Columns

Is Britney Spears the Prodigal Daughter?

I have two snapshots of Britney Spears stuck in my brain. The first is from the late 1990s. I was living in Atlanta and had started attending a cool new church. It was a church "unplugged" - the pastor was young and sat on a stool and talked about Jesus and U2 and Quentin Tarantino.

Archbishop of Canterbury: Final Statements & Questions on Tanzania Summit

What I'd like to do is touch briefly - very briefly - on the issues in the final communiquÃ© of our meeting. As usual, you'll see elements there of narrative - this is what we did, these are the activities we shared and these were the subjects we covered.

Chuck Colson: The Spirit of Wilberforce

Few men have changed history as profoundly as the English parliamentarian William Wilberforce. Beginning in 1791, and moved by his conversion to Christ, he began the crusade to abolish the slave trade in Great Britain. It was a crusade that would try his soul and cost him his health for the next twenty years.

Philip Aspinall, Archbishop of Brisbane at Anglican Tanzania Summit

It's good to be with you again to give you a brief update on today's proceedings; as I anticipated with you last evening, we spent the morning today considering further the Primates' responses to The Episcopal Church's reactions to the Windsor Report and the Dromantine requests from the Primate.

Rick Warren: Don't Let Legalism Kill Your Joy in Ministry

Legalism is a ministry killjoy. It destroys the natural joy that comes from serving others in ministry like nothing else I've seen. I've seen more ministries ruined by legalism than anything else.

Chuck Colson: Darwin Strikes Back

A couple of years ago on this program, I had this to say of the book Doubts about Darwin by my friend Thomas Woodward: "The motivation for [the] . . . founders of the [intelligent] design movement to instigate this 'reformation within science' is a passion for intellectual truth-telling."

Andy Flannagan: 'Amazing Grace' Still Works

Is "life-changing experience" an over-used phrase? Lately, Andy has started to wonder whether or not it should be embraced slightly more...

Faith Leaders: Letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair Calling for Action on Debt

Dear Prime Minister, In a year when together we recognise the affront and injustice of slavery and acknowledge the extraordinary commitment of campaigners that made such a difference two hundred years ago, we are today urging you to further action on the affront and injustice of international debt.

Music and Missions: An Instant Magnet

Recently, famed composer/arranger Camp Kirkland visited the Choral Arranging class that I teach at Free Will Baptist Bible College. Camp is one of the premier orchestral conductors and arrangers in church music today with over a thousand published compositions to his credit with some of largest publishers of Christian Music.

WCC's Juan Michel: A Story in a Glass of Muddy Water

A glass of water could tell a whole story. Like the glass Dunstan Ddamulira was offered recently in the Ugandan countryside. "In my country [Uganda]," Ddamulira says, "you can't be refused water to drink. So I stopped by at this house and asked for a glass of water...

Amazing Grace: When You're At Your Lowest Point

When we hit rock bottom, some people blame God and turn away from Him. But the faithful ones turn to Him more, reminded that even if the whole world crumbles down, God will still be there to lead us to a greater path.

Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General in Ireland: Christian Unity

Some years ago when I was in Parish life, the Parish was involved in a fundraising effort for some worthy cause. Each element of the Parish was asked to raise money in some way which was appropriate, and the children in our Sunday Club, which is our organisation for very young people which met on Sunday mornings in church, decided they would raise money by holding a sponsored silence.

Letter from Archbishops of Canterbury & York to Prime Minister Tony Blair

The Church of England, along with others in the voluntary sector, including other churches and faith communities, have been in discussion with the government for some time over what has become known as the Sexual Orientation Regulations.

The Catholic Co-ordination of Episcopal Conferences has released a communiquÃ© in support of the Church in the Holy Land, "Breaking the hold of fear, anger and despair in the Holy Land".

Exeter University Evangelical Christian Union: Response to Student Guild

The Evangelical Christian Union at Exeter University has released a statement regarding its legal fight with the Student Guild, and in direct response to a press release on 18 January by the Student Guild.

Rev David Coffey Reflects on Pilgrimage to Bethlehem

Moderator of the Free Churches and President of the Baptist World Alliance, the Rev David Coffey, reflects on his Christmas pilgrimage to the Holy Land last December with other UK church leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury. The visit was an act of solidarity with the suffering Christian community there.