What (nearly) everyone else is thinking

Carl Medearis wonders why, though so many Americans are Christians, it doesn't seem to make any difference.

Also in Tennessee, Heavens Highway has a meditation on idiots: Christ emphasizes this in His teaching: “If you love me, obey my commands.” This is not unconditional love, as some misguided preachers and teachers would have us believe. This is a love that has responsibilities placed upon it. We cannot say that we love Jesus and then go and do what we want.

The Church Mouse notes 2 more cases of NHS staff being told they can't act in accordance with their faith. Is it me, or is CM slowly morphing into Cranmer? Not that that's massively bad, it's just that CM will start to get lots of slightly unhinged commenters buzzing around him.

thanks to the Bible Reading Fellowship, the Foundations 21 discipleship course is now available free. Yes, free.

iGod asks a very good question, 'what is success for a church leader?', and also notes that the thing we work on most in our sermons (the words) is the bit that has least impact. Go figure, as someone else might say.

Simons Journal helps you work out your learning style, which may explain why you don't get anything out of sermons anymore.

If you're a fan of Eugene Peterson, Howard Jamieson has been reading 'the Contemplative Pastor', and posting his reflections on each chapter.

Derren Brown notes a New Scientist article on the rituals sports 'stars' perform before a game, raising the issue of whether these are superstitions, or forms of Obsessive Compulsive disorder (OCD) to cope with high levels of stress.

Faith Central notes a new theory that children are born with faith in God, and that to believe in God comes more naturally to us than not to do so. It'll all be explained in a Faraday Lecture, apparently.

and Tom Harris knows exactly what to do.