News | Topic: The Church

The Sin Of Silence: The Epidemic Of Denial About Sexual Abuse In The Evangelical Church

From the article in The Washington Post:

“So many Christian churches in the United States do so much good — nourishing the soul, comforting the sick, providing services, counseling congregants, teaching Jesus’s example, and even working to fight sexual abuse and harassment. But like in any community of faith, there is also sin — often silenced, ignored and denied — and it is much more common than many want to believe. It has often led to failures by evangelicals to report sexual abuse, respond appropriately to victims and change the institutional cultures that enabled the abuse in the first place.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Get Ready, Youth Group Leaders: Teens Twice As Likely To Identify As Atheist Or LGBT

Barna findings on Generation Z pose new challenges for the church. Read the article here.

What Victims Of Sexual Abuse Need to Hear From Christians

Dan Allender, in an article for Relevant Magazine explains that “the harm of sexual abuse was done in relationship, and it is only through relationship that victims regain the vision to live in freedom.” Read the full article here.

Teens & Youth Pastors Struggle With Porn, New Study Shows

Teen boys and girls view pornography weekly according to a study commissioned by the Josh McDowell Ministry that shows pornography also has a grip on an alarming number of pastors and youth pastors.

Read the article here.

What Americans Believe About Sex

From the modesty debate to the mainstreaming of “twerking,” the American public has a complex relationship with sex. Ever since the sexual revolution of the 1960s, the liberalization of social and moral attitudes toward sex has met with a conservative backlash troubled by the impact of an increasingly sexualized culture.

Read the rest of the research and article from The Barna Group by clicking here.

Tied In Knots: Americans Try to Redefine Marriage

byFaith magazine takes a look at some of the arguments advocates for same-sex marriage have used and how Christians should respond.

Read the article here.

2014 Pornography Survey of Christian Men

Shocking new national survey reveals high levels of pornography use and rampant extramarital affairs among Christian men.

Read the report here.

Christians React to the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage: 9 Key Findings

The Barna Group offers research and insight into where Christians stand in this divisive conversation.

Read the findings here.

So-Called Same-Sex Marriage: Lamenting the New Calamity

John Piper blogs about the recent Supreme Court decision and the institutionalization of sin.

Read the full blog post here.

Understanding the Transgender Phenomenon

The leading Christian scholar on gender dysphoria defines the terms—and gives the church a way forward.

Read the article here.

A Day Late, A Dollar Short

From the article from Carl R. Trueman for the First Things blog:

Tony Campolo has become the latest evangelical leader to declare for gay marriage. It is perhaps not a surprise: Campolo has been a gadfly in the evangelical world throughout his career and his adoption of this cause is of a piece with many of his other pronouncements over the years. While his move is unlikely to have a great impact on evangelicalism—far more significant will be the coming shifts on the issue by megachurch pastors—his statement is emblematic of the way evangelical attitudes are likely to change.

Read the rest of the blog post here.

Celibate Gay Christian Leader Urges Faithful to “Normalize” Committed Friendships

Jonathan Merritt interviews Wesley Hill about his upcoming book “Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian.”

Read the full interview here.

How I’m Overcoming Shame in My Sex Life

Even those who save sex for marriage have to deal with feelings of guilt.

Read more of this article from RELEVANT here.