The Tolkenian role-playing typified by the game Dungeons and Dragons during the 1980s has given way to popular virtual reality-based video games that utilize occult and other mystical themes, reports the conservative Christian newsweekly World (Feb. 27). Concerns about the apparently occult nature of Dungeons and Dragons and other similar games are likely to pale in comparison […]

Religious works or art, particularly in the contemporary expressions, often are excluded from museum collections, according to Sightings (March 17), the online newsletter of the Public Religion Project. Church historian and editor Martin E. Marty reports that a Public Religion Project conference on religion and art,  attended mainly by artists and museum curators and scholars, examined the question […]

In the drive to be contemporary and relevant to the younger generations, church growth specialists are beginning to sound somewhat traditional. Next (February), the newsletter of  the megachurch think tank, Leadership Network, reports on a recent forum to reevaluate ministry in a “postmodern culture.” The 500 participants in the forum — mainly young church leaders — targeted […]

In the midst of the debate about whether the government should help faith-based social services and schools, religious groups themselves are expressing reservations about such arrangements and looking around for alternatives. The reserve that some religious groups have regarding new church-state partnerships is in evidence in Wisconsin, a test state for vouchers for religious and […]

There is new interest in promoting small-church ministry, even if megachurch-church models still seem to be winning the day. Pointing out that roughly half of all churches in America are under 200 members, and two-thirds have fewer than 300, Loren Seibold writes  in Christianity Today (Feb. 8) that today most church resource and growth programs are geared for […]

Charismatics are raising participatory worship to a new level, as worship leaders are being sidelined in many churches, reports Charisma magazine (February). The distinguishing characteristic of this trend in less formal worship is that the people in the pew are central to the worship experience rather than only the musicians and other leaders on the platform. Praise […]

Orlando, Florida is the most recent city to become a magnet for evangelical organizations and individuals, reports the Star-Telegram newspaper (Jan. 29) of Fort Worth, Texas. In recent years, Colorado Springs has been considered the evangelical mecca, drawing denominations and prominent organizations such as Focus on the Family to relocate there. Now it appears that Orlando is […]