We're On a Mission from God

Christian men need all of the help they can get staying true to the high calling of the Gospel and staying faithful. Just as important, says Matt Lobel of Out of the Wild, is for men to find the mission God has for them. It's a message profound in its simplicity.



As Jake and Elwood famously said: "We're on a mission from God."

Top Religion Stories of 2006 Include the Evangelical Climate Initiative

Observing the news of faith and values—what some call religion news—as a professional discipline for more than 28 years, perhaps the most enduring truth is that in the spiritual realm, very little is truly breaking news.

Matters of the spirit--coming to faith, spiritual conversion and formation, and the movement of God in the lives of his people—are rarely headline news. Although matters of faith can at times be personally dramatic, and there are certainly moments of change and first steps in spiritual journeys, these journeys are usually slow and sure. The most important matters of the heart are quiet, personal, and usually quite deliberate.

Which makes our job in the Christian communications business challenging. Most of the really important stuff isn’t news at all. It is God quietly at work in the hearts and minds of people.

But from time to time, God’s people make a difference in a notable way, stand against the culture in bold ways, and—yes—mess up in embarrassing ways.

These are all reflected in Christianity Today ‘s top religion stories of 2006. They include the sad Haggard free fall, the evangelical response to The DaVinci Code, and the story that our firm helped bring to the world—the Evangelical Climate Initiative. (ECI also made Grist’s list of top ten green stories).


CT on ECI:

“Observers say global warming debate signifies broadening political agenda.”

Grist on ECI:

“It was the most public episode in what's been a building drama among evangelicals, pitting the old guard, which plans to keep flogging gay marriage until the checks stop coming, against the new guard, which is pushing to broaden the agenda to issues that involve fewer clear villains but actual, widespread suffering: global warming, poverty, and AIDS.”

The Nanny City Watching Your Diet

Welcome to New York City, where we watch your diet, even if you won't. Jenny Craig, mayor.

NYC's effort to ban trans fat has been in the works for a while, but it's hard to believe that anyone believes it is the job of government to determine what we eat. I love that Wendy's and others are taking corporate responsibility and removing trans fats from their products. That makes it far easier for consumers to make wise decisions. But how does anyone find a role for government in these personal decisions?

Christians and Conservatives Give More to Charity, ABC Says

People of faith give far more to charities than non-religious people, and conservatives give more to the poor than do liberals. That’s the finding of a study by author Arthur Brooks and the conclusion trumpeted by a John Stossel report on ABC 20/20 this week.

The report says:

“The single biggest predictor of whether someone will be charitable is his or her religious participation.
Religious people are more likely to give to charity, and when they give, they give more money: four times as much. And Arthur Brooks told me that giving goes beyond their own religious organization:
"Actually, the truth is that they're giving to more than their churches," he says. "The religious Americans are more likely to give to every kind of cause and charity, including explicitly non-religious charities."

Christian conviction and conservative ideology increases the likelihood that an individual will give to charities—and not just to their churches, but to a variety of religious and secular causes.

As Christians, we give out of obligation—Scripture tells us to help the poor—but even more out of gratitude to God for his goodness.

Liberals who see care for the poor as a government responsibility, give far less as individuals. At the same time, they describe conservatives as non-caring, and Christians as exclusionary and hypocritical. This could not be further from the truth, and these findings document it.