Skip to main content

God-talk Miscellany XI

Here are a few tidbits of God-talk out there on the infobaun—including the 50 most influential churches in the U.S., religious persecution in Korea, the emerging movement, a collection of American spirituality stories and more about Barna's new film company:

Hat tip to RevAbi for the heads up on Church Report’s 2006 list of the 50 Most Influential Churches in the U.S. Wow, I’m going to #25 on the list. In Montgomery, Alabama. Who’d have thunk it. So, how did they come up with the list? According to the Report, they emailed a survey to leaders of “more than 2,000 of the largest non-Catholic congregations in the nation by Church Growth Today” as well as a “small selected group of smaller churches” asking them to “recommend up to 10 churches . . . they considered to be among the nation’s most influential.” Top o’ the list? Willow Creek and Saddleback. As you might imagine, there’s lots of thought fodder about this list cropping up in the blogging community. If you have the time, stroll a bit.

BeliefNet carries a story about a U.S. government group that is urging world leaders “not to focus only on North Korea's nuclear program and its missile tests, but to pressure the nation's isolated regime also over religious freedom and human rights.” According to the article, no public worshipping is allowed in North Korea “aside from the cult of Kim Il Sung, the national founder who was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Il. Some had also witnessed executions of people who had organized an underground church or were found in possession of a Bible, said David Hawk, a human rights advocate and author of the report.”

For some perspectives on the emerging movement, check out this local Chicago media outlet, which posted a short piece on the emerging church and quotes local and a-fav-of-this-blog Scot McKnight. Then hop over to Leadership, where there’s an article looking at the leadership discussion among emerging folk. Finally, here’s another short piece, this one on the role of visual art in worship.

If you’re interested in reading people’s experiences with spirituality in America, check out WaPo’s online section entitled My Faith.

Finally, this blog reported earlier that George Barna’s Good News Holdings secured the rights to Anne Rice’s Christ the Lord. Now you can read about the company’s basic plans for film, books, television, mobile and other media—straight from the keyboard of George Barna himself.

(Image: Church Report)