“And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdman of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, ‘Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.’” Genesis 13: 7-9 King James Version

EXPLORATION

“It’s All in Your Choice” more >>

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things.” I trust that many of us are committing to make the spiritual disciplines of prayer and time in the Word a priority for 2009.

But still, anyone who has trained knows, keeping up the daily commitment isn’t easy. So sometimes, it helps to change the routine a bit. That’s one reason I’m pleased that Kelly Monroe Kullberg and Lael Arrington have put together A Faith and Culture Devotional: Daily Readings in Art, Science, and Life.

Kullberg, the founder of Veritas Forum, and Arrington, a co-host of the radio program The Things That Matter Most, have assembled a stellar cast of contributing authors—Lee Strobel, John Stott, Gene Edward Veith, R.C. Sproul, Os Guinness, and Frederica Mathewes-Green to name just a few. more >>

PATTAYA, Thailand – The World Evangelical Alliance has excelled in the last six years in presenting the world with a credible and faithful witness of the Gospel, says its international director.

Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe told delegates at the WEA’s General Assembly in Thailand this week that the challenges for evangelicals in the world are great, pointing to radical secularism, postmodernism, and declining Christianity. At the same time, there is growing interest in spirituality, climate change, HIV and AIDS, the global financial crisis, trafficking and migration.

Yet the opportunities are also great, Tunnicliffe insisted, noting the rapid spread of Christianity in the Global South. more >>

PATTAYA, Thailand - The highly-anticipated, upcoming third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization will be addressing emerging threats and concerns to Christian missions, informed the head of the Lausanne Congress on Monday at a major evangelical conference.

With new forms of hostility towards Christianity emerging, S. Douglas Birdsall, the executive chair of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, said the 2010 gathering in Cape Town, South Africa, is needed to bring together the best minds in the evangelical world to develop unified responses to challenges to the faith.

“You might ask is there a need for an international congress that deals with world evangelization,” said Birdsall at the 2008 World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) General Assembly in Thailand. more >>

Top Christian and Muslim leaders have convened at Yale University for a historic conference that is expected to promote understanding and peace between Christianity and Islam on an unprecedented level.

The conference, “Loving God and Neighbor in Word and Deed: Implications for Muslims and Christians,” will officially be held July 28-31 but leaders from both faiths have initiated dialogue on peace during closed-session workshops since Thursday.

The gathering is a direct response to a letter signed by 138 Muslim leaders last fall that called for peace between Muslims and Christians for the sake of world peace. more >>

An eternal God does not need to be defended using human violence, said the Archbishop of Canterbury this week in response to a letter by Muslim leaders and scholars.

Dr. Rowan Williams was referring to Christian-Muslim relations as he responded to the historic letter, “A Common Word Between Us and You,” signed by 138 prominent Muslim figures last fall that sought a dialogue with Christians based on the common ground of loving God and loving thy neighbor.

In the Anglican leader’s letter, he tackled issues of religious freedom, pluralism and religiously-motivated violence. He insisted that the “eternal God cannot need ‘protection’ by the tactics of human violence.” He also emphasized that there can be no justification for “violent contest” based on the “need to ‘protect God’s interests.’” more >>