Context
About this blog
Michael Kruse is chair of the General Assembly Mission Council
This blog is for General Assembly Mission Council leadership. Others are welcome to observe, but comments and discussion are limited to GAMC members and individuals designated by Mike Kruse.
We hope that by raising our awareness of the GAMC ministry context we will provide even more effective governance as GAMC elected members.
Linked articles and commentary on this blog do not necessarily reflect the positions of the GAMC or the PC(USA). They are presented here as information and for the purposes of fostering discussion.
Recent posts
- Weekly Links for May 6
- News Links for April 29
- Context Links for April 22
- Context Links for April 15
- News Links for the Week of April 4
Categories
- Church Growth (4)
- Ordained Ministry (4)
- Church Development (3)
- Demographics (3)
- Giving (3)
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Archives
March 25 Links
Here are the links for this week. We will skip next week due to GAMC meetings and pick up with posts the following week.
The Future of Mainline Seminaries
Mainline seminaries are struggling. What is their future and what role should they play in the life of denominations? Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr., Director of Spiritual Formation and Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality at Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas, offers his take.
Is It Time to Write the Eulogy?: The Future of Seminary Education
(Related: SFTS closes Southern California campus)
Social Media and Community
The debate continues on the impact of social media like Facebook. Does it enhance or diminish community? What is its impact on the church? Elizabeth Drescher offers some important observations.
Facebook Doesn’t Kill Churches, Churches Kill Churches
Rural Churches
Heather Hahn offers some insight on the plight of Rural churches. The article is from the United Methodist context but it certainly parallels much of the PCUSA experience.
Places of the heart: Rural church at crossroads
Growth of the Global Church
Philip Jenkins, an expert on the global church, recently gave a presentation at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC. This article reports some statistics about the rapid growth of Christianity in Africa and Asia.
U.S. Life Expectancy
Life expectancy at birth increased by .2 years in the United States in 2009. The increase for whites was about .2 years but there was no increase for black Americans. Men can expect to live 75.7 years and women 80.6 years.
US Death Rate Falls for 10th Straight Year
Giving: Churches vs. Charities?
Study suggests that giving to churches and giving to charities is positively correlated. The more they give to one, the more likely they are to give to the other.
Churches, charities not in competition for dollars
- Posted at 9:33 a.m.
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