Dwight L. Moody, the renowned evangelist, once said, "Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man." A new study proves how right he was.

A study published in a recent issue of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry reports a positive connection between church attendance and clinical depression. Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan found a 22 percent reduction in depression among those who went to church at least once a month compared to those who never attend.

The authors of the study wrote, "Significantly fewer monthly attenders reported having episodes or a diagnosis of depression. This…suggests a protective effect of religious attendance." The researchers also noted that those who would identify themselves as spiritual but did not attend religious service experienced no health benefits. more >>

A plethora of books have been written on the subject of manhood and what it means to be a father, husband, leader and more – and Pastor Eric Mason of Epiphany Fellowship has just added his own title to the list. But the Philadelphia minister says Manhood Restored: How the Gospel Makes Men Whole is unique in offering both a timely and theologically sound discussion on what it means to be a man in today's culture.

"I think there's a crisis in manhood in our culture and I believe Jesus is the answer to that," Dr. Mason told The Christian Post.

"Men tend to look at fallen examples of manhood throughout the culture, whether it's thugs, athletes, businessmen, whatever. It's cross-ethnically an issue. It's not just an issue in the black community or Hispanic community, but it's inclusive in all majority and minority communities as a crisis that's cross-generational and cross-ethnic," he added. more >>

Under fire for publicly declaring that practicing homosexuality isn't supported by biblical scripture, ESPN sports analyst Chris Broussard told a national group of Christian men on Thursday that God was being glorified in the firestorm.

"Even though I'm getting a lot of hate God is being glorified," said Broussard during a national prayer teleconference hosted by the K.I.N.G Movement. Broussard is the president of the organization that aims to uplift men through biblical teachings.

The group offered up prayers for Broussard who gay rights advocates are calling to be fired or suspended from his position with ESPN for saying NBA player Jason Collins' homosexual lifestyle was inconsistent with biblical scripture. ESPN, however, has not bowed to the pressure so far. more >>

A couple of months back I wrote about the issues of school-based violence and how it is killing our school system and our students. I noted that over 857 students drop out of school each hour of the school day and that some 4,500 commit suicide each year as a result of this violence.

To combat this, I proposed the use of Collaborative Justice principles that marry Conflict Resolution and Restorative Justice practices so that victims are given an actual voice and that offenders atone for their offenses through the use of Reintegrative Shaming techniques among others. Finally, I suggested the use of my own Shalom-centric Holistic Intersocial Forgiveness Transformation (S.H.I.F.T.) Theory. Specifically, S.H.I.F.T. is a three-fold understanding of forgiveness based on three distinct definitions of forgiveness as it relates to the three parties to an offense: the victim, the offender and the community. In regards to S.H.I.F.T., I contended that all parties had to forgive in order for them transcend past the conflict.

Since that time, it would appear that I have struck a chord with multiple groups. Non-Christians want to ignorantly throw Deuteronomy in as an alleged "Christian" way of handling conflict and therefore claim that my position is "un-Christian" – which is both absurd and laughable. Some Christians disagree with my stance only because I suggested treating others more as Christ would rather than converting them to Christianity – a difference in theology where I contend that people must see Christ in you so that they can see a compelling justification to turn to Christ as their one and only Savior. Finally, actual professionals in the field of Peace and Forgiveness Studies took exception to by my S.H.I.F.T. Theory because they felt that the use of "must" can easily be translated to mean "forced" in regards to forgiveness – which is a valid point but any forced forgiveness is truly no forgiveness at all if it does not come from the heart. more >>

"On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight." (Boy Scout Pledge)

That has been the Boy Scout pledge since 1910 but somehow that pledge no longer means what it used to mean.

Robert Baden-Powell was the international founder of the scouting movement. A decorated war hero, Baden-Powell wrote the first book on the Scout Movement in 1908 entitled Scouting for Boys. It has sold more than 150 million copies and remains the fourth bestselling book of the 20th century. more >>

We've all heard the startling statistics about obesity in America: over one third of American adults are obese (almost 36%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Obesity puts us at risk for all kinds of health problems, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. And it doesn't afflict everyone equally: nearly 50% of blacks are obese, and lower income Americans in general are more likely to be obese than others.

In an effort to combat these problems, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg instituted a ban on sugary sodas larger than 16 ounces sold at the city's restaurants, food carts and movie theaters. The plan for enforcement was to disperse food inspectors and to fine businesses found in violation $200 per infraction. The ban received a mixed reaction: some public health advocates saw it as a much needed first step to encourage people to eat healthier. But the ban's most vocal opponents were a surprising collection of minority businessmen who do not always work with conservative business people.

More surprising is the fact that The NAACP, the Hispanic Federation, the New York Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and the Korean-American Grocers Association have all opposed the ban. They correctly note that the policy, if enacted, would hurt businesses in an already struggling economy, and a disproportionate number of those businesses would be minority owned. Why? Because such a ban would cut into the profits of food carts and other small delis while leaving expensive sit-down restaurants and large corporations like 7-Eleven unaffected. more >>