usa

August 16, 2011

Cross-cultural generational collision

What happens when an American Generational pattern collides with a Chinese one.

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August 1, 2011

Barna on the American church: a little short of disaster?

George Barna is doing a multipart series on the “State of the Church,” based on shifts in the period 1991-2011. These statistics are quite revealing and have significant meaning for both the Church and for mission mobilization and the missionary task. So we’re going to dive into them a little bit here. First, I think it’s important for us to differentiate between the percentages and the absolute numbers. Most of the figures Barna refers to below are percentages of adults in the United States. I’m going to assume Barna is going with a definition of adult as those 18 or [...]

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July 15, 2011

Infographic: USA/Virginia’s Changing Racial Demographics

Infographic: Virginia’s Changing Racial Demographics illustrates the changes happening in Western nations. “There are almost 100 languages other than English spoken in homes across Virginia, with Spanish, Korean, Chinese [which one?], Vietnamese and Tagalog among the most popular.” Yes, good to reach the nations that are coming to us. But let’s not forget the many nations that are not coming to us.

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June 22, 2011

Muslim Demographics in America

Robert Hunt goes against the old drum that Muslims are taking over America. And he’s absolutely right: It ain’t gonna happen–not in America, nor in Europe. Stop beating the drum. Stop fearing an Islamic invasion. Reach out in love instead.

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February 12, 2011

Income by Religious Belief in the USA

Distribution of income by religious belief in America is mapped in this article, from The Pew Forum. Interesting how the biggest “winners” are Hindus and Jews.

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January 7, 2011

A new study of 18-to-34-year-old Americans: new missionary candidates

Young Americans: Left out in the rain | The Economist is a quick review of what looks to be an excellent book on Millennials. This is an important issue to examine because these 18-to-34 year olds are going to be the primary missionary candidates (at least insofar as the American mission force is concerned) for the foreseeable future.

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April 28, 2010

Perceptions of Islam among Protestant Pastors

http://bit.ly/b2B9Hu – Christian Post: 40% of American pastors believe Islam is dangerous and promotes violence. What effect on our willingness to befriend Muslims?

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April 28, 2010

Church planting in the United States

In Exponential and Church Planting Trends, Ed Stetzer shares the results of a recent Lifeway REsearch survey. 3% of Protestant churches started new churches in the past year. 14% financially supported new church plants. Fortunately more new churches have been started than established churches have closed: but “we have a long way to go.”

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April 18, 2010

Mexican Migrants flee crime into USA

Fleeing Drug Violence, Mexicans Pour Into U.S. (NYT). Churches, prepare to minister to a lot of physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally wounded people. Post-traumatic stress disorder counseling will be the order of the day! Those who are a blessing will be blessed (Genesis 12)…

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April 14, 2010

American Muslims wary of census surveys?

Census Encourages Wary Muslims to Complete Surveys: America’s Muslim population includes large numbers of recent immigrants who may be among the most likely to shun the mail-in questionnaires.

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April 7, 2010

Rising drops in giving

The number of [US] churches that reported a drop in giving due to the sour economy rose nearly 10% in 2009 (38% of churches in 2009 vs. 29% in 2008). Megachurches were hit hardest. In Churches Wrestle with Drop in Donations.

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April 1, 2010

Church competitiveness?

Rodney Stark wrote that the reason church growth was so dynamic in the USA was because of the competitive nature: in Europe, churches (at one point) had a monopoly over the geographic parish (one parish=one church). Here’s a natural outgrowth of that: church reviews. But a warning to churches: consumers don’t buy puffed-up claims.

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March 23, 2010

Evaluating USA conservative Christians by the Bible

The Huffington Post has posted a 2-part critique of conservative Christians in America by Richard Hughes of Messiah College. This is a measured, thoughtful article that really digs into why many Americans think the way they do, and why many conservative Christians have gone very far from Biblical perspectives. Great point of comparing what conservative Christians claim with Biblical standards and the reality of what they do. He does blast away at televangelists and Dominion Theology. It’s worth reading and reflecting on.

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March 22, 2010

A/G on Reaching Muslim Peoples in USA

Global Initiative: Reaching Muslim Peoples (formerly known as the Center for Ministry to Muslims) is a new strategic and expanded vision for ministry by the Assemblies of God.

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February 26, 2010

Future Scenario: USA Inc.

John Robb has written an interesting little scenario of the future of America as a largely-privatized state.

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