Monday, March 31, 2008

• Evangelicals less likely to divorce, Barna survey says

  by Michael Foust, posted Monday, March 31, 2008 (16 years ago)

  

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Evangelicals are less likely than the overall population to divorce, although one out of every four evangelicals who are or have been married nevertheless have gone through at least one divorce, according to a new study by The Barna Group.

        The telephone survey found that, among all U.S. adults who have been married, 33 percent have been divorced at least once. By comparison, 26 percent of evangelicals who have been married have been divorced. The poll did not ask evangelicals whether the divorce occurred before or after their salvation experience.

        The survey was based on a sample of 5,017 adults conducted over a year, from January 2007 through January 2008. Of this sample, 3,792 adults were or had been married.

        Christian researcher George Barna said Americans have grown accustomed to divorce.

        "There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage," he said in a news release. "Interviews with young adults suggest that they want their initial marriage to last, but are not particularly optimistic about that possibility. There is also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea of serial marriage, in which a person gets married two or three times, seeking a different partner for each phase of their adult life." Read More

• Court accepts religious monument case

  by Staff, posted Monday, March 31, 2008 (16 years ago)

  WASHINGTON (BP)--The U.S. Supreme Court agreed March 31 to review a lower court decision that some allege could cause local governments to remove Ten Commandments displays or permit a plethora of other religious monuments. Read More

• EKG catching on in former Soviet Union

  by Mark Kelly, posted Monday, March 31, 2008 (16 years ago)

  NASHVILLE (BP)--Baptist leaders in the former Soviet Union are catching a vision of fulfilling the Great Commission as they learn more about Empowering Kingdom Growth and Thy Kingdom Come, according to Southern Baptists who have been working with those leaders for almost five years. Read More

• Churches, associations 'rediscovering cooperation' via EKG strategy

  by Erin Roach, posted Monday, March 31, 2008 (16 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Rather than continuing a myopic mindset of growing one's own church to the neglect of other needs, churches across the Southern Baptist Convention are catching on to the idea that advancing God's Kingdom often means partnering with a Baptist church down the street, Ken Hemphill said. Read More

• 'Eternal Impact' is latest in EKG resources

  by Erin Roach, posted Monday, March 31, 2008 (16 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--"Eternal Impact: The Passion of Kingdom-Centered Communities," the latest component of the Empowering Kingdom Growth study series, conveys first-century church principles for the success of modern congregations.

  Ken Hemphill, the Southern Baptist Convention's national EKG strategist, said Eternal Impact, though it is the third book written for the series, is intended as the second resource following "EKG: The Heartbeat of God" and before "Making Change: A Transformati... Read More

• Disposing of the disabled

  by Ken Connor, posted Monday, March 31, 2008 (16 years ago)

  LEESBURG, Va. (BP)--Most parents receive the news that they are "expecting" with joy and excitement. For some, however, the good news turns sour when they learn that their unborn or newly born child has Down syndrome or is afflicted with some other disability like cystic fibrosis. Read More