"Creating a culture of serving for the maturing baby boomers – this generation will go from 'me' to 'we' as the most giving generation." That's one of 10 predictions for religion in America over the next ten years, as told to the Orange County Register by Pastor Phil Munsey, senior pastor of Life Church in South County (California) and board member of Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church.

1. There will be ... read full story

A new book, “The State of Church Giving,” says congregations have waning influence among charitable causes because their focus now seems to be on institutional maintenance rather than spreading the gospel and healing the world.

The 20th annual study by Empty Tomb Inc. reaffirmed a “long-term turning inward of congregations” exhibited by a dwindling share of church donations spent on ... read full story

Which costs more: belonging to a synagogue, or belonging to a church? A survey conducted by the Forward has found that Jewish and Christian religious institutions appear to raise about the same amount per member, despite the fact that church giving is voluntary and synagogues charge membership dues.

The more than 20 churches and synagogues surveyed by the Forward represent a sampling from a variety of ... read full story

Stopped at a stoplight in Sandpoint the other day, I found myself behind a very large truck with a vanity license place to match: “SUPERSZD.”

Fast-food restaurants have advertised supersized portions for some time, but this macho declaration was more than I was prepared to dismiss.

It provoked me to think of the supersizing we are exposed to in our American culture. Certainly the Gulf oil ... read full story

You might be surprised what the numbers tell us about who and who doesn't tithe. In What Americans Really Believe we get a pretty full disclosure of some significant facts about tithing.

But there's an issue here: some pastors urge the tithe; the NT evidence is hardly clearly in favor of tithing; the NT focuses on generosity; Pope Adrian I in 787 mandated a tithe; many countries have a church tax -- Denmark, ... read full story