Unless something happens soon to shift the trend, stagnant wages, shrinking job opportunities and depreciating home values could morph into a monstrous future for Americans under 40, according to a recent brief issued by the Urban Institute.

Commonly referred to as Gen X and Gen Y, Americans under 40 have accumulated less wealth than their parents did at their age more than 25 years ago, according to the brief titled Lost Generations? Wealth Building Among Young Americans.

"Their average wealth in 2010 was 7 percent below that of those in their 20s and 30s in 1983," said the brief authored by Eugene Steuerle, Signe-Mary McKernan, Caroline Ratcliffe, and Sisi Zhang. more >>

Growing up in Harlem in 1977 everyone felt there was serious racial discrimination by banks with branches in the neighborhood. There is no doubt getting a loan was impossible even if you had an account at the bank and a steady job.

Fast-forward to 2007 and the start of the Great Recession and everyone in my old neighborhood in Harlem felt there was serious racial discrimination by banks with branches in the neighborhood for making loans too easy to get. Even people that didn't have bank accounts or a steady job often were able to live the American dream with no money down.

Obviously, these statements seem contradictory but in a nation of victimization it makes perfect sense. There is no doubt even opening a bank account at the large banks outside my neighborhood was lined up with a ton of discouraging hurdles back in the early 1980s. I found a nice bank and began saving. If a bank or a store or a product-maker doesn't want my money they never have to say it more than once. more >>

The headline was startling: "Most SBC Pastors Not Prepared to Die." That headline should be a shock to any pastor or church member. While those pastors surveyed may have blessed assurance about their eternal salvation, this survey makes it evident that they have done little to prepare for those left behind. In fact, they may be leaving behind bewildered and confused family members whose lives can be victimized because of the pastor's neglect. The story was the result of a 2012 survey from LifeWay research that found that most Southern Baptist pastors have not done any end-of-life planning.

An old gospel song says, "I want to be ready, I want to be ready… " Start today. Here is what it means to be ready:

Get a proper will prepared by an attorney more >>

"Republicans are job creationists. We know the rich create jobs. Democrats believe that jobs just EVOLVE from millions of years of stimulus packages." –Daily Show Senior Debt Correspondent Wyatt Cenac

Remember when Obama got his trillion-odd dollars of "stimulus money" which he and the Democrats breathlessly said we needed for "shovel ready" jobs to re-build roads and infrastructure? Please e-mail me if anything of the sort got built in your town. Nothing got built in the cities where I spend time.

Roads are bad in Atlanta. I recently drove though Buckhead with its bone-jarring potholes. Folks have to have SUVs there to survive the roads, some with potholes so big that you can bass fish in them after a good rain. more >>

Demolishment has begun on a large symbol of a bygone era in 1980s American televangelism history located in South Carolina. "The King's Castle," the central building for the former Heritage USA Christian theme park in Fort Mill, once owned by the Bakker family, will be leveled.

The removal of the centerpiece of the abandoned theme park began earlier this week, with residents from nearby recently developed homes commenting to NBC Charlotte about their approval of the demolition due to the poorly maintained structure being seen as "an eyesore."

Tracy Horton, a spokesperson for Morningstar Ministries, which currently owns the property for which The King's Castle is located, told local media that they also approved the demolition. more >>

A Christian economic professor has argued that the problem of poverty is based less on a lack of material goods and more about "broken relationships."

Dr. Brian Fikkert, founder and executive director of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development at Covenant College, told those gathered at a Christian leadership conference held in Raleigh, N.C.: "I would like to submit to you this morning that poverty is fundamentally rooted in broken relationships.

"And once you define poverty as being rooted in broken relationships, it orients everything you do. It changes everything in your approach to working with the poor. " more >>