) suggests a connection between marijuana use and suicide in young adults.” - Lifeway

“The proportion of white Christians hit a low point in 2018, at 42%, and rebounded slightly in 2019 and 2020, to 44%. That tick upward indicates the decline is slowing from its pace of losing roughly 11% per decade.” - PRRI

Related at RNS: Survey: White mainline Protestants outnumber white evangelicals, while ‘Nones’ shrink