Worship

Minnesota's First United Methodist Church has taken a new approach to reconnecting congregants to their faith.

The church in St. Cloud is asking people who have averted from their faith to attend their services, which will be less "preachy."

Starting Saturday, First United Methodist will offer congregants who "aren't so sure about church" a service that consists mostly of just music and meditation, said the Rev. William Meier. more >>

One of the year's biggest youth evangelism events ended today when Passion 2012 closed its 4-day conference at Atlanta's Georgia Dome. Louie Giglio, the movement's founder, urged the audience of 42,000 college students to advance the Gospel of Christ in all that they do.

"Can we just stick a pin in the balloon that says, 'What is God's will for your life?" Giglio asked the roaring crowd in the part-church-service, part-rock-concert gathering as part of his closing remarks. "You don't have to wait to participate fully in the plans and purposes of God. It's now that God can use you."

Giglio said he founded the Passion movement in 1995, convinced that an untapped audience for the Gospel lies in the world's college students. This year's speakers included Passion conference regulars Francis Chan, John Piper and Beth Moore. It also featured music from Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Charlie Hall and other prominent Christian musicians. more >>

More than 40,000 university students inside the Georgia Dome stadium in Atlanta are trying to make an impact against human slavery, and after being nearly half way through the four-day Passion 2012 conference it’s hard to downplay the energized event.

Still, Passion founder Louie Giglio wanted those watching the event, which began Monday and ends Thursday, not to focus on the names of the top of the line Christian speakers, including Francis Chan, John Piper, and Beth Moore. Despite the conference opening to a set of worship songs that included dramatic stage lighting and pounding drums, Giglio insisted those in attendance were not at an “event.”

While clearly the worship music led by Chris Tomlin, David Crowder Band, Matt Redman, Charlie Hall, Christy Nockels, and Kristian Stanfill is a highlight of the huge gathering, Giglio said there was one name even bigger. more >>

Clashes broke out Sunday after protesters trying to keep Christians from their church spotted an allegedly offensive bumper sticker on a worshipper's car, causing Muslims to rally around the GKI Yasmin Church in Bogor, Indonesia.

The bumper sticker, which read “we need a friendly Islam, not an angry Islam,” was reportedly a souvenir from the family of late former President Abdurrahman Wahid. As GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging told the Jakarta Globe, the stickers were passed out at the anniversary of Wahid’s death on Friday.

Members of the hardline Muslim group Islamic Reform Movement crowded the GKI Yasmin Church Sunday, protesting the bumper stickers. Police officials arrived to protect the congregation, but church-goers eventually took their New Year's Eve mass to a nearby home to avoid violence. more >>

Theories about the Maya and their 2012 doomsday predictions are attracting more interest in visiting the group’s ancestral homelands.

Katie Valk, founder and director of Belize-Trips.com, said that Mayan ruins have always been a major attraction in Belize, but recent apocalypse theories have drawn them extra attention. Though she described such doomsday scenarios as "bunk," she said it still brings attention to Belize's rich cultural history under Mayan rule.

"I think there's going to be a lot of ink on this," said Valk to The Christian Post. "Right now the Maya make up about ten percent of Belize's population. I think this spotlight will be great for the country, and I'd just love to see some pride instilled in their forebears and what they accomplished." more >>

Paganism is a blanket term covering practices ranging from witchcraft to nature worship. Such diversity creates a daunting task for Christian evangelism, since it’s difficult to identify a focus when finding common ground with pagans. With this in mind, how can Christians effectively share the Good News with their pagan brothers and sisters?

The answer, religious experts and pagans agree, lies in study and sincere empathy for paganism's many strands. Many pagans see their practice as an individual journey, so respecting each person's religious travels on a case-by-case basis is crucial.

"Pagans share with Christians the belief that we are fundamentally spiritual beings," said James Beverley, a professor of Christian thought and ethics at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, Canada, and associate director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion. "With pagans, Christians long for meaning beyond the material realm and hope for life after death." more >>