Church Sign of the Week (2/17/17)

This church sign is sick.

Have a great weekend!

Embryo Adoption

HT: Aaron Wilson

A hallmark of the evangelical church in America is the backing of a pro-life worldview. As such, abortion clinics and the politics that govern them are primary areas of focus in this important cause. However, there’s another front that often gets overlooked in the fight for life: the state of the thousands of children who remain cryogenically frozen as human embryos following in-vitro fertilization cycles.

A growing Christian response to this issue is the life-affirming answer of embryo adoption.

You can read the rest.

Facebook's Workplace Secret: Trust

HT: David Rupert

In a competitive world, keeping information close to the vest is viewed as a business imperative. Products, strategies and tactics fall under the tent of “Intellectual Property” and are closeted until just the right time.

For example, Apple is famous for secrecy. Prototypes, plans and ideas are carefully stove-piped so no one working on them has the whole picture until the product is ready for launch.

The recipes for Coca-Cola, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies are carefully vaulted, ensuring a marketplace advantage.

There are good reasons – some of them are legal – to keep certain things under wraps. But too many workplaces are cloaked in secrecy over every detail, with all the knowledge and power held by a few.

You can read the rest.

The 5 Weightiest Words of Love

HT: Trevin Wax

The cost of the average wedding in America now exceeds $30,000, with prices soaring 16 percent between 2011 and 2015. With all the glitz and glamour surrounding a couple’s special day, it’s easy to focus on the decorations and dresses, while overlooking the most valuable moment of the day—the costliest words spoken between a husband and wife.

“Till death do we part.”

We’re so familiar with the phrase that we forget how strange it sounds. What the man and woman are saying is: One of us will stand at the grave of the other. In other words: I’m with you until your last breath or you’re with me until mine, whichever comes first.

In the middle of this picturesque celebration of two becoming one, death suddenly crowds into the frame. Rightly understood, marriage is about both life and death. The wedding day is inextricably tied to the funeral service.

But those five weighty words—until death do we part—are losing their gravity these days.

You can read the rest.

Why Is Cedar Rapids, IA So Godless?

A curious study of where I lived for six of my formative years.

Iowa defines the American heartland, with its staunch Midwestern values and rural American virtues.  Though its prairie populism sometimes elects Democrats, today its elected officials are most Republican.  The candidate favored by Christian conservatives usually wins the Iowa caucuses.

A recent study ranked Iowa as the 19th most religious state in the union.  Except for one mysterious outlier:  Cedar Rapids.

The second largest city in the state, with a population of only 130,000, is an island of secularism in an ocean of religion.  By virtually ever standard–Bible reading, Bible believing, church attendance–Cedar Rapids scores closer to the big coastal cities than any of its midwestern neighbors.  Nearly half (47%) of its adults are “nones,” holding to no particular religion at all.  That’s the same percentage as Los Angeles county.

You can read the rest.

HT: Gene Veith and Sarah Zylstra

Church Sign of the Week (2/10/17)

This is an unfortunate pairing of signs.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

When Mockers Marvel

HT: Erik Raymond

Can you believe she laughed?

She was pushing 100 years old and God made a specific promise to her. He told Sarah that within a year she was going to be a mom—even though she was barren and well beyond the normal age for motherhood. Upon hearing this, she laughed. Then after being confronted by God about her response she denied it; but God persisted, “No, but you did laugh.”

God made a great promise but Sarah couldn’t believe it. She laughed in the face of such an unbelievable promise.

You can read the rest.