Members of the Lord’s church constantly mention the breakdown of the home as one of the major problems facing our society. We know that the home is the basic unit of society and, when it fails, so does our way of life. The following article shows one more way that is happening. It was written by Richelle Putman, and published on All Headline News Online: 2005 found more independent women without a spouse, approximately 51% percent, according to Census Bureau statistics reported on in the New York Times. The recently published findings are an increase of 2% from the 2000 statistics, two reasons for the increase may be that women…

Seeking True Unity was written by several faithful Gospel preachers in response to the “unity movement” between some members of the churches of Christ and the Christian church. The book responds by reminding all readers that we cannot have true, Biblical unity while still holding differences. It also gives the reader a brief, but insightful, history of how we have come to this point. Sadly, many today feel as though such issues as instrumental music are just “non-issues.” Some say that we used to “fight” over these issues and that was wrong, because they just aren’t that important. Nothing could be further from the truth! What we all need to…

Lake Superior State University annually releases her list of “Banished Words.” The list for 2006 came out on New Year’s Day. Last year, I was informed of this annual project and was immediately impressed. Yes, it is a lot of fun, but the “fun” represents a serious side, too. The words are “banished” because they are constantly over-used, misused or considered useless. The smallest state university in Michigan, LSSU has been “banishing” words since 1976. Here is the list for 2006, followed by the reasoning for banishment from the LSSU website: GITMO — The US military’s shorthand for a base in Cuba drives a wedge wider than a split infinitive.…

While some of the dates (especially early dates) on this map can be disputed, it is still quite interesting to watch. This map is supposed to show us the major movements of the “world religions” in about 90 seconds. (My blog isn’t quite wide enough to show all of the width of this. To view the entire map, go to http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html)

After communists took control of the Soviet Union, they attempted to take any belief in God away. One of the methods used was done in schools. Teachers were told to have students come to the front of the room, kneel, close their eyes and pray to God for a piece of candy. When the children opened their eyes, of course, there was no candy there. They were then told that there was no God because he didn’t “answer” their prayers. Then the small children were told to pray to Lenin for a piece of candy. As you guessed, when their little eyes opened, there was a piece of candy there…

One of my good friends, Daniel Gaines, wrote a brief article based on the ending of one of the most amazing streaks in all of sports. His words follow, and are used with his permission. A Stunning VictoryThis past Saturday night, the Caltech Beavers won a resounding 81-52 victory over Bard College of New York. What makes this NCAA Division III match-up noteworthy is that the last time that Caltech won a Division III game was in 1996! They had lost a staggering 207 division games in a row! As I read this news I thought of another streak of frustrating losses. From the beginning of time, man has futilely…

This past weekend, the 9th Avenue church of Christ held her annual youth rally. It was a wonderful weekend. The lessons were helpful and the young people who came were great. The theme “The Christian and the Media” helped young and not-so-young alike. We are all touched the media daily, and many times do not even realize how much we are influenced. Brother Mike Johnson, from Richmond, Kentucky, did a great job helping the young people (and us adults, as well) see that the mainstream media in our nation is slanted and uses “dirt” to sell. He also helped them see that they need to be very discerning when it…

The Hartford Institute for Religion Research recently completed a study of what makes congregations grow. The results are shocking and sad. Not all of the “growth factors” are sad. One factor is that a congregation have at least 50% male worshippers. Nothing wrong with that. Another factor is that the congregation should be multi-racial. If the area in which you live has more than one race or ethnic group, I agree with this as well. We should never stay away from growth like that. However, other factors were totally sad. Here are two that should cause us to be upset: A lack of reverence in worship A heavy use of…

Many of you wish you could hear some of the “olden-day preachers” speak again. Great men of God, such as B.C. Goodpasture and Marshall Keeble (pictured) presented powerful lessons that stirred thousands to obey the Gospel. The Lord’s body is stronger for having had these men. We can read many of their speeches and sermons, but hearing them is another matter. Many tapes are starting to wear out from constant use. This is one area where the internet is an amazing invention. Visit Pioneer Preachers and you can listen to many sermons by Guy N. Woods and other great men. You can also read short bios of these preachers. Not…

Next Friday, the 9th Avenue church of Christ in Haleyville, Alabama, will host her annual youth rally, and you are invited and encouraged to attend. The theme for the 2007 (does that seem weird?) youth rally is “The Christian and the Media.” We hope to focus on things that are good and bad about the mainstream media. Classes will be available for young people by several different teachers, and there will also be a class series on Saturday for adults taught by Mike Baker from Lewisburg, Tennessee. Our keynote speaker will be Mike Johnson from Richmond, Kentucky. He will speak on Friday night, Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon. The rally…