When faced with a challenge, church leaders often turn to old tricks — programs, preaching and personal touches.

“The problem with old tricks is that old mental models rarely lead to new solutions,” said the Rev. Tod Bolsinger, speaking at the Disciple-Making Church Conference here Jan. 17.

Probably for the first time ever, Russian Protestants have commemorated Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

On the 20th anniversary of the end of the El Salvador civil war, President Mauricio Funes issued an emotional public apology for an infamous 1981 massacre of civilians by army troops.

William McNeill remembers two things about sitting in the pew at Singletary United Methodist Church in Dublin, N.C. as a boy.

Presbyterian mission co-worker Doug Tilton didn’t know what to expect when he arrived in Antananarivo, Madagascar, in June 2009. Tilton would be attending a national meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar just three months after a military-backed coup had sent the country into chaos. Security forces from the new government had arrested and beaten pastors and other church leaders. 

Of the several hundred films released during 2011 the following ten were chosen because they do more than just entertain us. They explore the life worth living, and even celebrate the human spirit.

Some will be found on the lists of the secular critics ― six of the top 10 here are Academy Awards “Best Picture” nominees, announced today (Jan. 24) ― but others will be less familiar. Although aesthetics and box office success are considered, the spiritual content of the film is paramount in these rankings.

Twenty-four leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ― many of whom met in Orlando during a gathering which launched a new Reformed body ― have written a letter urging reconciliation between the denomination and the dissident group.

When Ben Helton signed up for an online dating service, under “religion” he called himself “spiritually apathetic.”

Clare J. Chapman, deputy general secretary and general counsel of the National Council of Churches (NCC), on Jan. 20 was named interim general secretary by the council’s governing board.

Two members of a writing team that produced a theology document that's part of the constitution of the new denomination created by the Fellowship of Presbyterians said Jan. 19 that they expect changes to be made in their handiwork in the years to come.