Something alarming is happening with reading in America. Leisure reading by some accounts has declined by about 50 percent this century. Literacy scores are declining for fourth and eighth graders at alarming rates. And even college students today are complaining to teachers that they can’t read entire books. (Thompson, The Ringer)
Read MorePastors who want to evangelize and disciple both men and women (as they ought), must understand the factors behind this trend and chart a course to navigate these new waters in ministry. If “religion” codes “right” (or “based” as the internet sloganeers say), then there are plausibility structures and obstacles that must be overcome. (Troutt, Christianity Today)
Read MoreCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom — an outspoken champion of LGBTQ+ rights since he was mayor of San Francisco — called transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports “deeply unfair” in his new podcast Thursday, splitting from his party on an issue that Republicans capitalized on in the presidential election. (Luna & Willon, Los Angeles Times)
Read MoreAn early scene in the coming season of HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones” showcases the newest product in a long and somewhat troubled line of consumer goods from the fictional first family of televangelism. (Peters, The New York Times)
Read MoreOver the past two decades, Baylor University's Black Gospel Archive has collected and digitized more than 60,000 gospel songs, making it one of the largest digital gospel collections in the world. (Tilton, NPR)
Read MoreSavannah Guthrie’s greatest hope for her children is that they will have a deep and meaningful relationship with God. “I pray that God will hold them and carry them and sustain them after I’m gone or in times when they feel alone,” Savannah tells TODAY.com. (Abrahamson, Today)
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